Managed SIEM Service

Managed SIEM services provide businesses with real-time security monitoring, allowing them to detect and respond to potential threats before they can cause significant damage.

This can help businesses to maintain a stronger security posture and protect their data and assets from cyber attacks.  

A managed SIEM service helps businesses to respond to security incidents more effectively. By having a team of security analysts available to investigate and respond to potential threats in real-time, businesses can mitigate the impact of an attack and minimise downtime. 

Managed SIEM providers use industry-leading tools and technologies to monitor and analyse security events. This means businesses can benefit from the latest advancements in cybersecurity, without the need to invest in these tools and technologies themselves. 

Managed SIEM providers offer access to advanced technologies and tools that would otherwise be expensive or difficult to implement in-house. This includes machine learning algorithms, threat intelligence feeds, and other security tools that can help to identify and respond to security threats more effectively. 

Managed SIEM services are typically provided by MSSPs (Managed Security Service Providers), who have extensive expertise in cybersecurity. By utilising a Managed SIEM service, businesses can benefit from the knowledge and experience of these security experts, without the need to hire and train their own cybersecurity team. 

The incident response expertise from SOC (Security Operations Centre) analysts and engineers, combined with their proficiency in using a variety of advanced SIEM tools and technologies, enables them to effectively identify and respond to both current and emerging security threats. 

SOC security experts will analyse and prioritise alarms and alerts generated by the SIEM platform, communicating only those that require your attention, depending on the severity. This enables your in-house team to focus on the day-to-day IT and Security activities and other business growth projects.  

Managed SIEM solutions can be deployed quickly and easily, without the need for extensive configuration or customisation.

This means businesses can start benefiting from enhanced security monitoring in a matter of weeks, rather than months, without having the burden of in-house tool management.  

Implementing an in-house SIEM service can be costly, requiring significant investment in hardware, software, and human resources.

Managed SIEM services eliminate the need for this initial investment, allowing businesses to benefit from advanced security monitoring without the need for significant upfront costs.  

Managed SIEM services can be a cost-effective solution for businesses that don’t have the resources or expertise to manage their own security infrastructure.

By outsourcing their security needs to an expert managed SIEM provider, businesses can reduce the costs associated with hiring and training in-house security personnel and maintaining their own security infrastructure. 

A managed SIEM solution can help businesses to achieve compliance with various regulatory requirements or security standards, such as ISO 27001, GDPR, PCI DSS, and HIPAA. Managed SIEM systems provide the necessary tools and reporting capabilities to demonstrate compliance with these regulations. 

Managed SIEM services offer 24/7 security monitoring, which means that businesses can rest assured that their network is being monitored around the clock for potential security threats.

With an increase in out of hours attacks in recent years, this is especially pertinent in keeping organisations safe from cyberattacks. This also provides businesses with peace of mind and enables them to focus on their core business activities. 

The SIEM acronym stands for Security Information and Event Management. It is a type of security solution that provides real-time monitoring, analysis, and correlation of security events and alerts generated from various sources within an organisation’s IT infrastructure.

The main goal of SIEM is to help security teams detect and respond to security incidents more effectively by providing centralised visibility and control over their security posture. 

Managed SIEM providers offer a range of other cyber security services, including Security Operations Centre (SOC) services – or SOC as a Service, penetration testing services, and compliance management, to help businesses maintain a strong security posture.  

It’s not really a case of managed SIEM vs SOC, as SIEM is an essential part of a Security Operations Centre tooling set.  

A Security Operations Center (SOC) is a centralised team responsible for detecting, investigating, and responding to security incidents across an organisation’s networks, systems, and applications. In contrast, a Managed SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) service is a security solution that collects and analyses security data from various sources, including logs and alerts, to detect potential security threats. 

While a Managed SOC service is typically staffed by security analysts and engineers who use various security tools, including a SIEM service, to investigate and respond to incidents, a Managed SIEM service provider often operates a SOC on behalf of their clients. Managed SIEM service providers deploy, configure, and manage their clients’ SIEM services and provide security expertise to help detect and respond to security threats. 

EDR and SIEM are two types of cybersecurity solutions that serve different purposes. 

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions are focused on endpoint security, specifically the detection and response to potential threats on individual endpoints, such as laptops, desktops, and servers. EDR solutions use advanced algorithms and machine learning to monitor and analyse endpoint activity, and they can quickly detect and respond to potential threats. EDR solutions are typically designed to identify and remediate specific types of threats, such as malware or ransomware attacks, and are best suited for organisations with a large number of endpoints. 

On the other hand, Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) services are designed to collect and analyse security-related data from across an organisation’s IT infrastructure, including endpoints, network devices, and servers. SIEM services use log data to identify potential threats, and they provide a central location for storing and analysing this data. SIEM services are typically used to detect and investigate security incidents, and they are best suited for organisations with a complex IT environment. 

Managed Detection and Response (MDR) refers to a set of cybersecurity services that aim to provide continuous monitoring, threat detection, and response to advanced cyber attacks and other security incidents.

MDR services typically leverage advanced technologies such as AI (Artificial Intelligence), machine learning, and behavioural analytics to detect anomalous activity and suspicious behaviour across an organisation’s IT infrastructure, endpoints, and networks.

MDR providers also offer incident response capabilities, enabling organisations to quickly contain and remediate security incidents to minimise damage and downtime. MDR services are typically offered as a subscription-based model, with the MDR provider acting as an extension of the organisation’s security team. 

Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and Managed Security Information and Event Management (Managed SIEM) are both cybersecurity services that help organisations improve their threat detection and response capabilities.  

However, there are some key differences between the two: 

Scope: Managed SIEM primarily focuses on log and event management, while MDR is more comprehensive and includes endpoint detection and response, network traffic analysis, and threat intelligence. 

Proactivity: Managed SIEM is largely reactive, meaning it detects threats based on pre-defined rules and alerts. In contrast, MDR is proactive and leverages advanced threat hunting techniques to detect threats that may evade traditional security measures. 

Expertise: Managed SIEM typically requires a higher level of expertise on the part of the customer, who must manage the SIEM infrastructure and tune the alerting rules. MDR, on the other hand, is a more hands-off approach that leverages the expertise of the MDR provider to detect and respond to threats. 

In general, MDR is considered to be a more comprehensive and proactive approach to threat detection and response, while Managed SIEM is a more reactive and focused service that requires more customer involvement. 

The advantages of managed SIEM services include: 

• Access to the latest SIEM technology and security professionals 
• 24/7 monitoring and management of security alerts 
• Proactive threat hunting 
• Access to a wider variety of threat intelligence 
• Native integration with cloud and other modern infrastructures 
• Affordable retainer-based service with no large upfront fees 
• Deployment and reconfigurations managed by a trusted third party 
• No hardware appliances or support contracts to manage 
• Immediate access to updates as and when they’re produced – often at no extra cost 

A Managed SIEM service can detect a wide range of security threats, including malware, viruses, ransomware, phishing attacks, insider threats, data breaches, unauthorised access attempts, network intrusion attempts, and suspicious activity on endpoints or in the network.

By monitoring and analysing security event logs and alerts from various sources, including network devices, servers, and endpoints, a Managed SIEM service can provide comprehensive threat detection and response capabilities to help organisations protect their assets and data from cyber threats. 

SIEM can integrate with a wide variety of tools, including network devices such as firewalls and routers, endpoint protection platforms (EPP), antivirus and anti-malware software, intrusion detection systems (IDS), vulnerability scanners, threat intelligence feeds, and many others.

These integrations allow SIEM to collect and correlate data from multiple sources, providing a comprehensive view of an organisation‘s security posture and allowing security teams to quickly detect and respond to potential threats. 

Managed SIEM is a service typically offered by Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) that provide various cyber security services, such as threat intelligence, incident response, and compliance management. These providers possess a considerable level of expertise in cybersecurity and can offer access to advanced tools and technologies.

On the other hand, in-house SIEM services may not be as effective as managed SIEM services since they may lack access to advanced technology and expertise. The basic managed SIEM providers host the SIEM tool, coordinate the collection of security and event logs, and report on the results. However, MSSPs offer an expanded suite of services that may include analysing log data, investigating security threats, and providing anti-malware software and vulnerability scanning.

When deciding between contracting with a managed SIEM provider or MSSP, it’s essential to assess their service offerings to ensure you receive value-for-money and security coverage that complements your existing SecOps team’s capabilities. SIEM-as-a-Service, on the other hand, is a collection of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tools that use real-time correlation and data log analysis to provide a centralised solution for automating security log information and threat detection. 

Any organisation that wants to ensure the security of its network and sensitive data can benefit from a managed SIEM service. This includes businesses of all sizes, government agencies, and non-profit organisations.

Organisations that are subject to compliance regulations, such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR, may find that a managed SIEM service is essential to meeting their compliance requirements. In addition, organisations that lack the resources or expertise to manage their own SIEM solution in-house may benefit from the services of a managed SIEM provider. Overall, any organisation that values the security of its network and data can benefit from a managed SIEM service.