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Security Information Management (SIM) Fundamentals

By David Balaban posted 04-21-2016 10:58

  

Security information management technologies are almost crucial for corporate and business security nowadays. Nevertheless, IT supervisors cannot obtain the maximum benefit from SIM without following a handful of the best practices while applying that technology.

Security information management tools are quickly becoming must-haves for security squads seeking additional visibility within their IT environment. The marketplace for SIM services and products is expanding scientifically each year. Therefore, this technology will consistently develop into an important part of bigger security infrastructure and management schemes.

SIM tools were once solely the domain of security analysts focusing on operational matters. Presently, the information that SIM applications present regularly ends up on the CISOs and the CIO's table.

Security watchers and IT administrators are all certain that SIM is not going to safeguard IT infrastructures from all threats, however, the technology gets much closer to understanding risks contained in any environment.

Because threats are becoming more targeted and advanced, you cannot get a single instrument that may identify all warning signals of a security breach. A lot of the latest attacks build their way through policy violations such as privilege escalations or alterations to important files as opposed to particular vulnerabilities being exploited or new malware being installed.

To make sure SIM has the ability to effectively consolidate the procedures of collecting, analyzing tracking log, vulnerability and configuration data, it is necessary to identify the major systems in your infrastructure prior to selecting any SIM solution.

Businesses utilize security information management products to gather information from network and security devices, along with domain controllers and databases. Putting together a detailed picture of the security environment in advance will ensure good results.

Determine and categorize the important systems you wish to obtain log data events from and do not forget to incorporate the operating system, perimeter, and application as well as database layers for a better picture of your security posture.

One more primary area of SIM implementation strategies will require developing proper policies to enforce the SIM product. Technological innovations function effectively only when combined with well-established security policies.

It is not possible to just set the server and believe that it will let you know about every important security event.  You should be prepared to deeply look into the things you worry about and either create or actuate regulations that would make the security information management product be effective.

Users should always be prepared to modify and adapt the security Information management system before rolling it out. Fine-tuning your SIM tool will minimize the noise of non-events and help faster identify events essential to infrastructure security.

While deploying security information management system, be prepared to implement new interdepartmental procedures. The SIM tools are not easy to deploy and they will require from IT managers to allocate software agents and modify device configurations in departments that possibly are not under their control. Deploying the MIS tools will engage security teams and IT operations, and when privileges and access rights are involved, roadblocks are inevitable.

Security information management products are diverse in their characteristics. SIM rollouts complicated technical integration and negotiations. It involves architecture transformations, new privileged accounts to receive necessary information, and system managers usually are not going to allow that occur without a serious and justified reason.

After SIM is integrated, do not undervalue its practical use beyond the security dominion. Because operations management and security monitoring consistently merge, IT supervisors can acquire much more out of their SIM product by using its conveniences in other places.

SIM technology may additionally keep track how users and staffers stick with policies you have at hand for audit and compliance purposes. Operations teams will be grateful for this information and probably be more eager to participate in security initiatives when they see benefits.

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