Most organizations face the same inherent challenges when dealing with security information and event management (SIEM): effectively balancing limited IT resources, ever-increasing supplies of log data, dealing with regulation compliance, and keeping staff training up-to-date. There are four best challenges that organizations should consider to achieve this balance:
- Prioritize security information and event management appropriately throughout organizations—Organizations can define requirements and goals for performing logging and monitoring logs to include applicable laws, regulations, and existing organization policies. They can then prioritize goals based on balancing risk with time and resources needed to manage logs
- Establish policies and procedures for security information and event management—Policies and procedures are beneficial because they ensure consistent approaches throughout organizations as well as ensure that laws and regulations are observed. Periodic audits can confirm that logging standards and guidelines are followed throughout organizations. Furthermore, testing and validating can properly ensure log management policies and procedures
- Create and maintain robust security information and event management infrastructures—Having secure log management infrastructures aids in preserving the integrity of log data from accidental or intentional modifications or deletions and in maintaining confidentiality. It is also critical for creating scalable infrastructures for handling expected volumes of log data as well as peak volumes during extreme situations (e.g. widespread malware incidents)
- Provide proper training for all staff with security information and event management responsibilities—While defining log management schemas, organizations must provide requisite training to relevant staffers regarding their log management responsibilities as well as skilled instruction on the resources necessary to support log management. This includes providing log management tools, tool documentation, technical guidance on log management, and disseminating information to log management staffers.