How Securonix Aligns with CISA's Latest Best Practices for Event Logging and Threat Detection

The recent release of “Best Practices for Event Logging and Threat Detection” by CISA and its international partners is a testament to the growing importance of effective event logging in today’s cybersecurity landscape. With the increasing sophistication and proliferation of cyber attacks, organizations must constantly adapt their security strategies to address these advanced threats. In this blog post, we’ll explore how Securonix’s comprehensive AI-Reinforced platform and proven event logging capabilities align with CISA’s new guidelines, providing organizations with a roadmap to enhance their cybersecurity posture.

Three Key Takeaways from CISA’s Best Practices

• Robust Event Logging: CISA emphasizes the need for organizations to implement a robust event logging strategy to detect and respond to threats effectively. This includes capturing critical system events, correlating data, and retaining logs for appropriate timeframes.
• Living Off the Land (LOTL) Techniques: The document also highlights the increasing use of LOTL techniques by malicious actors. Organizations must be equipped to detect and mitigate these threats.
• User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA): CISA recommends implementing UEBA capabilities to detect anomalous behavior and identify potential threats.

How Securonix Aligns with CISA’s Best Practices

CISA’s new best practices for event logging and threat detection set a clear roadmap for organizations seeking to fortify their security posture. Securonix stands out as a comprehensive solution that not only aligns with these guidelines but also surpasses them in key areas. Let’s delve deeper into how Securonix empowers organizations to achieve the goals outlined by CISA:

1. Comprehensive Event Collection and Correlation:

• Unparalleled Breadth: Unlike traditional SIEM solutions, Securonix goes beyond security event data. It ingests and correlates data from a vast array of sources, including network traffic, user activity, endpoint logs, cloud logs, NetFlow and even physical security systems. This holistic approach provides a unified view of security activity across the entire IT/OT landscape, ensuring that CISA’s recommendation for capturing critical events is not only met, but exceeded.
• Advanced Normalization: Securonix employs advanced normalization techniques to transform raw data into a standardized format. This ensures seamless integration of data from disparate sources, enabling efficient correlation and analysis to meet CISA’s emphasis on effective event management.

2. Long-Term Data Retention and Security Information Event Management (SIEM):

• Meeting Regulatory Requirements: Securonix understands the importance of log retention for security investigations. While the industry standard rests at 90 days, Securonix offers a remarkable 365 days of hot search data by default. This extended retention period aligns perfectly with CISA’s recommendation, allowing organizations to comply with regulatory requirements and effectively investigate incidents, even those discovered months later.
• Advanced SIEM Capabilities: Securonix Unified Defense SIEM goes beyond basic log management. It leverages advanced machine learning and UEBA to correlate events, identify anomalies, prioritize potential threats and reduce false positives. This advanced functionality empowers organizations to effectively manage and analyze event data, exceeding CISA’s focus on efficient event management.

3. Securonix User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA):

• UEBA at its Core: Securonix isn’t simply a SIEM solution with bolted-on UEBA capabilities. It was built in-house from the ground-up over 15 years ago with UEBA as its foundation. This core focus on user and entity behavior ensures that Securonix excels at detecting anomalous activities often employed by malicious actors using LOTL techniques, aligning perfectly with CISA’s recommendations.
• Advanced Threat Detection with Evolving Threat Intelligence: Securonix EON leverages AI powered by AWS Bedrock and Anthropic’s Claude LLM model, combined with Securonix’s continuously updated threat intelligence feeds, to detect sophisticated threats in real-time. This proactive approach aligns with CISA’s focus on proactive threat detection, empowering organizations to identify and stop threats before they cause significant damage.
• Peer and Entity Context: Securonix provides a comprehensive view of all users and entities within the IT environment. This entity-centric approach facilitates rapid investigation of security incidents, allowing organizations to quickly identify compromised users, devices, or accounts, as highlighted in CISA’s best practices.

By leveraging Securonix’s comprehensive platform, organizations can not only meet but surpass CISA’s best practices for event logging and threat detection. With its unparalleled data ingestion capabilities, advanced SIEM functionalities, and core focus on UEBA, Securonix empowers organizations to achieve a proactive security posture and stay ahead of evolving threats.

Securonix’s Coverage of CISA’s Recommended Anomalous Behaviors

Securonix’s platform is designed to detect all of the anomalous behaviors highlighted in CISA’s guidelines, including:

• Unusual login times or locations
• Access to unauthorized services
• High volumes of access attempts
• Impossible travel (Landspeed violations)
• Data exports
• Network logins without defined access
• Account creation or re-enablement
• Unusual network traffic
• Script execution or software installation
• Log clearing
• Process execution from suspicious paths
• Configuration changes to security software

Conclusion

CISA’s new best practices for event logging and threat detection provide a clear roadmap for organizations to enhance their cybersecurity posture. Securonix offers a comprehensive solution that not only aligns with these guidelines but surpasses them in all key areas. By leveraging Securonix’s advanced capabilities, organizations can:

• Achieve comprehensive event collection and correlation: Securonix’s ability to ingest data from a wide range of sources and correlate it effectively ensures a complete view of security activity.
• Meet log retention requirements: Securonix’s extended log retention period aligns with CISA’s recommendations, enabling organizations to effectively investigate incidents and comply with regulations.
• Detect threats proactively: Securonix’s UEBA capabilities and advanced threat detection features empower organizations to identify and stop threats before they cause significant damage.

By implementing Securonix Unified Defense SIEM, organizations can significantly enhance their ability to detect, respond to, and prevent cyber threats. To learn more about how Securonix can help your organization meet CISA’s best practices, visit our website and schedule a demo today.