Supposing you’re overseeing an SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) setup, you understand the significance of centralized threat detection.
SIEM gathers and scrutinizes data from various origins—such as your firewalls, applications, servers—and seeks out patterns that could indicate a security hazard.
However, the issue lies in depending solely on pre-established guidelines, which is akin to employing a universal method to security. While it may identify some apparent threats, it may not cover all the bases.
This piece will outline the reasons behind the failure of default SIEM rules and elucidate how tailoring them can have a significant impact. You’ll also learn about the importance of aligning your SIEM with the MITRE ATT&CK framework for identifying genuine multi-stage threats.
Correlation Rules in SIEM
Essentially, at its core, a SIEM system is devised to assemble, assess, and notify. It functions by utilizing correlation rules that serve as triggers upon identifying specific patterns in the data.
For instance, if there is an uncommon login attempt, it will activate an alert based on a pre-set rule. This enables security teams to concentrate on actionable insights rather than sifting through extensive volumes of raw data.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that most outdated SIEMs focus excessively on generating alerts from singular events.
They do not progress enough in linking seemingly disparate alerts to uncover the entire extent of the security threat.
If your SIEM is not set up correctly, your team will be inundated with alerts and overlook the concealed attacks amid the noise.
Default SIEM rules
Most SIEM solutions are equipped with default regulations to get you initiated, but these just serve as a starting point. If you solely rely on these off-the-shelf rules, you might encounter:
- Rule duplication and coverage gaps
Pre-installed correlation rules commonly overlap in function. This becomes inefficient as multiple rules trigger similar kinds of alerts. Moreover, these rules may not encompass all the strategies and methodologies utilized by sophisticated attackers. This results in gaps in your threat identification.
- Quantity over quality
One might assume that more rules equate to better security, but that is not always the scenario. Some providers furnish thousands of rules, yet many are insignificant or inadequately tuned for your setting. When rules prioritize quantity over quality, it leads to an excessive amount of alerts—many of which are erroneous positives.
- False positives everywhere
Activating too many generic rules leads to a deluge of false positives. Each alert demands investigation, consuming valuable time and assets. Persistent exposure to false positives will exhaust your security team over time, resulting in genuine threats going unnoticed.
- Sluggish and agonizing onboarding
Establishing a SIEM system demands time, and fine-tuning it to your environment requires even longer. Whether you handle it internally or collaborate with a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP), onboarding and configuring all those rules can span days or weeks, delaying your ability to counter threats.
- Inconsistent rule updates
Once your SIEM is operational, rule updates become imperative. Nonetheless, for MSSPs managing multiple clients, updating rules for one setup does not automatically propagate to others. This inconsistency results in inefficiency and security loopholes across distinct environments.
How SOC and MSP/MSSP solve these challenges
Why aligning with the MITRE ATT&CK framework matters
To elevate your SIEM system’s threat identification, you need to harmonize it with the MITRE ATT&CK framework. This framework dissects the strategies and tactics perpetrated by attackers, providing you with a holistic view of their operations. Standard SIEM configurations merely cover approximately 20% of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, leaving out crucial attack stages such as privilege escalation or lateral motion.
By aligning your SIEM regulations with MITRE ATT&CK, you can achieve a 90% coverage. This translates to detecting more sophisticated assaults and diminishing the cacophony of false positives. Rather than being swamped by erroneous alerts, your team can concentrate on the pertinent threats.
Customizing your SIEM: The benefits
So, what advantages do you reap by progressing beyond default regulations and tailoring your SIEM?
- Enhanced threat detection
By personalizing your SIEM rules, you’re not merely addressing individual events—you’re uncovering multi-stage attacks. This ensures you grasp the broader picture and can react to threats more efficiently.
- Reduced false positives
Personalized rules enable you to sift through the noise, prompting alerts only for relevant matters. Fewer false positives imply your team expends less effort on fruitless pursuits and can focus more on genuine threats.
- Accelerated incident response
Tailoring your SIEM not only bolsters detection but also hastens response times. Once fine-tuned, your system can curtail response times by up to 42% for crucial alerts. This significant improvement aids in minimizing the impact of an attack.
- Swift onboarding
A well-optimized SIEM can truncate onboarding duration from weeks to days if you handle multiple clienteles or environments. Ergo, you can swiftly commence operations so that threats are promptly identified and mitigated.
Solving SIEM challenges: Real-world examples
Curious about the impact custom SIEM rules can have? Let’s delve into a real-world scenario to illustrate.
A Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) adopted the off-the-shelf SIEM solution. Similar to most entities, they employed the 500 pre-configured correlation rules bundled with the system.
While these rules served as a decent starting point, they observed notable restrictions as the MSSP expanded and took on more clients.
The system successfully intercepted some threats, but not all of them.
Their security team realized that several critical incidents were overlooked or buried amidst a plethora of noise.
To counter this, the MSSP opted to optimize their SIEM system for performance. They initiated by assessing the efficacy of the 500 pre-set rules and subsequently personalized and enhanced them for their clients’ environments.
Thiswas not merely a superficial enhancement—it involved realigning their unique protocols with the MITRE ATT&CK framework, paving the way for a more robust and comprehensive approach to threat identification.
As part of this enhancement, 275 new protocols were incorporated, each meticulously crafted to capture threats that were slipping through the cracks of the default protocols. These fresh protocols aimed to enhance threat detection capabilities and alleviate the inundation of false alarms that were overwhelming their security analysts.
The outcomes were remarkable.
Here’s the outcome:
- MITRE ATT&CK coverage surged from 20% to 90%
- Through the customized protocols, they managed to identify a much broader spectrum of sophisticated attacks that were previously concealed. The alignment with MITRE ATT&CK enabled them to trace attackers through multiple stages of an attack, rather than isolated incidents.
- Response times to critical alerts decreased by 42%, and high severity alerts by 29%
- The custom protocols allowed security teams to bypass a deluge of irrelevant data. With fewer false alarms, they could swiftly react to legitimate threats and mitigate the impact of an attack. Critical alerts—the ones of utmost urgency and severity—were dealt with almost twice as swiftly, marking a significant victory for the overall security of their clients.
- The onboarding period for new clients dwindled from 7-10 days to 1-2 days
- Prior to the implementation of custom protocols, the onboarding of new clients entailed extensive configuration and fine-tuning of the SIEM system to tailor to each unique environment, a process that could stretch up to 10 days. Post-optimization of their system, the onboarding process became much smoother and quicker. By implementing pre-customized protocols that had been honed for various environments, they could onboard new clients within 1-2 days, providing protection and value promptly.
These modifications not only bolstered the security of the SIEM system but also triggered a ripple effect across the entire process—simplifying things for existing clients, reducing the burden on security analysts, and enhancing the efficiency and scalability of the entire system.
For instance, the reduction in false alarms enabled analysts to focus on real threats, not just response times but also the overall quality of security service. By minimizing the noise and fine-tuning the system to match the actual threat landscape encountered by their clients, the MSSP bolstered their capacity to safeguard organizations from multi-stage sophisticated attacks.
This transformation was not just about detection and response times. It laid the groundwork for a more automated and proactive approach to threat management, empowering the SIEM to anticipate attack patterns based on known behaviors from the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
With this level of customization, the SIEM transcended its reactive nature and emerged as a proactive defense mechanism capable of thwarting present and future threats in real-time.
By investing time in customizing their SIEM and aligning it with established threat frameworks, the MSSP augmented security performance and overall service delivery, instilling greater confidence in their clients.
Managed Services by UnderDefense
UnderDefense furnishes managed services tailored to your budget, bolstering your assurance in your organization’s security posture. Here’s how our services can aid you in overcoming common obstacles:
- Instant, personalized assistance: Access round-the-clock to dedicated analysts well-versed with your business, ensuring prompt responses.
- Comprehensive threat detection: Beyond constant monitoring, we proactively detect threats, offering context and guidance for remediation.
- Optimization of tools: We fine-tune your security tools to slash alert noise by 82% and seamlessly integrate with all your existing tools for a unified view.
- Client ownership: Possess all finely-tuned tools and processes post-contract to retain control and value.
- Operational transparency: Enjoy complete visibility into alert timelines, threat context, and receive regular reports.
Conclusion: Don’t settle for default
Ultimately, the effectiveness of a SIEM system boils down to the potency of its protocols. Relying solely on off-the-shelf correlation rules exposes your security to vulnerabilities that can be exploited effortlessly.
By customizing your SIEM, aligning it with frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK, and ensuring that rules are consistently updated, you can significantly enhance your threat detection capabilities.
The post Why Traditional Correlation Rules Aren’t Enough for Your SIEM – SOC Guide appeared first on Cyber Security News.