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Robust logging and comprehensive security monitoring

Robuuste logging en uitgebreide beveiligingsmonitoring

By designing systems with incident detection and investigation in mind, implementing robust logging and having a comprehensive security monitoring and incident response strategy, the security and resilience of systems can be improved and the impact of security incidents minimized.

It’s important to have a security monitoring strategy, in order to effectively detect and investigate incidents. This includes actively analyzing logs and other data sources to identify patterns or behaviors that may indicate a security incident. By monitoring systems this way, potential threats can be identified and reacted to quickly, minimizing the impact of security incidents.

In addition to monitoring, it’s important to have incident response procedures in place. This includes defining roles and responsibilities, establishing communication channels and creating a plan for controlling and mitigating security incidents. Having these procedures in place allows one to respond quickly to incidents and minimize their impact on systems and the organization.

The implementation of robust logging and security monitoring has multiple advantages, such as:

  • Improved situational awareness: Good logging provides a comprehensive overview of system activity and usage, so you can better understand how relevant systems are being used and identify potential security risks.
  • Early detection of threats: Monitoring allows one to actively analyze logs and other data sources to detect patterns or behaviors that may indicate a security risk, so that incidents can be detected and responded to before they escalate.
  • Additional layer of defense: Security monitoring introduces an additional layer of defense for systems, offers an early warning system for potential security incidents and helps staying ahead of evolving threats with taking robust logging in mind.
  • Effective reaction on incidents: By actively monitoring systems for logging, you can react quickly to early signs of breaches before they can cause significant damage.
Robust logging and comprehensive security monitoring

How to develop a an effective logging and monitoring strategy for your organization

  • Understand the objective: When it comes to logging and monitoring, it’s important to start by understanding the objectives. Think about the context of the system, the threats confronting the organization and the resources available to a company. Based on this information organizations can decide which level of monitoring is appropriate for their system.
  • Adjust the monitoring strategy: Adjust the monitoring strategy to the specific needs of the organization. For example, if the organization is exposed to frequent cyberattacks, it may need to invest in security operations that can detect and respond to sophisticated attacks. On the other hand, if you have limited resources, simply collecting logs in the event of a data breach incident may be the most appropriate approach for the organization.
  • Responding to incidents: Regardless of the level of monitoring chosen by an organization, the ability to react to incidents must be top priority. To do this effectively, logs and other data with crucial information in case of an incident should be collected.
  • Proactive and watchful: The key to effective registration and intensive care is being proactive and watchful. By regularly reviewing and refining logging and monitoring practices, organizations can stay ahead of evolving threats and respond quickly to security incidents.

Ensuring that logs can be accessed and analyzed as needed

  • Fast Access: It’s important to know where logs are stored and to have the right access to be able to search through them. In case of an incident you’ll be able to get to relevant log data quickly.
  • Storage policy: It’s also important to ensure that logs are stored long enough to answer questions being asked during an incident. How long you keep log data can vary by source, depending on factors such as storage costs and availability and usability of different data types. Be sure to plan storage space to avoid disk overflow and service failure.
  • Regularity: By regularly checking your logging systems, you can be confident that your logs capture the data you need.
  • Protection: It’s important to protect logs from tampering to ensure that they accurately reflect what happened. For example, by taking measures to prevent unauthorized access and modification so that logs provide a reliable record of events.

Integrating insights from real incidents in monitoring solutions

By integrating insights from real incidents into logging and monitoring solutions, you can identify gaps in the logging and monitoring strategy and improve the systems’ ability to detect and respond to security incidents. Analyzing previous incidents can deliver valuable information about attack patterns and strategies that are being used by threats. By incorporating these insights into surveillance solutions, organizations can strengthen security and reduce the impact of future incidents.

In short…

To improve the security and resilience of systems, organizations must consider incident detection and investigation in their design. This includes implementing robust logging and a comprehensive security monitoring and incident response strategy. By actively monitoring logs and other data sources, organizations can quickly identify and respond to potential threats. Overall, this approach helps minimize the impact of security incidents and improve the security and resilience of systems.

OpenSight Summer Series

During the OpenSight Summer Series, we publish weekly blogs that elaborate on the following topics:

  1. Risk management
  2. Engagement and training
  3. Asset management
  4. Architecture and configuration
  5. Vulnerability management
  6. Identity and access management
  7. Information security
  8. Logging and monitoring
  9. Incident management
  10. Supply chain security

By implementing the security measures outlined in these 10 steps, organizations can reduce the likelihood of cyberattacks and reduce the impact of potential incidents. Learn more about the OpenSight Summer Series here!

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