Introduction
For many years, a lot of companies have been using firewall systems to protect their data, computer systems and applications. Since their inception, firewalls have been considered to be the perfect tool for cyber security. At first, firewalls were indeed very effective and they still are very useful. Unfortunately, cybercrime has risen from then and it is becoming more sophisticated every year. This means that just a firewall system is no longer sufficient for a strong cyber security. Fortunately, there is another tool that can help you mitigate cyber threats. We are talking about SIEM systems.
In this article we will talk about how each of these cyber security tools works. After that, we will list some firewall vulnerabilities that SIEM can help resolve.
Firewall Systems and their Vulnerabilities
A Firewall is a security system that can monitor and allow or prevent data packets from entering or leaving a computer system. Nowadays, data is usually encrypted, so many firewalls decrypt it, determine if it will enter or leave the system and then encrypt it again. Sometimes, this process can be intensive and slow down the network.
Usually, a firewall needs to be configured manually. A common method that is used to configure a firewall is to block inbound traffic and allow outbound traffic. Although this is a typical tactic that a lot of companies use, it is wrong. Allowing all outbound traffic can result to company information or data being exposed.
Furthermore, not all inbound data is being blocked by the firewall. These systems have limitations and can’t block all kinds of malicious data. In case someone manages to enter a system, the firewall won’t be able to find out about the intrusion and it won’t alert the user. In fact, firewalls aren’t built to provide information about how an attack happened anyway. As a result, if the purpose of the attack is not to damage the systems, but to monitor and steal information, the company will never know about the attack.
SIEM Systems and their Role in Cyber-Security
A SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) system is a security system that combines Security Information System (SIM) and Security Event Management (SEM). The purpose of a SIEM is to collect logging data from systems, servers and websites that a company may use. After that, it separates the useful data from the rest of it and provides the user with visibility about what kind of data enters a system and when this activity takes place. SIEM scans the company’s systems for unusual behavior and alerts the user in time.
The constant digitization of businesses means that many companies use various systems. These systems generate huge amounts of logs, and it is not possible for someone to view and analyze them by themselves. Using machine learning, correlation rules and behavioral analysis, a SIEM system can turn data into information and detect any anomalies that could exist. What makes this tool even more useful is that it scans for unusual patterns 24/7 and informs the user in real time.
Conclusion
Firewall and SIEM systems operate differently, and they are not interchangeable. A firewall can stop malicious data from entering a system, but not all of it. Additionally, a firewall can’t inform the user in case something like this happens. Thus, an intrusion to a system might remain undetected for a long time. This is why SIEM systems and their ability to detect threats are significant for a company. If a firewall doesn’t stop a data breach, it would be vital for the organization to detect it so it can fix it in a different way.
Logstail.com with the advanced SIEM it offers, helps you to have full control regarding the security of your systems to prevent a threat or improve a weak point. Logstail will re-adjust the way you monitor your data and will give you the opportunity to get more meaningful insights of your technical logs, via dashboards and powerful graphs, to stay alert for all dangers.
In Logstail we are also offering the full range of services required to effectively mitigate cyber-attacks. Incident response and consulting, penetration testing and red team operations are altogether aiming to help our customers reduce their cyber incidents. Sign-up for a free demo to realize the power of Logstail!
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