Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) software can be an incredibly powerful tool for maintaining awareness of potential data security breaches—and for investigating a breach after the fact. However, SIEM software can also generate a lot of “noise” (unrelated or irrelevant data) for your company’s internal team to sort through, which can make it difficult to use SIEM software effectively with internal resources alone.
On the other hand, simply using managed SIEM services from a third-party vendor might feel like you’re relinquishing too much control over your company’s cybersecurity—especially if your managed security provider tends to go silent for long periods of time.
Thankfully, there is a middle ground that can provide the best of both internal and external management of your SIEM software: SIEM co-management. Here’s a list of some of the benefits of using co-managed SIEM:
1) You’re Never Out of the Loop with Co-Managed SIEM
One of the big worries about just leaving everything in the hands of your managed security provider is that you could be left in the dark regarding major security events and incidents. If your managed security service provider (MSSP) doesn’t communicate with you on a regular basis to provide incident reports and recommendations, it can be hard to know just how effective your security architecture is at repelling intrusion attempts—or the full extent of the threats you face.
However, if you’re using a co-managed SIEM solution, then your team is just as much a part of the SIEM management process as your MSSP. This collaborative approach to managed SIEM solutions helps to keep your internal team informed of major security incidents so they can respond appropriately. This, in turn, helps to improve your ability to close security gaps in your network and protect your company’s most sensitive information.
2) SIEM Co-Management Reduces Your Team’s Workload
Trying to manage SIEM software completely internally can put a massive strain on your IT security team’s resources. It takes a lot of expertise and effort to sort out the “noise” that the software collects from the “need-to-know” information that can help you identify intrusion sources, methods, and what (if any) data was compromised during an attack.
SIEM co-management helps to alleviate the burden of internally managing your SIEM software by providing you access to a team of dedicated experts who know how to parse the data efficiently. So, rather than spending copious time and effort on sorting through everything internally, you can rely on an experienced managed security provider to highlight the most important points—improving efficiency for your internal team and allowing them to focus on other tasks that help drive your business.
3) You Get Instant Access to SIEM Specialists Who Can Train Your Team
Another benefit of using co-managed SIEM solutions is that not only do you get access to a team of SIEM experts who are already well-versed in how to use the software, but those experts also can help train your internal team.
Why is this important? Because, over time, you may decide you want to assume the responsibility of managing your SIEM solution internally after building up your own team. This is easier if you have team members who have trained with experts and learned the software for themselves over time. By working alongside a team of SIEM management experts, your team can acclimate to the software and learn how to separate the important information from the noise over time.
Need help managing your business’ SIEM solution? Contact the experts at Compuquip Cybersecurity today to discuss our co-managed SIEM services!
