Security Analytics Defined

Security analytics is an approach to cybersecurity that focuses on analyzing data to proactively identify security threats before they occur by monitoring network traffic and security events. It offers organizations the ability to detect threats early, get a unified view of enterprise security, and see results and return on investment. The benefits of security analytics include analyzing a wide range of data to easily connect alerts and events to proactively detect incidents and improve response times.

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Security Analytics Defined

Uploaded by

John Nyachuba

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Security Analytics Defined

Security Analytics is an approach to cybersecurity focused on the analysis of data to

produce proactive security measures. For example, monitored network traffic could be
used to identify indicators of compromise before an actual threat occurs.

No business can predict the future, especially where security threats are concerned, but
by deploying security analytics tools that are able to analyze security events it is
possible to detect a threat before it has a chance to impact your infrastructure and
bottom line.

The Need For Security Analytics

The field of security analytics is growing, is full of potential and offers a robust solution
for organizations looking to stay on top of vulnerabilities and one step ahead of
cybercriminals.

There are a number of drivers key to the growth of security analytics, including:

Transitioning from protection to detection: Hackers use a wide range of attack

mechanisms that exploit multiple vulnerabilities. Some threats can go undetected for
months. Security analytics tools can keep track of common threat patterns and send
alerts the moment an anomaly is discovered.

A unified view of the enterprise: Security analytics structures data in such a way that
it offers both a real-time and historical view of events. This provides a unified view of
threats and security breaches from a central console and allows for smarter planning,
faster resolution and better decision making.

Seeing results and a return on investment: There is mounting pressure on IT teams

to communicate results to senior management and stakeholders. Security analytics
provides time-to-resolution metrics and fewer false positives that allow analysts to
quickly identify threats and respond to security breaches.

Benefits of Security Analytics

One of the biggest benefits of security analytics is the sheer volume and diversity of
information that can be analyzed at any one time. This data can include, but is not
limited to:

 Endpoint and user behavior data

 Network traffic
 Business applications
 Cloud traffic
 Non-IT contextual data
 External threat intelligence sources
 Access and identity management data
 Proof of compliance during an audit
By analyzing such a wide range of data, organizations are able to easily connect the
dots between various alerts and events. The result is proactive security incident
detection and faster response times that help the business to protect the integrity of
systems and data.

Security analytics tools also assist compliance with industry and government

regulations. Regulations such as PCI-DSS and HIPAA require organizations to monitor
data activity and log data collection for forensics and auditing purposes.

Security Analytics Use Cases

Security analytics can be implemented for a wide variety of use cases, from user
behavior monitoring to network traffic analysis. Some of the most common use cases
include:

 Analyzing network traffic to detect patterns that indicate a potential attack

 Monitoring user behavior, especially potentially suspicious behavior
 Detecting insider threats
 Detecting data exfiltration
 Identifying accounts that may have been compromised