Security analysts use SIEM dashboards to monitor, analyze, and respond to security events across an organization’s IT infrastructure. Let’s explore some common dashboard examples and create a story to illustrate their use cases.Common SIEM Dashboard Examples:
- Security Overview Dashboard
- Threat Intelligence Dashboard
- User Activity Dashboard
- Network Traffic Analysis Dashboard
- Compliance Monitoring Dashboard
Imagine a day in the Life of Sarah, the Security Analyst. Sarah, a senior security analyst at TechCorp, starts her day by logging into the company’s SIEM system. She begins with the Security Overview Dashboard: Security Overview Dashboard:
- Event count: 250,000 in the last 24 hours
- High-severity alerts: 5
- Failed login attempts: 120
- Malware detections: 3
Sarah notices the number of high-severity alerts is higher than usual. She clicks on the alert details and sees two failed ransomware attempts and three potential data exfiltration events. She switches to the Threat Intelligence Dashboard:
- IOC matches: 2 IP addresses flagged
- Emerging threats: New phishing campaign targeting finance sector
- Threat map: Unusual activity from Eastern Europe
The dashboard shows that the two flagged IP addresses match known command and control servers. Sarah immediately initiates the incident response protocol for potential data exfiltration. Next, she checks the User Activity Dashboard:
- Anomalous user behavior: 1 user accessing sensitive data at 3 AM
- Privileged account usage: Spike in admin account activities
- Password changes: 50% increase in the last 12 hours
The anomalous user behavior catches Sarah’s attention. She investigates further and discovers that a developer accidentally left their credentials in a public GitHub repository. She immediately revokes the access and initiates a security awareness refresher for the development team. Sarah then examines the Network Traffic Analysis Dashboard:
- Inbound/Outbound traffic: 20% increase in outbound traffic
- Top talkers: Unusual spike from marketing department server
- Protocol analysis: High volume of DNS requests to new domains
The spike in outbound traffic from the marketing server is concerning. Sarah collaborates with the network team to investigate and discovers an unauthorized crypto mining operation. They quickly isolate the server and begin forensic analysis. Finally, Sarah reviews the Compliance Monitoring Dashboard:
- PCI DSS: 98% compliant
- HIPAA: 2 potential violations in data access logs
- GDPR: Data retention policy breach in HR system
She notes the potential HIPAA violations and schedules a meeting with the healthcare data management team to review and rectify the access issues.Throughout the day, Sarah continues to monitor these dashboards, investigating alerts, coordinating with other teams, and adjusting security controls as needed. The SIEM dashboards provide her with real-time visibility into TechCorp’s security posture, enabling her to quickly detect, investigate, and respond to potential threats. This story illustrates how security analysts like Sarah use SIEM dashboards to:
- Get a quick overview of the organization’s security status
- Identify and prioritize potential threats
- Investigate anomalies and suspicious activities
- Monitor user behaviors and access patterns
- Analyze network traffic for potential breaches
- Ensure compliance with various regulations
- Coordinate responses across different teams
By leveraging these dashboards, security analysts can effectively manage the complex task of protecting an organization’s digital assets in real-time.
