SIEM Security Tools: Six Expensive Misconceptions

How next-gen SIEM security solutions increase time to value in a modern threat environment

The changing security landscape demands the most up-to-date solutions to ensure consistent management of attacks and vulnerabilities. In recent years, security information and event management (SIEM) solutions became the tool of choice for protecting assets and users, promising a flexible way to ingest, analyze, and visualize data.

Although traditional SIEM technology helped redefine incident detection and response, SIEM tools still don’t get a lot of love. Customers experiencing pain points have upped the volume on complaints, so if you’re confused about whether to invest in newer SIEM solutions, you’re not alone.

From uncertainty about adapting to the modern threat environment to reliability concerns, there’s a lot to consider. Understanding recent improvements to traditional SIEMs incorporated by next-generation solutions proves critical to building a confident security posture.

Read on as we correct costly SIEM misconceptions and offer a clearer comparison of traditional SIEMs and next-gen solutions.

Misconception No. 1: SIEM tools are plagued by a time-consuming on-ramping process that results in deployment headaches.

Next-Gen Reality: Today’s SIEMs are designed to get you deployed (really truly) in no time.

Finally, a SIEM you can actually deploy. Modern SIEM solutions like InsightIDR and MDR provide speedy implementation and baselining. Thanks to cloud-based architecture, customers are deployed in days, not months.

Additionally, pre-built event sources ensure an easier setup that generates valuable analytics faster. This minimizes the need for security teams to invest precious resources toward combing through rapidly ingested data or refining detection rules.

To help set and manage expectations for success, we recommend defining use cases or a Proof of Concept (PoC) prior to purchasing a SIEM solution.

Learn more about the pre-built detections offered in our SIEM solution, InsightIDR.

Misconception No. 2: Formatting readable data is a costly, time-intensive project beset by roadblocks.

Next-Gen Reality: Modern SIEMs deliver foundational event source collection wizards and efficient cloud-based hosting so you get trustworthy insights, faster.

Data alone means nothing, especially when you can read it or correlate it. With traditional SIEMs, the burden of making data useful is placed on the user; it would be a manual process to configure every event source, log, network switch, etc.

Modern SIEMs streamline this process by ingesting and transforming data at scale. InsightIDR does even more to go beyond just log collection and management. Once InsightIDR collects data, it’s normalized, attributed to users and systems, and then enriched. This approach structures the data and analytics for investigations, empowering analyst visibility and action.

Learn how to search and visualize your security data with InsightIDR.

Misconception No. 3: SIEM tools rely too heavily on manual configuration, reducing visibility.

Next-Gen Reality: SIEMs with cloud-based analytics engines help eliminate blind spots since all your data is all in one place.

Historically, data analysis was piecemeal and occurred in a vacuum. This meant relying on manual processes to configure event sources, data sources, and logs. Modern SIEMs permit a more holistic approach, with the capability to digest data from previously disparate sources—transforming that data into actionable insights.

Learn how InsightIDR centralizes your logs across multiple data sources so you can quickly answer questions around your data.

Misconception No. 4: SIEMs fail to provide sufficient cloud coverage.

Next-Gen Reality: Cloud-native SIEMs enhance user protection in changing threat environments.

Unlike traditional SIEM, next-gen solutions are designed with the cloud in mind. SIEMs now go beyond data and log ingestion to include automatic updates, detections, and more that scale as you grow. Remote workforces can rest assured their endpoints, cloud apps, and network data remain secure.

Learn more about Rapid7’s native AWS and Azure cloud capabilities.

Misconception No. 5: SIEM solutions require expensive additional resource investments.

Next-Gen Reality: Updated SIEMs reduce the burden for a large, dedicated team by building expertise into every step.

Newer SIEMs combine the accessibility of out-of-the-box solutions with the efficiency of the cloud. Prescriptive event source collection wizards, intuitive UI, and curated pre-built detections create ease of use unlike anything you’ve experienced before.

Misconception No. 6: SIEMs impede decision-making processes, since users are always putting out fires.

Next-Gen Reality: Improved SIEM functionality promotes proactive thought, decisive action, and user confidence.

New-to-market SIEMs allow you to view and monitor disparate data sources that don’t talk to each other in traditional tools. This accelerates data analysis and streamlines decision-making, so you can act quickly and confidently. You can even kick off automated containment and response workflows from within the same solution.

Learn more about InsightIDR’s automation features that allow you to connect tools and automate actions.

At Rapid7, we refuse to settle for the status quo. With InsightIDR, our threat detection and response solution, we’re eager to show our customers a return on investment that surpasses traditional SIEM offerings. But don’t take our word for it—here’s what they had to say:

“Within a week we had more event sources and more data flowing in than we could have imagined. We currently ingest more in three days than we did in three to four months previous in our traditional SIEM model.” — Brett Deroche, Director of Security Operations at Amedisys

“Compared to the previous SIEM solution, I think we’re saving a lot of time. A traditional SIEM platform would take five or six guys to get the job done.” — Joost Dubbelman, Information Security Officer at Voogd & Voogd

Are you ready to try InsightIDR? Sign up for a free trial or contact us to get started. We want to help address your organization’s challenges and provide valuable, timely, data-driven insights.