Instructor: In this lesson,
we will learn about logging and monitoring.
Logging and monitoring is the recording
and analyzing of access events
and user activities to detect, investigate,
and respond to potential security incidents.
Logging is the collection of data related to user actions,
system changes, and access attempts.
Monitoring on the other hand,
involves the real time or periodic review of logs
to identify unusual or unauthorized activities.
Let's learn more about logging and monitoring.
First, we have logging.
Logging is the process of capturing
and recording detailed information about actions, changes,
and access attempts within a system or network.
In large enterprise environments,
logs are constantly generated by many sources,
such as user activities, system processes, applications,
and network devices.
This volume of logs can become overwhelming
with millions of events being logged each day.
However, these logs are critical for tracking who accessed
what resources, when, and under what conditions,
providing an essential trail of evidence
for security investigations and audits.
To manage this vast amount of logs effectively,
organizations use log collectors.
A log collector is a system that generates
and centralizes logs from multiple sources,
simplifying log management.
Fluentd, for example, is an open-source log collector
that can aggregate logs from servers, applications,
and cloud services.
By collecting logs in one place,
it becomes easier to store, search, and analyze them.
This centralized approach enhances visibility
across the network and simplifies compliance
with regulatory requirements such as maintaining log records
for a specified duration.
Once logs are collected,
they need to be processed and analyzed,
which is where security information
and event management, or SIEM systems, come in.
A key feature of SIEMs,
is their ability to aggregate logs from multiple sources,
like from servers and applications into one place.
After aggregation, the SIEM normalizes the logs,
meaning it converts the logs from different formats
into a consistent structure.
This is needed because logs from different systems
often have varied formats using different fields,
timestamps, or data structures.
Normalization ensures that all logs follow the same format,
making it possible to analyze
and correlate events across systems.
While managing and collecting logs is crucial,
it is not enough.
Logs must be securely stored and retained
to meet regulatory requirements and internal policies.
Additionally, logs need to be easily accessible for audits
or investigations when necessary,
ensuring that organizations can respond effectively
to security incidents and maintain compliance.
Second, we have monitoring.
Monitoring is the process of continuously reviewing
and analyzing logs and events in real time
or at scheduled intervals to detect unusual activities
that may signal security threats.
While logging provides the raw data,
monitoring actively focuses on identifying indicators
of attack or compromise.
In a large enterprise network,
monitoring is crucial to quickly detect
unauthorized access attempts,
policy violations, or other suspicious behaviors.
For example, monitoring tools can be used to scan logs
to identify anomalies such as repeated failed login attempts
or access from unusual locations,
which could indicate a security incident.
Monitoring large scale environments is challenging
due to the volume of log data generated every day.
Security teams cannot manually review all logs,
so automated tools are used for flagging critical events.
These tools use predefined rules
and algorithms to analyze logs for abnormal patterns,
such as unauthorized system changes or potential breaches.
When an anomaly is detected,
the system generates an alert allowing security teams
to investigate and respond before the situation escalates.
Security information and event management,
or SIEM systems, play a key role in monitoring
by providing real time alerts, dashboards,
and data correlation across multiple sources.
SIEMs help security teams detect sophisticated attacks
that span different systems or regions.
For example, a SIEM can connect multiple unauthorized access
attempts across different geographical locations
and trigger an alert.
SIEMs not only detect potential threats,
but also offer tools to support
rapid investigation and response.
Of course, there are other essential tools for monitoring,
including intrusion detection systems
and dedicated log monitoring solutions.
For example, tools like Graylog and SolarWinds
provide advanced log monitoring and analysis capabilities,
allowing organizations to track network activity
in real time.
Also, intrusion detection systems help
by monitoring network traffic for suspicious behavior
and generating when unusual patterns are detected.
Overall, log monitoring helps organizations maintain
continuous oversight of their networks
and respond quickly to security concerns.
So remember, logging and monitoring enable detecting,
investigating, and responding,
to potential security incidents.
Logging captures detailed information about user actions,
system changes, and access attempts,
providing a record of activity within a network.
Monitoring on the other hand,
focuses on reviewing these logs in real time
or at intervals to identify
unusual or unauthorized activity.
Security information and event management systems
and other tools help automate the collection, aggregation,
and analysis of logs.
So together, logging and monitoring ensure
that organizations can quickly detect and respond to
security threats while maintaining compliance
with policies and regulations.