Organizations have started considering cybersecurity as a top priority lately. The amount of money invested in IT infrastructure is increasing at an exponential rate. Further, dedicated teams are formed to monitor and optimize the performance of the different solutions that each organization has in its environment.
Similarly, when it comes to cybersecurity, it’s become essential to evaluate and quantify the security posture of every organization. Though the majority of organizations use SIEM solutions, only a handful of them utilize the capabilities to their fullest extent.
This is predominantly due to the complexity of the product and the lack of proper documentation. One of the best ways to bridge the gap between a user’s needs and the capabilities of the product is to develop cybersecurity use cases.
Cybersecurity use cases help organizations understand how they can leverage the capabilities of a solution to meet security requirements that are specific to their organization. Further, they also help organizations get the most out of any solution, and produce a high return on any investments made in security solutions.
Developing a strong use case
To develop a strong use case, it’s important to involve people who are aware of the current security posture of an organization. For instance, the security teams and CISOs must make a list of security tools that can help meet their organization’s requirements based on the size and nature of business they are involved in. They should also be able to address key risk areas without escalating the cost of investment.
Use cases can help security teams understand their current security posture and how an additional investment can bolster it further. However, this requires teams to build specific and custom use cases rather than depending on generic ones.
For instance, assume that an organization produces medical equipment. Chances are, it falls under the purview of HIPAA compliance. The administrator must be able to evaluate and understand this, and must inform the decision-makers of the business regarding the need to comply with HIPAA standards. Such specific use cases help organizations understand the value and necessity of investments.
The fundamentals of building a security use case
-
Adopt a problem-solution approach
A use case document must predominantly talk about a problem and how the capabilities of a SIEM solution can solve it. This not only lets you identify the key areas of security to be addressed but also helps you understand the security requirements of your organization and the core capabilities of a particular solution that can help you achieve the required posture.
-
Simulate required data
The easiest way to make users understand a use case is to simulate actual data and demonstrate how a SIEM solution analyzes it. This will help them see what insights the solution can provide in a particular scenario. Administrators can develop mitigation plans based on the gathered information and determine if the solution actually helps in enhancing the organization’s current security posture.
-
Get your basics right
One of the most vital things when it comes to security is to get your basics right. It’s always better to use basic analytics for simpler use cases and save advanced analytics for complex problems. For instance, it wouldn’t make sense to talk about behavior analytics for a single logon failure use case.
-
Categorize the use cases
Categorizing use cases can prevent multiple teams from working on similar use cases. Further, it’ll also make it easier to have clarity on which use cases fall under each capability of a solution. This will also help you prioritize building important use cases first rather than investing time on mediocre ones.
-
Keep use cases updated
Use cases may become obsolete after a certain point in time. It’s recommended to update use case documents regularly to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the information provided. Further, with changing security requirements, it’s essential to keep updated use cases to identify solutions that can meet your requirements.
Building strong use cases is vital for any organization to ascertain its current security posture, understand the gaps, and make necessary IT investments to meet security requirements and strengthen its security arsenal.
