Earlier, we discussed how effective syslog management can improve your network’s security. However, log monitoring doesn’t end there. Your business runs on applications, whose log data must also be monitored to reinforce security. Applications include web servers, databases, printers, and in-house applications, all of which are indispensable to your organization.
The need to monitor application logs – use cases
Take, for example, a database. Your database stores sensitive business information such as customer credit card information, patient health information, and so on. A major security threat to this data would be a SQL injection attack, wherein malicious SQL commands are executed to modify, copy, or even expose the stored data, which could lead to disastrous consequences.
What would you do if you were to track a change made to a database table? You would look through the application’s logs, of course! But just like in the case of syslogs, going through massive amounts of application log data is impossible. This is where your SIEM solution steps in. The SIEM solution will alert you instantly when a SQL injection attack happens and provide you with meaningful SQL security reports for forensic analysis.
Now let’s talk about web servers. Web servers are subject to several security threats such as cross site scripting, malicious file executions, and DoS (Denial of Service) attacks. Log data is the only source that can provide detailed information about all these attacks to help you mitigate or combat them at the early stages.
Then there are your in-house applications. These include applications that generate revenue charts, facilitate supply chain management, process bill payments, and so on. All these applications perform imperative functions on a daily basis to keep your business running, so auditing them is just as important for managing network security.
The challenge of application auditing
Unlike Windows event log and syslog data, which have standardized log formats, applications can be diverse in nature. Also, the details that need to be extracted from the logs won’t be the same for all applications. When it comes to monitoring web servers, you track user access and traffic details, while in the case of databases, you look at data modification and query details. Your SIEM solution should be able to process logs from heterogeneous applications, irrespective of their log format. All applications must be monitored to ensure complete log management. Only then will you achieve comprehensive security.
Leave no application behind with EventLog Analyzer!
EventLog Analyzer enables log collection for a variety of applications right out of the box. It supports critical applications such as IIS and Apache web servers, MS SQL, and Oracle databases, as well as antivirus and threat intelligence solutions, vulnerability scanners, and more. With its custom log parsing feature, the application log data can be directly imported from the application (either one time or periodically as required). EventLog Analyzer gives you the flexibility to define new log types in an interactive framework in just a few clicks!
With the field extraction option, you can extract meaningful details of security events of interest to create the custom reports you need. The reports give you extensive details on security events of interest and allow you to track anomalous behavior of applications. So simple, and yet so powerful!
Learn more about EventLog Analyzer’s Application log management capabilities here: https://www.manageengine.com/products/eventlog/application-log-processing.html
Network security management doesn’t end with just log monitoring. To learn more, register for our webinar on SIEM in the link below:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/545941985625845250?source=mailer
