In today’s world of cybersecurity, there are two major classifications of SIEMs: traditional or legacy SIEMs and next-generation SIEMs. In different organizations, there are often comparisons on which one is the best between the two. In some other scenarios, the differences between the legacy and next-gen SIEMs often seem confusing.
Nevertheless, the features and the mode of operation in these two classifications of SIEMs are what differentiates them. Thus, in this article, we will look comprehensively into the legacy and next-gen SIEMs and the major differences between them.
Comprehensive Overview of SIEM Security Tool
Security information and event management (SIEM) is a security solution that is very popular in many organizations due to how effective and efficient it is in detecting and responding to security issues. One of the major things that differentiates a SIEM solution from other types of cybersecurity technologies is that it mainly specializes in the collection of data from different parts of the organization’s IT infrastructure. It uses data logs from different sources to determine if the activity happening there is normal or not. There are often two classifications of SIEM: legacy and next-generation SIEM solutions, and they are usually differentiated by how they function.
Legacy SIEM Solutions
Legacy SIEM solutions are often an older generation of security information and event management systems, and they often have lesser capabilities than the next-generation SIEMs. One can most likely differentiate this type of SIEM from next-gen SIEMs with their mode of operation. Legacy SIEMs, also known as traditional SIEM solutions, are mainly used for the collection and indexing of data outputs from different networks and devices within an organization’s IT infrastructure.
For instance, on a particular day, this type of SIEM solution can show different types of data logs collected and the devices, networks, or applications it is coming from. In some cases, these legacy SIEMs often provide insight into what is happening from the data they have collected. However, one of the major characteristics of legacy SIEMs is that most of the work, ranging from analysis and response to cyber threats, is done by the security operations center. The same can’t be said of next-generation SIEM solutions like Stellar Cyber; automation is the key here.
Next-gen SIEM Solutions
Next-gen SIEM tools are the new version of SIEM systems, and they often contain features and capabilities that can’t be found in the legacy versions. One of the major things that differentiates this type of SIEM solutions from the traditional ones is that they often contain AI and machine learning functionalities. The prominent benefit of having this is that the security operations center doesn’t have to do all the work in the analysis, detection, and response to cyber threats.
Another stand-out feature is that next-generation SIEMs can handle large volumes of data and provide comprehensive analysis much quicker. Moreover, there’s the Extended Detection and Response, which enables these solutions to actively monitor large variations of networks, cloud workloads, web servers, and endpoints.
Major Differences Between Legacy SIEM and Next-Gen SIEM Solutions
Below, we will be exploring some of the key differences that determine if a SIEM solution is a legacy or next-gen version.
Methods of Threat Detection
One of the key differences between legacy and next-gen SIEM solutions is their mode of detecting the activities of cybercriminals. The threat detection methods of legacy SIEMs are often not proactive, outdated, and inefficient enough to handle large volumes of data. On the other hand, next-generation SIEMs are often equipped with different technologies, which makes threat detection easier for the security operations center.
Technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning play a key role in helping next-gen SIEMs detect threats without creating false positives. Moreover, having AI and ML integrations means that this type of SIEM solution can easily handle large volumes of data and adapt to any working environment.
Response to Threats
One of the key differences between legacy and next-gen SIEMs is how they respond to threats. Traditional SIEMs offer little or no help in cyber threat response, and they often rely on an organization’s security team for an effective response. Hence, it is not proactive with its threat response and is mainly mechanical.
But the same can’t be said of the next-gen SIEMs, as they often come with a customized incident response plan tailored according to the needs of an organization. In fact, it usually contains other functionalities that help in threat response, such as Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR).
Method of Security Alert
When a SIEM solution detects a cyber threat or vulnerability, one of the first steps is that it immediately alerts the security operations center. However, how the SIEM provides these alerts can determine if it is a legacy or next-gen. Apparently, legacy SIEMs are often characterized by sending uncategorized alerts, which often leads to many false positives.
But that’s not the only thing, as it can also create alert fatigue, making the security team miss out on important security issues. With their AI-powered event correlation engine, next-gen SIEMs often filter alerts and rank them depending on their importance. This way, an organization’s security operations center can attend to security issues based on their level of importance.
Reporting and Compliance
Reporting and compliance are another major difference, and legacy SIEMs are not often the best for any organization looking to adhere to compliance rules. Legacy SIEMs are mostly known to come with pre-created dashboards and reports, and this does not make them suitable for all organizations. Having pre-created dashboards and reports is also bad for any organization that wants to avoid breaking regulatory rules.
The next generation of SIEMs easily solves these issues as they come with dashboards and reports that can easily be created, modified, and edited. By monitoring and protecting their customers’ data due to factual information that comes from their dashboards, they can easily abide by compliance rules. Apparently, compliance standards such as GDPR, SOC, PCI DSS, and CMMC can easily be met by using next-gen SIEMs.
Wrapping Up
Above, we discussed how SIEMs work and the two major classifications, which are the legacy and next-gen SIEMs. The legacy SIEMs, also known as traditional SIEMs, have fewer features and functionalities than the next-gen. The way they detect and respond to threats is outdated, and the security operations center often does most of its function. On the other hand, the next generation of SIEMs is more refined and often has more advanced security and technological integrations. Some of the major differences between them are compliance and reporting, threat detection and response, and their method of security alerts.
