Logs and data collection are critical components of a Security Operations Center (SOC)'s ability to detect, investigate, and respond to security incidents. This data allows your team to compile a full, complete picture of your organization’s infrastructure and enables them to make the most well-informed security decisions.
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Here are 10 examples of the most common types of logs and data that an organization might send to a SOC:
- Network logs: These include logs from routers, switches, firewalls, and other network devices. These logs can provide valuable information about network activity and can be used to identify security threats, such as malicious traffic or unauthorized access.
- Host logs: These include logs from servers, workstations, and other devices on the network. Host logs can provide information about system activity, such as user logins, file access, and system updates.
- Application logs: These include logs from applications running on the network, such as web servers, database servers, and email servers. Application logs can provide information about specific transactions, errors, and other events that occur within the application.
- Security logs: These include logs from security devices and systems, such as intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS), firewalls, and antivirus software. Security logs can provide information about attempted and successful security breaches, as well as other security-related events.
- System performance data: This includes data about the performance of various systems and devices on the network, such as CPU and memory usage, network traffic, and disk space utilization. This data can help the SOC monitor the health and performance of the network and identify potential issues.
- Threat intelligence data: This includes data from external sources, such as threat intelligence feeds and reports, that can provide the SOC with information about emerging threats and trends.
- Web logs: These include logs from web servers and web application firewalls (WAFs) that provide information about web traffic, including requests and responses, client IP addresses, and user agents.
- Database logs: These include logs from database servers that provide information about database activity, such as queries, transactions, and errors.
- Email logs: These include logs from email servers and email security appliances that provide information about email activity, such as incoming and outgoing messages, spam and malware detections, and user logins.
- Endpoint logs: These include logs from endpoint devices, such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones, that provide information about device activity, such as user logins, file access, and system updates.
The types of logs or data that your SOC team collects will most likely coincide with your organization’s broader security goals – are you looking to improve your security posture more holistically, or are you aiming to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements? The more clearly defined your goals are, the more likely it is that your team will be able to collect the information you will find most valuable. Connect with the SOC experts at MindPoint Group to learn more.
