SANS Top 6 Log Reports Reborn!

This story goes back years - many, many years. It starts with “SANS Top 5 Log Reports” [PDF] in 2006, and then continues with me volunteering to update it in 2009. I did a lot of work on it in 2009-2010, but never got it to a stage where I was 100% happy with it.  Then in 2011, I joined Gartner and therefore was unable to finish it. Only in 2012 I found a new author who polished it before handing it to SANS for publication.

The document has now been published as “The 6 Categories of Critical Log Information” (with a subtitle of “Top 6 SANS Essential Categories of Log Reports 2013”, v 3.01)

At its center are these top log report categories:

1. Authentication and Authorization Reports
2. Systems and Data Change Reports
3. Network Activity Reports
4. Resource Access Reports
5. Malware Activity Reports
6. Failure and Critical Error Reports

The document can be used to figure out what to log, what to report on and what reports to review for various purposes.

So, enjoy! A lot of work of many smart people went into this. Thanks A LOT to those who contributed to it over the years. Special thanks go to Marcus Ranum, the original logging guru, and the enlightened members of the SANS GIAC Alumni mailing list.

P.S. Those of you who have read our Log Management book have seen an earlier and somewhat more wordy version of it. This one is better!

Related posts and the entire history of this effort:

• Legacy SANS Top 5 Log Reports [PDF] (2006)
• SANS Top 5 Essential Log Reports Update! (2010)
• Updated With Community Feedback SANS Top 7 Essential Log Reports DRAFT2 (2010)

Monthly Blog Round-Up – November 2013

Here is my next monthly "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 5 popular posts/topics this month:

1. “Why No Open Source SIEM, EVER?” contains some of my SIEM thinking from 2009. Is it relevant now? Well, you be the judge.
2. “Simple Log Review Checklist Released!” is often at the top of this list – the checklist is still a very useful tool for many people. “On Free Log Management Tools” is a companion to the checklist (updated version)
3. My classic PCI DSS Log Review series is popular as well. The series of 18 posts cover a comprehensive log review approach, useful for building log review processes and procedures, whether regulatory or not. It is also described in more detail in our Log Management book.
4. “Top 10 Criteria for a SIEM?” came from one of my last projects I did when running my SIEM consulting firm in 2009-2011.
5. “New SIEM Whitepaper on Use Cases In-Depth OUT!” (dated 2010) presents a whitepaper on select SIEM use cases in depth (the paper link is now RESTORED!)

In addition, I’d like to draw your attention to a few recent posts from my Gartner blog:

Current research on using big data approaches for security:

• Big Data Analytics Mindset – What Is It?
• Big Data for Security Realities – Case 3: Elastic Search or Similar
• Big Data for Security Realities – Case 2 Variety Explosion
• Big Data for Security Realities - Case 1 Too Much Volume To Store aka “Big Data Collection”
• More On Big Data Security Analytics Readiness
• Broadening Big Data Definition Leads to Security Idiotics!
• Next Research Project: From Big Data Analytics to … Patching
• 9 Reasons Why Building A Big Data Security Analytics Tool Is Like Building a Flying Car
• “Big Analytics” for Security: A Harbinger or An Outlier?
• All posts tagged big data

 

Current research on security patch management:

• Cannot Patch? Compensate, Mitigate, Terminate!
• What is Your Minimum Time To Patch or “Patch Sound Barrier”

• Patch Management – NOT A Solved Problem!
• Next Research Project: From Big Data Analytics to … Patching
• On Nebulous Security Policies
• All posts related to patching

 

(see my published Gartner research here)

Also see my past monthly and annual “Top Popular Blog Posts” – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.

Disclaimer: all content at SecurityWarrior blog was written before I joined Gartner on Aug 1, 2011 and is solely my personal view at the time of writing. For my current security blogging, go here.

Previous post in this endless series:

• Monthly Blog Round-Up – October 2013
• All posts tagged monthly

Monthly Blog Round-Up – October 2013

Here is my next monthly "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 5 popular posts/topics this month:

1. “Why No Open Source SIEM, EVER?” contains some of my SIEM thinking from 2009. Is it relevant now? Well, you be the judge.
2. “Simple Log Review Checklist Released!” is often at the top of this list – the checklist is still a very useful tool for many people. “On Free Log Management Tools” is a companion to the checklist (updated version)
3. My classic PCI DSS Log Review series is popular as well. The series of 18 posts cover a comprehensive log review approach, useful for building log review processes and procedures, whether regulatory or not.
4. “New SIEM Whitepaper on Use Cases In-Depth OUT!” (dated 2010) presents a whitepaper on select SIEM use cases in depth (the paper link is now RESTORED!)
5. “Top 10 Criteria for a SIEM?” came from one of my last projects I did when running my SIEM consulting firm in 2009-2011.

In addition, I’d like to draw your attention to a few recent posts from my Gartner blog:

Current research on using big data approaches for security:

• Big Data for Security Realities – Case 2 Variety Explosion
• Big Data for Security Realities - Case 1 Too Much Volume To Store aka “Big Data Collection”
• More On Big Data Security Analytics Readiness
• Broadening Big Data Definition Leads to Security Idiotics!
• Next Research Project: From Big Data Analytics to … Patching
• 9 Reasons Why Building A Big Data Security Analytics Tool Is Like Building a Flying Car
• “Big Analytics” for Security: A Harbinger or An Outlier?
• All posts tagged big data

 

Current research on security patch management:

• Cannot Patch? Compensate, Mitigate, Terminate!
• What is Your Minimum Time To Patch or “Patch Sound Barrier”

• Patch Management – NOT A Solved Problem!
• Next Research Project: From Big Data Analytics to … Patching
• On Nebulous Security Policies
• All posts related to patching

 

(see my published Gartner research here)

Also see my past monthly and annual “Top Popular Blog Posts” – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.

Disclaimer: all content at SecurityWarrior blog was written before I joined Gartner on Aug 1, 2011 and is solely my personal view at the time of writing. For my current security blogging, go here.

Previous post in this endless series:

• Monthly Blog Round-Up – September 2013
• All posts tagged monthly

Monthly Blog Round-Up – September 2013

Here is my next monthly "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 5 popular posts/topics this month:

1. “Why No Open Source SIEM, EVER?” contains some of my SIEM thinking from 2009. Is it relevant now? Well, you be the judge.
2. “Simple Log Review Checklist Released!” is often at the top of this list – the checklist is still a very useful tool for many people. “On Free Log Management Tools” is a companion to the checklist (updated version)
3. “Top 10 Criteria for a SIEM?” came from one of my last projects I did when running my SIEM consulting firm in 2009-2011.
4. My classic PCI DSS Log Review series is popular as well. The series cover a comprehensive log review approach, useful for building log review processes and procedures, whether regulatory or not.
5. “New SIEM Whitepaper on Use Cases In-Depth OUT!” (dated 2010) presents a whitepaper on select SIEM use cases in depth (the paper link is now RESTORED!)

In addition, I’d like to draw your attention to a few recent posts from my Gartner blog:

Current research on using big data approaches for security:

• More On Big Data Security Analytics Readiness
• Broadening Big Data Definition Leads to Security Idiotics!
• Next Research Project: From Big Data Analytics to … Patching
• 9 Reasons Why Building A Big Data Security Analytics Tool Is Like Building a Flying Car
• “Big Analytics” for Security: A Harbinger or An Outlier?

 

Past research on incident response:

• My Incident Response Paper Publishes
• On Three IR Gaps
• Fusion of Incident Response and Security Monitoring?
• Survey: How Many Security Incidents Have You Had Over the Last 12 Months?
• Security Incidents vs “IT Problems”
• Top-shelf Incident Response vs Barely There Incident Response
• On SANS Forensics Survey
• Incident Plan vs Incident Planning?
• On Importance of Incident Response
• Is That An Incident In Your Pocket – Or Are You Just Happy to See Me?
• Time-tested Incident Response Wisdom?
• Incident Response: The Death of a Straight Line
• Alert-driven vs Exploration-driven Security Analysis
• My Next Research Area: Incident Response

Past research on endpoint detection and investigation tools (ETDR):

• My Paper on Endpoint Tools Publishes
• Endpoint Threat Detection & Response Deployment Architecture
• Essential Processes Around Endpoint Threat Detection & Response Tools
• Named: Endpoint Threat Detection & Response
• Endpoint Threat Indication & Response?
• Endpoint Visibility Tool Use Cases
• On Endpoint Sensing
• RSA 2013 and Endpoint Agent Re-Emergence
• A Quiet Assumption

(see my published Gartner research here)

Also see my past monthly and annual “Top Popular Blog Posts” – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.

Disclaimer: all content at SecurityWarrior blog was written before I joined Gartner on Aug 1, 2011 and is solely my personal view at the time of writing. For my current security blogging, go here.

Previous post in this endless series:

• Monthly Blog Round-Up – August 2013
• All posts tagged monthly.

Monthly Blog Round-Up – August 2013

Here is my next monthly "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 5 popular posts/topics this month:

1. “Why No Open Source SIEM, EVER?” contains some of my SIEM thinking from 2009. Is it relevant now? Well, you be the judge.
2. “Simple Log Review Checklist Released!” is often at the top of this list – the checklist is still a very useful tool for many people. “On Free Log Management Tools” is a companion to the checklist (updated version)
3. “Top 10 Criteria for a SIEM?” came from one of my last projects I did when running my SIEM consulting firm in 2009-2011.
4. “On Choosing SIEM” is another old classic (from 2010) that often shows up on my top list; it covers some tips on choosing SIEM tools.
5. Finally, my classic PCI DSS Log Review series is popular as well. They outlined log review approach, useful for building log review processes and procedures, whether regulatory or not.

In addition, I’d like to draw your attention to a few recent posts from my Gartner blog:

 

Current research on incident response:

• On Three IR Gaps
• Fusion of Incident Response and Security Monitoring?
• Survey: How Many Security Incidents Have You Had Over the Last 12 Months?
• Security Incidents vs “IT Problems”
• Top-shelf Incident Response vs Barely There Incident Response
• On SANS Forensics Survey
• Incident Plan vs Incident Planning?
• On Importance of Incident Response
• Is That An Incident In Your Pocket – Or Are You Just Happy to See Me?
• Time-tested Incident Response Wisdom?
• Incident Response: The Death of a Straight Line
• My Next Research Area: Incident Response

Current research on endpoint detection and investigation tools (ETDR):

• Endpoint Threat Detection & Response Deployment Architecture
• Essential Processes Around Endpoint Threat Detection & Response Tools
• Named: Endpoint Threat Detection & Response
• Endpoint Threat Indication & Response?
• Endpoint Visibility Tool Use Cases
• On Endpoint Sensing
• RSA 2013 and Endpoint Agent Re-Emergence
• A Quiet Assumption

Miscellaneous fun posts:

• 9 Reasons Why Building A Big Data Security Analytics Tool Is Like Building a Flying Car
• Bye-bye, Compliance Thinking. Welcome, Military Thinking!
• DLP Webinar Questions – Answered!

(see my published Gartner research here)

Also see my past monthly and annual “Top Popular Blog Posts” – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.

Disclaimer: all content at SecurityWarrior blog was written before I joined Gartner on Aug 1, 2011 and is solely my personal view at the time of writing. For my current security blogging, go here.

Previous post in this endless series:

• Monthly Blog Round-Up – July 2013
• All posts tagged monthly.

 

Monthly Blog Round-Up – July 2013

Here is my next monthly "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 5 popular posts/topics this month:

1. “Why No Open Source SIEM, EVER?” contains some of my SIEM thinking from 2009. Is it relevant now? Well, you be the judge.
2. “Simple Log Review Checklist Released!” is often at the top of this list – the checklist is still a very useful tool for many people. “On Free Log Management Tools” is a companion to the checklist (updated version)
3. “Top 10 Criteria for a SIEM?” came from one of my last projects I did when running my SIEM consulting firm in 2009-2011.
4. “On Choosing SIEM” is another old classic (from 2010) that often shows up on my top list; it covers some tips on choosing SIEM tools.
5. “SIEM Bloggables” has one possible view on higher-level SIEM use cases and basic functionality, and a quick discussion of SIEM user types (circa 2009)
6. Finally, my classic PCI DSS Log Review series is popular as well. They outlined log review approach, useful for building log review processes and procedures, whether regulatory or not.

In addition, I’d like to draw your attention to a few recent posts from my Gartner blog:

Current research on incident response:

• Incident Plan vs Incident Planning?
• On Importance of Incident Response
• Is That An Incident In Your Pocket – Or Are You Just Happy to See Me?
• Time-tested Incident Response Wisdom?
• Incident Response: The Death of a Straight Line
• Alert-driven vs Exploration-driven Security Analysis
• My Next Research Area: Incident Response

Current research on endpoint detection and investigation tools (ETDR):

• Endpoint Threat Indication & Response?
• Endpoint Visibility Tool Use Cases
• On Endpoint Sensing
• RSA 2013 and Endpoint Agent Re-Emergence
• A Quiet Assumption

Miscellaneous fun posts:

• 9 Reasons Why Building A Big Data Security Analytics Tool Is Like Building a Flying Car
• Bye-bye, Compliance Thinking. Welcome, Military Thinking!

(see my published Gartner research here)

Also see my past monthly and annual “Top Popular Blog Posts” – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.

Disclaimer: all content at SecurityWarrior blog was written before I joined Gartner on Aug 1, 2011 and is solely my personal view at the time of writing. For my current security blogging, go here.

P.S. Please send congrats with my 2nd anniversary @ Gartner!

Previous post in this endless series:

• Monthly Blog Round-Up – June 2013
• All posts tagged monthly.

Named: Endpoint Threat Detection & Response [BACKUP FROM DEAD GARTNER BLOG]

NOTICE: after Gartner killed ALL blogs in late 2023, I am trying to salvage (via archive.org) some of the most critical blogs I've written while working there, and repost them with backdates here, for posterity. This one reminds the world that I invented the term EDR :-)

After a long agonizing process that involved plenty of conversations with vendors, enterprises and other analysts, I have settled on this generic name for the tools primarily focused on detecting and investigating suspicious activities (and traces of such) other problems on hosts/endpoints: Endpoint Threat Detection & Response.

So, to summarize:

• Category name: Endpoint Threat Detection & Response
• Capabilities: see On Endpoint Sensing
• Use cases: see Endpoint Visibility Tool Use Cases
• Examples: Mandiant (MIR and MSO tools), CarbonBlack, Guidance Software (EnCase Cybersecurity [yes, that really is the name of the tool] and EnCase Analytics tools), RSA ECAT, CounterTack, CrowdStrike, etc.

The tools do have somewhat differing capabilities (such as the extent of data analysis performed on the agent vs the backend, collection timing and scope, integration of OOB indicators/intelligence, etc), but IMHO belong under the same general label.

By the way, a few other related tools may have broader functions and thus may justify a broader name – in their case the name “Endpoint Threat Detection & Response” can be applied to relevant tool capabilities and not to the entire toolset. Examples include Tanium, Bit9, HBGary, etc.

This name reflects the endpoint (as opposed to the network), threats (as opposed to just malware and officially declared incidents) and tools’ primary usage for both detection and incident response. While some may argue that “endpoint” label may be seen as applicable to workstations and not to servers, this minor loss of precision seems acceptable for the sake of brevity (others will say that four words is already too long).

These tools usually do not focus on full disk image acquisition and analysis (traditional computer forensics), but some can acquire such data as well as perform other forensic functions. On the other hand, the “next gen” endpoint prevention/blocking/isolation-focused tools should get their own category – but they are not my problem at this point 

There you have it! Thanks to everybody who participated in this discussion.

UPDATE (2015): these tools are now known as “EDR”; more research Gartner research refers to them as EDR tools. In essence, ETDR (2013) = EDR (2015).

Posts related to the same project:

• Endpoint Threat Indication & Response?
• Endpoint Visibility Tool Use Cases
• On Endpoint Sensing
• RSA 2013 and Endpoint Agent Re-Emergence
• A Quiet Assumption
• All posts tagged security incident response
• All posts tagged endpoint

Monthly Blog Round-Up – June 2013

Here is my next monthly "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 5 popular posts/topics this month:

1. “Why No Open Source SIEM, EVER?” contains some of my thinking from 2009. Is it relevant now? Well, you be the judge.
2. “Simple Log Review Checklist Released!” is often at the top of this list – the checklist is still a very useful tool for many people. “On Free Log Management Tools” is a companion to the checklist (updated version)
3. “Top 10 Criteria for a SIEM?” came from one of my last projects I did when running my SIEM consulting firm in 2009-2011.
4. “On Choosing SIEM” is another old classic (from 2010) that often shows up on my top list; it covers some tips on choosing SIEM tools.
5. My classic PCI DSS Log Review series is popular as well. The outlined log review approach is useful for building other types of log review processes and procedures, whether regulatory or not.

In addition, I’d like to draw your attention to a few recent posts from my Gartner blog:

Current research on incident response:

• Time-tested Incident Response Wisdom?
• Incident Response: The Death of a Straight Line
• Alert-driven vs. Exploration-driven Security Analysis
• My Next Research Area: Incident Response

Past network forensics research:

• Our Network Forensics Paper Publishes
• On Futility of Dead Packet Storage
• Processes for Network Forensics
• Use Cases for Network Forensics Tools
• Network Forensics Defined?

Past security data sharing research:

• Our Security Data Sharing Paper Publishes
• From IPs to TTPs
• Consumption of Shared Security Data
• On Trust in Security Data Sharing
• On Security Data Sharing Research
• On Security Data Sharing

Miscellaneous fun posts:

• 9 Reasons Why Building A Big Data Security Analytics Tool Is Like Building a Flying Car
• Bye-bye, Compliance Thinking. Welcome, Military Thinking!

(see my published Gartner research here)

Also see my past monthly and annual “Top Popular Blog Posts” – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.

Disclaimer: all content at SecurityWarrior blog was written before I joined Gartner on Aug 1, 2011 and is solely my personal view at the time of writing. For my current security blogging, go here.

Previous post in this endless series:

• Monthly Blog Round-Up – May 2013
• All posts tagged monthly.

Monthly Blog Round-Up – May 2013

Here is my next monthly "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 5 popular posts/topics this month:

1. “Simple Log Review Checklist Released!” is often at the top of this list – the checklist is still a very useful tool for many people. “On Free Log Management Tools” is a companion to the checklist (updated version)
2. “On Choosing SIEM” is another old classic (from 2010) that often shows up on my top list; it covers some tips on choosing SIEM tools.
3. “Top 10 Criteria for a SIEM?” came from one of my last projects I did when running my SIEM consulting firm in 2009-2011.
4. “Why No Open Source SIEM, EVER?” contains some of my thinking from 2009. Is it relevant now? Well, you be the judge.
5. My classic PCI DSS Log Review series is popular as well. The outlined log review approach is useful for building other types of log review processes and procedures, whether regulatory or not.

In addition, I’d like to draw your attention to a few recent posts from my Gartner blog:

Current research:

• My Next Research Area: Incident Response

Past network forensics research:

• Alert-driven vs Exploration-driven Security Analysis
• On Futility of Dead Packet Storage
• Processes for Network Forensics
• Use Cases for Network Forensics Tools
• Network Forensics Defined?

Past security data sharing research:

• From IPs to TTPs
• Consumption of Shared Security Data
• On Trust in Security Data Sharing
• On Security Data Sharing Research
• On Security Data Sharing
• More on DoS and Shared Security

Miscellaneous fun posts:

• Patch Management – NOT A Solved Problem!
• 9 Reasons Why Building A Big Data Security Analytics Tool Is Like Building a Flying Car
• Bye-bye, Compliance Thinking. Welcome, Military Thinking!

(see my published Gartner research here)

Also see my past monthly and annual “Top Popular Blog Posts” – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.

Disclaimer: all content at SecurityWarrior blog was written before I joined Gartner on Aug 1, 2011 and is solely my personal view at the time of writing. For my current security blogging, go here.

Previous post in this endless series:

• Monthly Blog Round-Up – April 2013
• All posts tagged monthly

Monthly Blog Round-Up – April 2013

Here is my next monthly "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 5 popular posts/topics this month:

1. “Simple Log Review Checklist Released!” is often at the top of this list – the checklist is still a very useful tool for many people. “On Free Log Management Tools” is a companion to the checklist (updated version)
2. “Top 10 Criteria for a SIEM?” came from one of my last projects I did when running my SIEM consulting firm in 2009-2011.
3. “On Choosing SIEM” is another old classic (from 2010) that often shows up on my top list; it covers some tips on choosing SIEM tools.
4. “SIEM Bloggables” covers a few high-level SIEM use cases and my view (at the time) of key SIEM functions.
5. My classic PCI DSS Log Review series is popular as well. The outlined log review approach is useful for building other types of log review processes and procedures, whether regulatory or not.

In addition, I’d like to draw your attention to a few recent posts from my Gartner blog:

Current network forensics research:

• On Futility of Dead Packet Storage
• Processes for Network Forensics
• Use Cases for Network Forensics Tools
• Network Forensics Defined?

Current security data sharing research:

• From IPs to TTPs
• Consumption of Shared Security Data
• On Trust in Security Data Sharing
• On Security Data Sharing Research
• On Security Data Sharing
• More on DoS and Shared Security

Miscellaneous fun posts:

• My Coverage Areas Reminder
• Bye-bye, Compliance Thinking. Welcome, Military Thinking!
• 9 Reasons Why Building A Big Data Security Analytics Tool Is Like Building a Flying Car
• On Being An Analyst or WHO Are We Hiring?
• Verizon DBIR 2013 Highlights and Favorites

(see my published Gartner research here)
Also see my past monthly and annual “Top Popular Blog Posts” – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.

Disclaimer: all content at SecurityWarrior blog was written before I joined Gartner on Aug 1, 2011 and is solely my personal view at the time of writing. For my current security blogging, go here.
Previous post in this endless series:

• Monthly Blog Round-Up – March 2013
• All posts tagged monthly

Monthly Blog Round-Up – March 2013

Here is my next monthly "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 5 popular posts/topics this month:

1. “Simple Log Review Checklist Released!” is often at the top of this list – the checklist is still a very useful tool for many people. “On Free Log Management Tools” is a companion to the checklist (updated version, and, yes, I know it really needs another update)
2. My classic PCI DSS Log Review series is popular as well. The outlined log review approach is useful for building other types of log review processes and procedures, whether regulatory or not.
3. “Top 10 Criteria for a SIEM?” came from one of my last projects I did when running my SIEM consulting firm in 2009-2011.
4. “On Choosing SIEM” is another old classic (from 2010) that often shows up on my top list; it covers some tips on choosing SIEM tools.
5. “SIEM Bloggables” covers a few high-level SIEM use cases and my view (at the time) of key SIEM functions.

In addition, I’d like to draw your attention to a few recent posts from my Gartner blog:

Current network forensics research:

• On Futility of Dead Packet Storage
• Processes for Network Forensics
• Use Cases for Network Forensics Tools
• Network Forensics Defined?

Current security data sharing research:

• Consumption of Shared Security Data
• On Trust in Security Data Sharing
• On Security Data Sharing Research
• On Security Data Sharing
• Our Log Standards Paper Publishes (mentions select data sharing standards)
• More on DoS and Shared Security

Miscellaneous fun posts:

• A Quiet Assumption
• Too Late to Fight “Cyber”

Also see my past monthly and annual “Top Popular Blog Posts” – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.

Disclaimer: all content at SecurityWarrior blog was written before I joined Gartner on Aug 1, 2011 and is solely my personal view at the time of writing. For my current security blogging, go here.

Previous post in this endless series:

• Monthly Blog Round-Up – February 2013
• All posts tagged monthly

Monthly Blog Round-Up – February 2013

Here is my next monthly "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 5 popular posts/topics this month:

1. “Simple Log Review Checklist Released!” is often at the top of this list – the checklist is still a very useful tool for many people. “On Free Log Management Tools” is a companion to the checklist (updated version, and, yes, I know it really needs another update)
2. My classic PCI DSS Log Review series is popular as well. The outlined log review approach is useful for building other types of log review processes and procedures, whether regulatory or not.
3. “Top 10 Criteria for a SIEM?” came from one of my last projects I did when running my SIEM consulting firm in 2009-2011.
4. “On Choosing SIEM” is another old classic (from 2010) that shows up on my top list; it covers some tips on  choosing SIEM tools.
5. “SIEM Bloggables” covers a few high-level SIEM use cases and my view (at the time) of key SIEM functions.

In addition, I’d like to draw your attention to a few recent posts from my Gartner blog:

Current network forensics research:

• Processes for Network Forensics
• Use Cases for Network Forensics Tools
• Network Forensics Defined?

Current security data sharing research:

• On Trust in Security Data Sharing
• On Security Data Sharing Research
• On Security Data Sharing
• Our Log Standards Paper Publishes (mentions select data sharing standards)
• More on DoS and Shared Security

Previous DLP research:

• DLP: Education and/or Automation?
• More On Internal Data Loss Incidents
• On “Internally Lost Data” and DLP Discovery
• On Risks of DLP
• DLP and Data Classification
• DLP: Discover First or Monitor First?
• On DLP and PCI DSS
• On DLP and IP Theft
• DLP and/or/for/vs Data Security
• On DLP Processes or “No DLP For Dummies”
• On DLP Research

Also see my past monthly and annual “Top Popular Blog Posts” – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.

Disclaimer: all content at SecurityWarrior blog was written before I joined Gartner on Aug 1, 2011 and is solely my personal view at the time of writing. For my current security blogging, go here.

Previous post in this endless series:

• Monthly Blog Round-Up – January 2013
• All posts tagged monthly

Monthly Blog Round-Up – January 2013

Here is my next monthly "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 5 popular posts/topics this month:

1. “Simple Log Review Checklist Released!” is often at the top of this list – the checklist is still a very useful tool for many people. “On Free Log Management Tools” is a companion to the checklist (updated version, and, yes, I know it really needs another update)
2. My classic PCI DSS Log Review series is popular as well. The outlined log review approach is useful for building other types of log review processes and procedures, whether regulatory or not.
3. “On Choosing SIEM” is another old classic (from 2010) that shows up on my top list; it covers some tips on  choosing SIEM tools.
4. “Top 10 Criteria for a SIEM?” came from one of my last projects I did when running my SIEM consulting firm in 2009-2011.
5. “SIEM Bloggables” covers a few high-level SIEM use cases and my view (at the time) of key SIEM functions.

In addition, I’d like to draw your attention to a few posts from my Gartner blog:
Current network forensics research:

• Network Forensics Defined?

Previous SIEM research:

• My SIEM Papers Are Out

Previous DLP research:

• DLP: Education and/or Automation?
• More On Internal Data Loss Incidents
• On “Internally Lost Data” and DLP Discovery
• On Risks of DLP
• DLP and Data Classification
• DLP: Discover First or Monitor First?
• On DLP and PCI DSS
• On DLP and IP Theft
• DLP and/or/for/vs Data Security
• On DLP Processes or “No DLP For Dummies”
• On DLP Research

Also see my past monthly and annual “Top Popular Blog Posts” – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.

Disclaimer: all content at SecurityWarrior blog was written before I joined Gartner on Aug 1, 2011 and is solely my personal view at the time of writing. For my current security blogging, go here.
Previous post in this endless series:

• Monthly Blog Round-Up – December 2012
• All posts tagged monthly

Annual Blog Round-Up – 2012

Here is my annual "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 10 popular posts/topics in 2012.

1. “Simple Log Review Checklist Released!” was again the most popular this year. The checklist, a list of critical things to look for while reviewing  system, network and security logs when responding to a security incident
2. PCI DSS Log Review series of posts take the #2 spot; they are about planning and executing PCI DSS-driven log review at an organization
3. “On Choosing SIEM” is about the least wrong way of choosing a SIEM tool – as well as why the right way is so unpopular.
4. “On Free Log Management Tools” is another perma-popular post, presenting a companion resource to the log checklist above
5. “Top 10 Criteria for a SIEM?” is an EXAMPLE criteria list for choosing a SIEM.
6. “Log Management at $0 and 1hr/week?” is pretty much what it is. How to do log management under extreme budget AND time constraints?
7. “Updated With Community Feedback SANS Top 7 Essential Log Reports” and an older “SANS Top 5 Essential Log Reports Update!”
8. “SIEM Bloggables” has one possible view on higher-level SIEM use cases and basic functionality, and a quick discussion of SIEM user types.
9. “How Do I Get The Best SIEM?” is a discussion (circa 2010) about approaches to choosing SIEM tools and matching functionality to requirements.
10. 2009 post called “Log Management + SIEM = ?” gives some quick architecture advice on combining SIEM and log management

Disclaimer: all this content was written before I joined Gartner on Aug 1, 2011 and is solely my personal view at the time of writing. For my current security blogging, go here.
Also see my past monthly and annual “Top Posts” – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.

Monthly Blog Round-Up – December 2012

Here is my next monthly "Security Warrior" blog round-up of top 5 popular posts/topics this month:

1. “Simple Log Review Checklist Released!” is often at the top of this list – the checklist is still a very useful tool for many people. “On Free Log Management Tools” is a companion to the checklist (updated version, and, yes, I know it really needs another update)
2. “Top 10 Criteria for a SIEM?” came from one of my last projects I did when running my SIEM consulting firm in 2009-2011.
3. “On Choosing SIEM” is another old classic (from 2010) that shows up on my top list; it covers some tips on  choosing SIEM tools.
4. My classic PCI DSS Log Review series is popular as well. The approach is useful for building other types of log review processes and procedures, whether regulatory or not.
5. “SIEM Bloggables” covers a few high-level SIEM use cases and my view (at the time) of key SIEM functions.

In addition, I’d like to draw your attention to a few posts from my Gartner blog:
Current DLP research:

• On “Internally Lost Data” and DLP Discovery
• On Risks of DLP
• DLP and Data Classification
• DLP: Discover First or Monitor First?
• On DLP and PCI DSS
• On DLP and IP Theft
• DLP and/or/for/vs Data Security
• On DLP Processes or “No DLP For Dummies”
• On DLP Research

Also see my past monthly and annual “Top Posts” – 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.

Disclaimer: all content at SecurityWarrior blog was written before I joined Gartner on Aug 1, 2011 and is solely my personal view at the time of writing. For my current security blogging, go here.
Previous post in this endless series:

• Monthly Blog Round-Up – November 2012
• All posts tagged monthly