Security Logging and Monitoring Failures

Overview

When logging and monitoring capabilities fail, it becomes difficult for a company to detect and respond to application breaches effectively. This can severely compromise the security accountability and visibility into events. In order to mitigate these failures, it is recommended to use open source or proprietary tools to correlate logs, implement monitoring and alerting systems, and create an incident recovery and response strategy using established guidelines like NIST 800-61r2.

Description

Logging and monitoring play a crucial role in providing security accountability, visibility into events, incident alerting, and forensics. They help organizations keep track of system activities, detect anomalies, and respond promptly to potential security breaches. However, when these capabilities fail, it becomes challenging to ensure the security of the company's applications and sensitive data. Without effective logging and monitoring, companies may not even realize that a breach has occurred until it's too late. It's essential to address these failures and implement robust solutions to avoid such risks.

How to Prevent ?

To prevent security logging and monitoring failures, organizations should consider the following measures: 1. Implement robust logging mechanisms: Ensure that comprehensive logs are generated for all critical systems, applications, and network activities. This includes logging user actions, system events, and access attempts. 2. Use correlation tools: Utilize open source or proprietary tools that can help correlate logs from multiple sources and identify patterns or anomalies. 3. Set up monitoring and alerting systems: Implement real-time monitoring and alerting systems to promptly identify and respond to security incidents. This includes setting up thresholds and triggers to notify the appropriate personnel in case of abnormal activity. 4. Follow established guidelines: Adhere to industry best practices and guidelines, such as NIST 800-61r2, to develop an incident recovery and response strategy. These guidelines provide comprehensive frameworks for handling security incidents effectively. 5. Regularly review and update logging policies: Periodically review and update logging policies to ensure they align with the evolving threat landscape and organizational requirements. By following these preventive measures, organizations can significantly enhance their ability to detect and respond to security breaches, mitigating the impact and potential risks.

Example Attack Scenarios:

• Phishing Attack:  In a phishing attack scenario, an attacker sends a legitimate-looking email to an employee, tricking them into revealing sensitive login credentials. If logging and monitoring capabilities are not properly implemented, the organization may not be able to detect such phishing attempts. As a result, the attacker can gain unauthorized access to the company's systems and potentially extract valuable data or propagate further attacks.

• Malware Infection:  A malware infection can occur when an employee unknowingly downloads a malicious file or visits an infected website. If logging and monitoring mechanisms are not in place, the organization may not detect the malware presence in its systems. The malware can then spread across the network, compromising sensitive data and disrupting operations.