NSA Releases Best Practices for Event Logging & Threat Detection – 2024>
Cyber Security News – Balaji N
The National Security Agency (NSA), in collaboration with international partners like the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD ACSC), has released a Cybersecurity Information Sheet (CSI) outlining best practices for event logging and threat detection across various environments, including cloud services, enterprise networks, mobile devices, and operational technology (OT) networks
The guidance aims to support IT and cyber employees in defending against threat actors who employ living off-the-land (LOTL) techniques, while also providing recommendations for improving an organization’s resilience in the current cyber threat landscape
The four key factors to consider when pursuing best practices for logging are:
1) Enterprise-approved event logging policy: Developing and implementing a consistent logging policy across all environments is crucial for detecting malicious behavior
The policy should focus on capturing high-quality cybersecurity events, including essential details like timestamps, event types, and user IDs
It should also consider OT device limitations and ensure content and timestamp consistency.
2) Centralized event log access and correlation: Centralized log collection and correlation help prioritize log sources based on the likelihood of an attacker targeting the logged asset and the potential consequences of asset compromise
Organizations should set up centralized event logging facilities, such as secured data lakes, and forward selected logs to analytic tools like SIEM and XDR solutions.
3) Secure storage and event log integrity: Logs should be protected during transit and storage using secure methods like TLS 1.3 and cryptography
Access to sensitive logs should be restricted, and unauthorized modification or deletion should be prevented
SIEM systems should be hardened and isolated from general IT environments.
4) Detection strategy for relevant threats: To detect LOTL techniques, organizations should implement user and entity behavioral analytics (UEBA) and leverage SIEM systems to identify anomalies by comparing event logs against established baselines
Behavioral analytics, case studies like Volt Typhoon, and proactive threat hunting can help detect and mitigate LOTL techniques
NSA Cybersecurity Director Dave Luber emphasized the importance of implementing and maintaining an effective event logging solution to improve the security and resilience of systems by enabling network visibility and quicker incident response.
Link: https://cybersecuritynews.com/best-practices-for-event-logging-threat-detection/