As the global landscape becomes increasingly more technology-driven, the cyber threats confronting businesses continue to escalate. Recent reports indicate that in the past 12 months, 70% of UK businesses have suffered a cyber security breach1, confirming that it is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ an organisation be breached.
Therefore, organisations must implement effective cybersecurity tools and processes to protect themselves from imminent threats. In this blog, we explore the vital role that Sentinel Solution plays in securing your organisation, whilst ultimately, answering the question, ‘What is Microsoft Sentinel?’.
Introducing Microsoft Sentinel
Microsoft Sentinel is Microsoft’s comprehensive solution for both cloud-native security information and event management (SIEM) and security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR).
Microsoft Sentinel utilises machine AI to enhance your investigation and threat detection, reducing the volume of alerts and shortening resolution time frames. The solution consumes threat intelligence based on a wide catalogue of connectors, including key Microsoft threat intelligence sources as well as several 3rd party connectors, allowing you to bring in your own threat intelligence.
Due to the solution’s ability to integrate with a wide range of systems – the automated response to cyber threats means IT teams can respond efficiently and effectively.
What Can Microsoft Sentinel Do?
Microsoft Sentinel is a cloud-native SIEM and SOAR solution, that performs advanced AI-driven security analytics for increased visibility. By performing this, Sentinel integrates security data from multiple sources, both in and outside of Microsoft, which reduces overall infrastructure complexity.
By leveraging AI and machine learning, Microsoft Sentinel analyses over 6.5 trillion signals daily. This delivers advanced threat intelligence through a variety of data connectors, such as Microsoft sources and third-party technologies like Cisco and AWS.
Enhanced Data Collection
Microsoft Sentinel has the ability to successfully collect data across all users, devices, applications, and infrastructure, both on premise and in multiple clouds. This increased capability means that you can have full visibility over your entire IT estate, whether it be in a hybrid setting or on-premises.
Detection
Sentinel can detect previously undetected threats and reduce the alerts of false positives by using Microsoft’s analytics and exceptional threat intelligence. In order to protect critical data and assets, the detection process will help mitigate all the risks associated with online security.
Investigation
The Microsoft Sentinel solution investigates threats by using artificial intelligence and hunts for abnormal activities at scale. By learning the context and how an attack unfolded, the investigation provides timelines and visualisations that make it easier to understand an attacker’s motive and scope.
Response
You’ll be able to respond to cyber attacks quickly as Microsoft Sentinel’s built- in response processes allow automatic response to occur when a specific alert or incident triggers an automation rule. This automation reduces response times and neutralises threats before they grow larger.
Deploying Microsoft Sentinel
What you need:
- An active Azure subscription
- Log Analytics workspace
Once these are complete, you can access Sentinel within the Azure portal to deploy. Following its activation, you must then determine which data sources you require to be added.
Microsoft has several out-of-the-box data connectors including, Office 365, Azure AD, Microsoft 365 Defender and Defender for Cloud Apps. Additionally, Sentinel provides over 100 out-of-the-box data connectors for non-Microsoft solutions, including AWS, Barracuda, Cisco, and Symantec. The solution also provides support for generic connectors which allows you to send data via Windows Firewall, Syslog, REST API, or common event format (CEF), enabling you to communicate information from any data source. The solution is completely customisable to your environment.
After the data connectors have been authorised, Microsoft Sentinel will start analysing your environment and reporting on potential threats using built-in alert rules. However, to access the full potential of Microsoft Sentinel’s capabilities, you must utilise the solution’s ability to write custom alert rules and automated playbooks to aid in efficiently detecting and responding to threats.
What are Playbooks?
A playbook is a library of remediation actions that you can run from within Microsoft Sentinel, to help automate and orchestrate your threat response.
What are Workbooks?
Workbooks provide a flexible canvas for data analysis and create informative reports within Microsoft Sentinel to allow you to gain insights fast across all your data.
What are Watch Lists?
Watchlists enable you to correlate data from the data sources you provide with the events in your Microsoft Sentinel Environment.
Microsoft Sentinel’s Solution for Future Protection
In the Ignite event in 2023, Microsoft announced the integration of Sentinel, Defender XDR (formerly Microsoft 365 Defender), and Copilot for Security, combining their strengths into an AI-powered SOC suite.
Bringing all these tools together will create a fully-fledged SOC suite, providing complete visibility for investigation and response across the entire estate. Such as:
- Email and collaboration tools
- Cloud apps
- Data
- Endpoints
- Hybrid Identities
By integrating Microsoft Copilot for Security, generative AI enhances analysis and processes, such as translating natural language into KQL. SOCs require visibility to handle threats, and advanced technology is crucial for addressing constantly evolving cyber risks.
Contact Our Microsoft Experts Today
For over a decade, CWSI has played a crucial role in helping customers stay safe and secure. CWSI’s specialist expertise in the Microsoft stack has led them to become a selected member of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association, which is an exclusive group of premiere security partners. With three Microsoft Security Specialisations in Identity and Access Management, Information Protection and Governance, and Threat Protection, CWSI is your trusted Microsoft security partner.
Get in touch with our security experts today to begin your Microsoft security journey.
- UK Gov Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024 ↩︎
References
What is Microsoft Sentinel? | Microsoft Learn
Deployment guide for Microsoft Sentinel | Microsoft Learn
Watchlists in Microsoft Sentinel – Microsoft Sentinel | Microsoft Learn
