Since October 2022 Softline has been operating under the brand name Noventiq.

In the digital age data is the most important asset in any organization. Even the smallest action leaves a data footprint, therefore massive amount of information is generated, used and transferred every day. If we think about data as a company asset it is easy to understand the importance of security. However, protecting company data demands new approach and tailor-made technologies to eliminate modern information threats.

User and Entity Behavioral Analytics solutions reveal behavior patterns then track deviations from them, both in real-time and post facto. The complex system applies machine learning capabilities, statistical analysis tools, and big data on users and IT infrastructure like servers, workstations, and switches.

Effective and innovative technology

UEBA Systems analyses typical patterns of user and entity behavior, and detect different categories of threats. The main source of data collected by the systems contain server and network equipment logs, security logs, logs from user workstations and information from authentication systems. By gathering and analyzing the information, the system can intelligently identify unauthorized data access, suspicious behavior of privileged user, malicious or unauthorized employee activity and unconventional use of cloud resources.

This technology can be provided as a standalone solution or integrated into the product, which means great flexibility in terms of deployment. While specialized UEBA platforms focus on a wide range of user and entity behavior analysis tasks, the built-in UEBA systems are part of complex products and are focused on solving a more specific set of tasks.

Diverse types of application

UEBA as an important part of IT security can more effectively mitigate threats and prevent security breaches in several cases. Here are some typical cases:

• Audit and protection: Improving the security of structured and unstructured data storages (DCAP), by analyzing user behavior and monitor changes in access rights.
• CASB systems: Protection against threats in cloud-based SaaS applications by blocking unwanted devices, users, and application versions from accessing cloud services. An adaptive access control system. All top-notch CASB solutions from vendors have the UEBA functionality.
• Data loss prevetion solutions: Detecting the transfer of critical data beyond the corporate perimeter or other cases of its misuse. The DLP operation principle is all about understanding the content. Context, such as user, application, location, time, event speed, and other external factors, get less attention. Effective DLP products must recognize both content and context.
• Employee monitoring:  Continuous monitoring of users often generates an overwhelming amount of data that requires manual filtering and human analysis. UEBA optimizes the work of monitoring systems by highlighting only high-risk incidents.
• End device security: Endpoint detection and response (EDR) and endpoint protection platforms (EPP) solutions provide powerful tools and operating system telemetry on end devices. User-connected telemetry can be analyzed with integrated UEBA functions.
• Online fraud: Detecting deviations indicating that the customer account has been compromised by a fake person, malware, or unsecured connections/browser traffic interception. Most solutions that prevent online fraud combine the functions of UEBA, transactional analysis, and device performance measurement, while more advanced systems also analyze relations in their identity database.
• Identity and access management and access control: IAM and Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) systems use UEBA for behavioral and identity analytics scenarios such as anomaly detection, dynamic grouping of similar entities, login analysis, and access policy analysis.
• IAM and privileged access management (PAM): Controlling the usage of superuser accounts by logging how, why, when, and where administrative accounts are used. This data can be analyzed with the built-in UEBA functionality for abnormal administrator behavior or malicious intent.
• Network Traffic Analysis: a combination of machine learning, advanced analytics, and rule-based detection to detect suspicious activity in enterprise networks.
• NTA tools: analyzing entity behavior, constantly monitor source traffic or record flows to build models that reflect normal network behavior.
• Security information and event management: Many SIEM vendors now have advanced data analytics functionality built into SIEM or implemented in a standalone UEBA module. The boundaries between SIEM and UEBA functionality are gradually erasing and SIEM systems now work better with analytics and offer more complex use cases.

UEBA is the present and the future too

UEBA solutions can be considered as relatively new approaches but already proved their advantages. UEBA functions are now integrated into a wide range of related information security technologies, such as cloud access security brokers (CASB), identity governance and administration (IGA), and SIEM systems. Analysts predicted[1] that by 2021, the market for UEBA systems would move towards complex solutions with UEBA functionality, and by 2022, 95% of all UEBA products will be part of the functionality of a larger security platform.

Our experienced colleagues can provide specialized services and comprehensive UEBA solutions to meet your company requirements. Contact us and find out more about the most effective security solutions.