Security Operations & Management

SIEM Implementation & Tuning

  • May 9, 2025
  • 0

Sherlocked Security – SIEM Implementation & Tuning

Centralize, Correlate, and Respond to Security Events with Expertly Deployed and Tuned SIEM Solutions

1. Statement of Work (SOW)

Service Name: SIEM Implementation & Tuning
Client Type: Mid to Large Enterprises, MSSPs, Financial Institutions, Healthcare, Government
Service Model: Project-Based Deployment with Optional Retainer for Ongoing Tuning
Compliance Alignment: NIST 800-53, ISO/IEC 27001, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR

SIEM Implementation Covers:

  • Selection or optimization of SIEM platform (cloud/on-prem/hybrid)
  • Integration with critical log sources (endpoints, firewalls, cloud, apps, identity systems)
  • Parsing, normalization, and enrichment of security logs
  • Development of detection use cases aligned to threats and frameworks (MITRE ATT&CK®, CIS)
  • Alert rule customization and tuning to reduce false positives
  • Dashboarding, alert workflows, and reporting setup
  • Knowledge transfer and documentation handoff

2. Our Approach

[Requirements Analysis] → [Platform Selection] → [Architecture & Deployment] → [Log Onboarding] → [Use Case Development] → [Alert Tuning] → [Operational Handoff or Retained Support]

3. Methodology

  • Discovery & Requirements Gathering

    • Assess business goals, compliance mandates, existing tools, and available telemetry sources.

  • Platform Selection & Architecture Design

    • Recommend appropriate SIEM solution (e.g., Splunk, Sentinel, Elastic, QRadar, etc.)
    • Design log pipeline and event flow across cloud/on-prem/hybrid systems.

  • Deployment & Integration

    • Deploy collectors, agents, and connectors.
    • Configure ingestion pipelines, storage retention, and tiering strategies.

  • Log Onboarding

    • Integrate log sources such as:
    • Firewalls, IDS/IPS
    • Endpoints (via EDR agents or syslog)
    • Identity platforms (e.g., AD, Okta, Azure AD)
    • SaaS/Cloud (e.g., AWS CloudTrail, M365, GCP, Salesforce)

  • Use Case Development

    • Map detection rules to MITRE ATT&CK® techniques.
    • Prioritize critical threats such as brute-force, privilege escalation, data exfiltration, lateral movement.
    • Include compliance-specific alerts (e.g., PCI scope changes, HIPAA access violations).

  • Alert Tuning & Noise Reduction

    • Calibrate thresholds, suppress false positives, and optimize rule logic.
    • Configure alert severity, escalation paths, and time-based correlation.

  • Dashboards & Reporting

    • Build dashboards by stakeholder type (SOC analysts, managers, auditors).
    • Create scheduled reports for compliance and operational visibility.

4. Deliverables to the Client

  1. SIEM Platform Deployed: Architected and implemented to match business and technical requirements
  2. Log Source Matrix: Inventory of all onboarded sources, log types, and ingestion status
  3. Detection Use Case Library: Documented rules, mappings, and associated MITRE TTPs
  4. Alert Tuning Report: Summary of tuning efforts, baseline metrics, and noise reduction achieved
  5. Operational Runbooks: Guidance for managing, updating, and expanding SIEM operations
  6. Dashboard Suite: Visualizations tailored for SOC, compliance, and executive audiences
  7. Knowledge Transfer Session: Live walkthrough with documentation and Q&A for client teams

5. What We Need from You (Client Requirements)

  • Access to Infrastructure: Admin or API access for onboarding log sources
  • Existing Security Tools: List of endpoint, network, and identity tools for integration
  • Security & Compliance Objectives: Target frameworks (e.g., ISO, PCI, SOC 2) and business risks
  • Internal Stakeholder Availability: Security team input for use case relevance and tuning feedback
  • SIEM Licensing/Subscription: Access to target platform or agreement to deploy Sherlocked stack

6. Tools & Technology Stack

  • SIEM Platforms:

    • Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, Elastic SIEM, IBM QRadar, Securonix, Sherlocked SIEM

  • Ingestion & Parsing:

    • Logstash, Fluentd, Syslog-ng, Beats, Azure Monitor, AWS Kinesis Firehose

  • Threat Detection & Enrichment:

    • Sigma Rules, YARA, STIX/TAXII, MITRE ATT&CK®, GeoIP & Threat Intel Feeds

  • Reporting & Visualization:

    • Grafana, Kibana, Splunk Dashboards, Power BI, Tableau (custom)

7. Engagement Lifecycle

  1. Kickoff & Planning
  2. Requirements Analysis & SIEM Design
  3. Deployment & Log Source Integration
  4. Detection Use Case Development
  5. Alert Workflow & Dashboard Creation
  6. Tuning & Feedback Loops
  7. Final Testing & Documentation
  8. Knowledge Transfer / Retained Support Option

8. Why Sherlocked Security?

Feature Sherlocked Advantage
Multi-Platform Expertise Splunk, Sentinel, Elastic, QRadar, and others—on-prem or cloud-native
Detection Engineering Focus Threat-informed detection use cases with MITRE mapping
Compliance-Aligned Reporting Out-of-the-box reports for PCI, HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO
Alert Fatigue Mitigation Custom tuning workflows to suppress noise and increase fidelity
Ongoing Optimization Available Retainer plans for continuous tuning, threat updates, and rule mgmt

9. Real-World Case Studies

Financial Sector SIEM Optimization

Client: A national financial institution under PCI-DSS scope.
Challenge: Poorly tuned SIEM resulted in alert fatigue and missed threats.
Solution: Rebuilt rule base mapped to MITRE ATT&CK®, suppressed known false positives, and created compliance reports.
Outcome: Reduced alert noise by 60%, with weekly threat detection improvements.

Cloud-Native SIEM Deployment for a SaaS Provider

Client: Cloud-based HR tech company migrating from on-prem to Azure.
Challenge: Lack of centralized visibility and multi-cloud telemetry correlation.
Solution: Deployed Microsoft Sentinel, integrated Azure, AWS, Okta, and Slack logs.
Outcome: Achieved full cloud observability with threat analytics across cloud-native assets.

10. SOP – Standard Operating Procedure

  1. Kickoff & Stakeholder Alignment
  2. Log Source Inventory & Prioritization
  3. SIEM Platform Setup & Permissions
  4. Log Collection Configuration
  5. Detection Use Case Engineering
  6. Alert Workflow Development
  7. Noise Tuning & Testing
  8. Final Handoff & Training

11. SIEM Implementation Readiness Checklist

1. Pre-Implementation

  • [ ] Define objectives and threat models
  • [ ] Approve SIEM architecture and licensing
  • [ ] Identify log sources and endpoints
  • [ ] Assign internal security point-of-contact

2. During Implementation

  • [ ] Validate ingestion from prioritized log sources
  • [ ] Build baseline dashboards and test alerts
  • [ ] Perform tuning with SOC or security team
  • [ ] Document detection logic and MITRE mappings

3. Post-Deployment

  • [ ] Conduct knowledge transfer session
  • [ ] Finalize and deliver documentation package
  • [ ] Schedule ongoing tuning (optional)
  • [ ] Confirm compliance-ready reporting templates
Threat Hunting Programs
Continuous Vendor Monitoring