Threat detection systems

Un veettu la burglar alarm irukku — yaraavadhu break-in panna try pannaa alarm adiakkum. 🚨 Cybersecurity la idhe concept dhaan Threat Detection Systems!

Network la suspicious activity detect panna, malware catch panna, attacks block panna — ivanga ellam different types of detection systems use pannuranga.

Indha article la IDS, IPS, SIEM, EDR, NDR — ellam detail ah Tanglish la paapom! 💪

Modern organizations la multiple detection layers irukku:

Think of it as layers:

• EDR = Room lock 🚪
• NDR = Building security 🏢
• SIEM = Central monitoring room 📺
• XDR = Integrated smart security 🧠

IDS network or host la suspicious activity detect pannum:

Types of IDS:

1. Network IDS (NIDS) 🌐

• Network traffic monitor pannum
• Packet inspection pannum
• Network segment la deploy pannuranga
• Example: Snort, Suricata

2. Host IDS (HIDS) 💻

• Individual system monitor pannum
• File changes, log analysis, process monitoring
• Each server la install pannuranga
• Example: OSSEC, Wazuh

Detection Methods:

• Signature-based — Known attack patterns match pannum (antivirus maari)
• Anomaly-based — Normal behavior la irundhu deviation detect pannum
• Stateful Protocol Analysis — Protocol standards compare pannum

🔍 IDS = Passive — Watch and Alert

🚫 IPS = Active — Watch, Alert, and Block

Analogy:

- IDS = CCTV Camera — record pannum, alert pannum, but stop pannadu 📹

- IPS = Security Guard — detect panni immediately action edukkum 👮

When to use:

- IDS: Monitoring-focused environments, learning phase

- IPS: Production environments where auto-blocking needed

- Many tools (Snort, Suricata) both modes la run aagum!

⚠️ IPS false positive la legitimate traffic block pannidalam — careful tuning venum!

SIEM = Security Information and Event Management

Oru organization la 100+ systems irukku — servers, firewalls, applications, databases. Each one logs generate pannum. SIEM ivanga ellam oru place la collect pannum:

SIEM Functions:

1. Log Collection — All devices la irundhu logs collect 📥
2. Normalization — Different formats ah oru standard format ku convert 🔄
3. Correlation — Related events connect pannum 🔗
4. Alerting — Suspicious patterns ku alerts trigger 🚨
5. Dashboard — Visual representation of security posture 📊
6. Compliance — Audit trails and reports generate 📋

Popular SIEM Tools:

SIEM Correlation Example:

• Event 1: Failed login from IP 103.x.x.x (5 times in 1 min)
• Event 2: Successful login from same IP
• Event 3: Large file download started
• SIEM Correlation: Brute force attack → successful compromise → data exfiltration! 🚨

EDR endpoints (laptops, desktops, servers) la threats detect and respond pannum:

EDR vs Antivirus:

• Antivirus = Known malware block pannum (signature-based)
• EDR = Behavior monitor pannum, unknown threats kuda catch pannum, response capabilities irukku

EDR Capabilities:

• 🔍 Real-time monitoring — Process, file, registry, network activity
• 🧠 Behavioral analysis — Malicious behavior patterns detect
• 📜 Event recording — Full timeline of endpoint activity
• 🔄 Automated response — Isolate endpoint, kill process
• 🔎 Threat hunting — Proactively search for threats

EDR Detection Example:

Top EDR Tools: CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Carbon Black

NDR (Network Detection & Response) 🌐

• Network traffic deep analysis pannum
• Encrypted traffic la kuda anomalies detect pannum
• East-West traffic (internal) monitor pannum
• Tools: Darktrace, Vectra AI, ExtraHop

XDR (Extended Detection & Response) 🔗

• EDR + NDR + Cloud + Email + Identity — ellam combine
• Single pane of glass — oru dashboard la everything
• Cross-layer correlation — better detection accuracy
• Tools: CrowdStrike Falcon XDR, Microsoft 365 Defender, Palo Alto Cortex XDR

Evolution:

XDR is the future — but implementation complex and expensive. 💰

Organization ku detection strategy build panna:

Step 1: Know Your Assets 📋

• What systems do you have?
• What data is critical?
• Where are the crown jewels?

Step 2: Define Use Cases 🎯

• Brute force detection
• Data exfiltration monitoring
• Insider threat detection
• Malware activity detection

Step 3: Choose Tools 🛠️

• Budget based tool selection
• Open-source vs commercial
• Cloud vs on-premise

Step 4: Configure & Tune ⚙️

• Rules and alerts setup
• Baseline normal behavior
• Reduce false positives iteratively

Step 5: Operate & Improve 📈

• 24/7 monitoring setup
• Incident response integration
• Regular rule updates
• Purple team exercises

❌ Too many alerts — Alert fatigue la real threats miss aagum

❌ No tuning — Default rules use panni false positives flood

❌ Logs missing — Critical systems logging disabled

❌ No response plan — Alert vandha enna pannuradhu nu theriyaadhu

❌ Only perimeter — Internal threats ignore pannuranga

❌ Outdated signatures — Old rules new attacks catch pannadu

✅ Best Practice: Start small, tune well, expand gradually! Quality > Quantity.

🛠️ Try These:

1. Snort/Suricata setup — VirtualBox la install panni basic rules test pannunga

2. Wazuh SIEM — Free open-source SIEM — docker la easy setup

3. Elastic Security — ELK stack setup panni log analysis practice

4. Security Onion — Full detection suite — one ISO la everything

📚 Learn More:

- SANS SEC503 — Network Monitoring

- SANS SEC555 — SIEM Architecture

- TryHackMe — "Splunk" and "ELK" rooms

- Blue Team Labs Online — Detection challenges

Key Takeaways 🎯:

1. IDS detects, IPS detects + blocks
2. SIEM is the brain — centralized log correlation
3. EDR endpoints protect pannum with behavior analysis
4. NDR network traffic deeply analyze pannum
5. XDR everything combine pannum — future of detection
6. Tuning is critical — false positives manage pannunga
7. Layered approach best — oru tool mattum poraadhu

Detection is the first step — response plan kuda venum! Next article la encryption basics paapom. 🔐

Challenge: Setup Home SOC (Security Operations Center)

2-3 weeks time la oru lab environment build pannunga:

1. Log Collection — rsyslog server setup pannunga Linux VM la. Firewall logs, application logs, system logs forward pannunga.

1. SIEM Installation — Splunk free tier (500MB/day) install pannunga or Wazuh open-source. Log aggregation configure pannunga.

1. IDS Deployment — Suricata or Snort install pannunga. Traffic monitoring rules configure pannunga. Common attack signatures enable pannunga.

1. EDR Simulation — Wazuh agent endpoint agents install pannunga. File integrity monitoring, process monitoring enable pannunga.

1. Alert Creation — Suspicious patterns identify pannunga, alerts create pannunga. Failed login attempts (5+ times), port scanning, abnormal data transfer — idhellam detect panna rules set pannunga.

1. Dashboard Build — SIEM la custom dashboard create pannunga. Real-time alerts, incident metrics, threat overview — visualize pannunga.

1. Incident Simulation — Intentionally create traffic anomaly (nmap scan). Detection confirm pannunga, alert trigger aagudhu paappom, incident timeline understand pannunga.

Certificate: Nee SOC analyst! 🔍📊

Q1: IDS vs IPS difference?

A: IDS (Intrusion Detection System) = detect only, alert anupum. IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) = detect + block. Real-time response possible IPS la. But false positives block panni legitimate traffic cut-off aarakum, careful tuning needed.

Q2: SIEM architecture — how scalable systems design pannuradhu?

A: Centralized log collection (agents), log parsing (normalize), correlation (rules match), storage (indexed database), alerting (thresholds), reporting. High volume (millions events/day) scalability required. Cluster setup, data retention policy, cost management.

Q3: EDR vs traditional antivirus?

A: Traditional AV = file signature based (outdated attacks mattum). EDR = behavioral monitoring, process analysis, threat hunting capability. Modern, advanced malware detect panna better. Cloud-based threat intelligence integrate panunum.

Q4: Threat intelligence — how to integrate detection systems la?

A: Feed sources — IP reputation, malware hashes, domain names. STIX/TAXII format use pannunga. Automatic enrichment — unknown IP investigate pannunga threat feed la. Emerging threats immediately update aagudhu.

Q5: SOC team size — what staffing for company la?

A: Enterprise — 5-20 analysts. Mid-size — 2-5 analysts. Automation reduce staffing load. Tier system — Tier 1 (junior, basic alerts), Tier 2 (intermediate investigation), Tier 3 (senior, incident response).