Planning a Microsoft Sentinel workspace involves a series of critical steps that organizations must follow to ensure they deploy an effective cloud-native Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution. This article will discuss the best practices that organizations can implement to plan a Sentinel workspace, including steps for creating a workspace, designing a deployment, and meeting the security baselines.
A Sentinel workspace is a central repository that contains all data sources, analytic tools, and reports. Organizations can create a workspace in three ways:
Using the Azure portal: Organizations can create a Sentinel workspace directly in the Azure portal by following a few simple steps. First, sign in to the Azure portal and navigate to the Azure Sentinel workspace page. Next, select the ‘Create’ button and fill out the required fields, such as the subscription, resource group, and workspace name.
Using Azure Resource Manager templates: Organizations can create a Sentinel workspace using Azure Resource Manager templates. These templates provide a pre-defined set of configurations that can automate the deployment process. Organizations can customize the template by adding data sources, analytic tools, and reports.
Using PowerShell: Organizations can also create a Sentinel workspace using PowerShell. This method involves writing a script that automates the deployment process.
Once organizations have created a Sentinel workspace, they need to design a deployment that fits their needs. The deployment design includes the following steps:
Identify the data sources: Organizations must identify the data sources they want to include in the Sentinel workspace. These data sources could be from cloud services, on-premises infrastructure, or third-party applications.
Configure data ingestion: Organizations must configure the data ingestion process to ensure that data flows seamlessly into the Sentinel workspace. This step involves setting up connectors, API integrations, and log ingestion rules.
Create custom queries: Organizations must create custom queries to extract insights from the ingested data. These queries can help organizations detect anomalies, identify threats, and mitigate risks.
Configure alert rules: Organizations must configure alert rules to notify security teams when suspicious activity is detected. Alert rules are designed to generate notifications, including email alerts, SMS messages, and automated incident response actions.
Microsoft provides a set of security baselines that organizations can use to ensure they are meeting industry best practices. These baselines include guidelines for configuring the Sentinel workspace, including log retention periods, user roles, and access controls.
Organizations must ensure that they are meeting the following security baselines:
Log retention: Organizations must ensure that log retention periods are set to meet compliance requirements. The Sentinel workspace allows organizations to define the retention period for ingested data, and this must be aligned with the organization’s data retention policy.
User roles: Organizations must configure user roles and access controls to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive data. Microsoft provides a set of predefined roles, including reader, contributor, and owner, that can be customized to meet the organization’s needs.
Access controls: Organizations must configure access controls to ensure that the Sentinel workspace is protected from unauthorized access. Access controls include password policies, multifactor authentication, and conditional access.
In conclusion, planning a Sentinel workspace involves a series of critical steps that organizations must follow to ensure they deploy an effective cloud-native SIEM solution. Organizations must create a workspace, design a deployment that fits their needs, and meet the security baselines to ensure that they are meeting industry best practices.
