But there’s a less visible yet crucial area that forms the heart of the entire security strategy: log management and SIEM systems. They may not shine under the spotlight, but without them, it’s like sailing blind through a digital storm.
Beyond collection: why logs are a strategic source of truth
Logs are the detailed chronicle of everything that happens in an IT environment: access, changes, errors, suspicious movements. They record everything, quietly. But collecting them is not enough. Their true value lies in their ability to tell a story, to help identify anomalies, correlate events, and prevent incidents before they turn into crises. In an era where cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, having a complete, historical, and analyzable view of events is a resource every board should consider non-negotiable.
SIEM: from visibility to action
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) is the tool that gives shape and meaning to this vast amount of information. It centralizes, normalizes, and analyzes logs from various sources – networks, endpoints, applications, cloud environments – to provide a single view of the company’s security posture. And it doesn’t just observe: it correlates events, detects suspicious patterns, and generates intelligent alerts. For a CISO or IT Manager, this means having a central nervous system for corporate security, capable of catching weak signals in real time before they escalate into full-blown emergencies.
Log management as an ally of operational resilience
An IT infrastructure generates vast amounts of data every day. Managing it efficiently—centralizing logs while ensuring integrity and long-term accessibility—is essential not only for security but also for operational continuity. Log management makes it possible to accurately diagnose malfunctions, trace recurring errors, improve performance, and reduce response times to critical issues. From a modern perspective, it is an integral part of the business continuity plan.
SMEs must also look beyond
Too often, SIEM is perceived as a solution fit only for large enterprises. In reality, SMEs are becoming an increasingly frequent target for cybercriminals, often precisely because they are less structured. Today, the market offers scalable solutions designed for more agile organizations, with advanced log management and event analysis features, accessible even with limited resources. Adopting these technologies is no longer optional, but an essential step in building credible and sustainable security.
Log management and compliance: an essential combination
In an increasingly stringent regulatory landscape, logs become the tool through which compliance is demonstrated. From European regulations like GDPR to more specific frameworks such as PCI-DSS, HIPAA, or ISO 27001, the ability to store logs securely, traceably, and accessibly is essential. And with the enforcement of DORA, the Digital Operational Resilience Act, European financial institutions will also be required to ensure full visibility over IT activities, including incidents. Log management thus becomes a cornerstone not only of security but also of governance and institutional trust.
Common mistakes in log management and the cost of unawareness
Many companies fall into a recurring trap: collecting large amounts of logs without analyzing them, protecting them properly, or storing them in line with required policies. Sometimes logs are scattered across different environments; other times, those related to business-critical applications are completely missing. In some cases, there’s no alerting system in place to detect suspicious activity. The result? Threats go unnoticed, audits fail, or – even worse – data breaches that could have been prevented with better visibility. This is not just a technical problem: it’s a strategic risk.
The role of 4IT Solutions
How many threats are you ignoring without even knowing it?
The Security Essentials package is entirely dedicated to turning security into day-to-day operations: it includes, among other services, MXDR for managed response, log management, vulnerability management, and EASM, bringing together visibility, priorities, and action under a single orchestration without disrupting the existing stack. Tackling the challenges of modern cybersecurity requires solid tools, but also partners who can interpret them within the context of your company.
