User activity monitoring is defined as the act of observing, recording and analyzing people’s activities and actions in an organization’s digital domain. This holistic security approach is very helpful in understanding users’ behavior and prevent possible threats as they occur in an organization.
Through monitoring of user activities, organizations are able to detect different acts of insecurity, suspicious activities and unauthorized access hence be in a position to counteract them. With this increased insight into users’ activities, not only is the general security improved, but also the compliance with new and changing standards.
Why Prevention of Breaches is so Vital
With the increase of such things as ransomware attacks and theft of sensitive information, the importance of measures that would prevent such losses cannot be overemphasized. The repercussions of unauthorized access to information, manipulation of data and systems, include; loss of funds, bad reputation and penalties.
The monitoring of user activity is one of the key components in the protection against these threats because it offers a complete picture of the user activity and behavior. Thus, the analysis of user activity data will help organizations identify possible security threats and prevent them or reduce their impact in order to protect corporate digital values.
Detection of Anomalies and Possible Security Threats
Similarly to most such systems, the idea of monitoring user activities lies in the identification of abnormalities and security threats. By establishing a baseline of normal user behavior, organizations can quickly detect deviations that may indicate malicious activities, such as:
- Any login activity that looks fishy or attempts to log in
- Virus, file or data transfer which is of doubtful nature.
- Unauthorized change of critical programs or parameters
- The two types of privilege escalations are those that are too frequent and those that are not justified enough
- Abnormal user activity or any activity that takes place during odd hours
When these patterns are recognized in real-time, organizations will be in a position to counter these threats at the earliest stage possible to reduce on the number of cyber-attacks and data breaches that could happen in an organization.
Benefits of User Activity Monitoring in Compliance with NIS2 and DORA
The future NIS2 and DORA regulations have also enhanced the need to supervise the users’ activity as an element of security in the organization.
- NIS2 (Network and Information Systems Directive 2): NIS2 is the second directive on the issue; it is more advanced compared to the first NIS Directive; the primary objective is to enhance the safeguard of the critical infrastructures in the EU. As a result of NIS2 implementation in the organizations, they will need to implement the monitoring and detection measures like the monitoring of activities performed by the users to enable them respond appropriately to the security threats.
- DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act): DORA is a new regulation of the European Union that regulates the digital operational resilience of the financial sector. It mandates the financial institutions to implement sufficient measures that can track the users’ activities to detect threats, secure information, and adhere to the regulations.
By implementing effective user activity monitoring solutions, organizations can not only meet the compliance requirements of NIS2 and DORA but also reap the following benefits:
- Improved Incident Response and Forensics: The information regarding all the activities of the user can be recorded through the user activity data and it maintains record of all the activities which can be beneficial to the organization in case of breach of security and for the forensic study.
- Enhanced Threat Detection and Mitigation: Real-time and large scale capturing and processing of information on user interactions is helpful in identifying security threats before they can cause a lot of damage.
- Strengthened Data Protection and Privacy: This means that monitoring of user activity will give the needed protection of the data from any unauthorized access, loss or compromise as required in data protection laws like the GDPR.
- Increased Operational Efficiency: The benefits of monitoring and analysing users’ activities with the help of security automation tools are the following: The security operation can then be enhanced and made less time-consuming by delegating some tasks to personnel.
- Improved Regulatory Compliance: The constant monitoring of the users’ activity corresponds to the provisions of NIS2 and DORA, which enables the organizations to follow the requirements and avoid the severe fines.
Best Practices for Monitoring User Activity
To ensure the successful implementation and ongoing effectiveness of user activity monitoring, organizations should consider the following best practices:
- Establish Clear Policies and Procedures: Therefore, there is a need to set and adhere to certain policies on the observation of the users’ actions including data collection, storage, and utilization.
- Implement Robust Data Protection Measures: Ensure that the data on the user activity is stored and encrypted, only the staff who are authorized to have access to this data are allowed, in compliance with the laws on data protection.
- Utilize Advanced Analytics and Machine Learning: Implemented the application of powerful statistical methods and artificial intelligence to analyze data and to define patterns, trends and threats for security incidents.
- Integrate with Existing Security Solutions: The user activity monitoring should be seamlessly integrated with other tools such as the SIEM systems to enhance the security status.
- Provide Comprehensive User Training: Educate the employees on the reasons why the user activities have to be monitored as well as the expectations that they have in the matters of cyberspace protection.
- Regularly Review and Optimize Monitoring Strategies: Make sure that the procedures used in monitoring the activities of the users are as frequent as possible to meet the new forms of security threats and the new regulations.
Conclusion
With the escalation of threats and appearance of NIS2 and DORA, monitoring of user activity became one of the critical measures for an organization’s protection. Therefore, controlling the users’ actions and seeking for changes in their behavior, an organization can safeguard its information resources, conform to the legislation demands, and enhance the security.
