Migrating from Splunk SIEM to Microsoft Sentinel is a strategic decision that optimizes your existing infrastructure investments. However, it’s no small task and requires meticulous preparation.
This is your roadmap for planning your migration from Splunk to Microsoft Sentinel. In the planning phase, you’ll assess your current SIEM components, fine-tune Security Operations Center (SOC) processes, and craft new use cases. This careful planning ensures protection for your cloud assets, be it on Microsoft Azure, AWS, or GCP, as well as your Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, including Microsoft Office 365.
This 9-point checklist guides you through the planning stage, helping you seamlessly transition from Splunk to Microsoft Sentinel, ensuring you can leverage your current SIEM infrastructure in Sentinel.
1. Understand Your Splunk SIEM Data
Understanding what you have is the first step toward leveraging it in Sentinel. Start your journey by understanding the data you are currently collecting and analyzing in your SIEM. Take note of the data sources, data types, and volume you’re handling. Consider how you can map your current infrastructure to Microsoft Sentinel to maintain continuity.
2. Evaluate Data Sources
Identify the log sources that are crucial for your organization’s security monitoring and compliance. These sources will play a pivotal role in the migration process. During the evaluation of data sources, pay close attention to the compatibility between your existing data sources and Sentinel. Make a clear plan on how you can seamlessly migrate and utilize these data sources in Sentinel.
3. Review Licensing
Check your Microsoft Sentinel licensing to make sure you have the necessary capacity for your data volume and retention needs.
4. Assess Data Transformation
Evaluate any data transformation or parsing rules you have and plan how you’ll replicate these in Sentinel. Sentinel uses Kusto Query Language (KQL) for data analysis, which may require adjustments to your existing queries. This is essential to maintain consistency in data processing.
5. Plan for Log Collection
Set up Azure Log Analytics workspaces and configure data connectors to collect logs from your data sources. Test these configurations to ensure they are working correctly.
6. Create Dashboards and Alerts
Recreate your existing SIEM dashboards and alerts in Sentinel. Use the Azure Monitor workspace and Logic Apps to create custom alerts and notifications. This step should enable you to use your existing monitoring practices in the new platform.
7. Data Ingestion Rate Limitations
Be aware of Sentinel’s data ingestion rate limitations based on your subscription tier. Adjust your data collection and retention policies accordingly.
8. Train Your Team
Ensure your team is trained in Microsoft Sentinel and KQL to effectively use the platform for monitoring, alerting, and analysis.
9. Seek Expert Support
The complexity of SIEM migrations makes expert assistance particularly beneficial. Careful planning, comprehensive testing, and ongoing monitoring are essential to guarantee a seamless transition and effective security monitoring in your new environment. Relying on experienced professionals, like those at Difenda can streamline this process and help you maximize Microsoft Sentinel investment.
Discover Difenda’s 14-stage Sentinel migration process.
By following this 9-point checklist you’ll be able to utilize your current Splunk infrastructure in Sentinel, and you’ll be well on your way to a successful migration that strengthens your security posture and prepares you for the evolving threat landscape.