What is User and Event Behavioral Analytics? How UEBA Helps Security Teams to Identify Suspicious Events?

Just a normal day in your organization and you a security administrator observed that a user is trying to access a server to which he doesn’t have access, since the log in was unsuccessful, and it just happened once you ignore the alert. However, the user is trying to access the server every 5 days and you find that suspicious. Not every time the security administrator will be able to observe the user’s behavior, for such cases User and Event Behavioral Analytics (UEBA) tools will help in better understanding and tracking of events.

In today’s article, we will discuss what is UEBA, how UEBA works, and the benefits of UEBA.

What is UEBA?

UEBA, which stands for User and Entity Behavior Analytics, is a form of security software that employs behavioral analytics, machine learning algorithms, and automation to detect unusual and potentially harmful behavior exhibited by users and devices.

Its primary strength lies in its ability to identify insider threats, including both malicious insiders and hackers who exploit compromised insider credentials. These threats are often difficult to detect using traditional security tools due to their resemblance to authorized network activity. Gartner introduced this series of security solutions in 2015.

Source: Blackberry

How UEBA works?

The logic behind UEBA is quite simple, an attacker might get access to user credentials but once logged in mimicking that user’s behavior can be a bit tricky. So if an attacker logs in as a user and tries to do something out of the normal the UEBA alerts.

UEBA is based on creating baselines, UEBA solutions utilize machine learning to establish a standard or baseline for determining what is considered “normal” behavior within a network. Using this baseline as a reference, they can effectively identify potential threat actors and compromised systems.

To ensure the effectiveness of a UEBA (User and Entity Behavior Analytics) solution, it is necessary to have it installed on all devices utilized or connected to by each employee throughout the organization. This encompasses not only company-owned devices but also devices owned by individual employees, as even those used on a part-time basis can become vulnerable to cyberattacks. After this UEBA move into silent mode where it observes and starts collecting data for defining the baseline.

The main three components of this security solution are

Three pillars of UEBA (Source: Imperva)

What is the difference between UBA and UEBA?

UBA or user behavior analytics is slightly different from UEBA, where it has an extra ‘E’ for entities, devices, or applications.

In October 2017, Gartner, a technology industry analyst firm, introduced the inclusion of the “E” in UEBA to emphasize the importance of profiling entities beyond just users, thereby enabling the security industry to better comprehend and identify threats with greater accuracy.

UEBA systems offer increased data volume and advanced reporting capabilities compared to the original UBA systems.         

UEBA vs SIEM

SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) utilizes a sophisticated array of tools and technologies to provide a holistic perspective on IT system security, analyzing data and event information to identify regular patterns and trends while issuing alerts for abnormal trends and events. Similarly, UEBA (User and Entity Behavior Analytics) operates on a similar principle but instead focuses on user (and entity) behavior data to establish baselines of normalcy and identify deviations.