New: Azure Sentinel, the proactive control centre for SAP security monitoring

Prevention is better than cure. But when you need a cure, it's best to be quick. This applies equally to your SAP landscape. Detecting threats to your SAP applications has been a challenge for a long time. The necessary technology was costly and there were gaps, resulting in security risks. Luckily, there's now an affordable solution to hand!

Many organisations all around the world rely on SAP software to manage their data. SAP is literally the backbone of these companies. A security breach in these business-critical SAP applications can therefore have major consequences. However, protecting your SAP applications is a challenge. The systems are becoming more complex. In addition, there are more and more links between applications. This increases the number of risks, such as data leaks, errors introduced into data, or systems held hostage as a result of external attacks. There can also be problems due to internal errors or deliberate fraudulent actions.

Many security, compliance and risk managers are not sufficiently aware of the security risks to which their SAP applications are exposed. Suspicious activities, such as unauthorised changes or bypassing business rules, are not actively monitored, despite the fact that detecting suspicious activities as rapidly as possible is essential. In addition, in the event of a data breach you must be able to enumerate and demonstrate which events have occurred and how your organisation subsequently reacted.

Affordable SIEM solution for SAP applications

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions alert you to suspicious events in your application landscape. However, SAP's SIEM solution, Enterprise Threat Detection, is rather expensive.

Fortunately, an affordable alternative will soon be available to help you manage your basic application security: Azure Sentinel. This Microsoft solution in the cloud acts as the control centre for your IT security. Azure Sentinel detects threats and alerts you immediately, so you can deal with potential problems without delay. Examples include suspicious login behaviour, unauthorised purchases and unusual movements. In addition, the system logs everything that happens in your SAP systems so you can find out later exactly who performed which actions.

AI recognises the real threats

Azure Sentinel uses artificial intelligence (AI) to interpret the signals independently. Over time, the system learns which combinations of signals represent a security risk. This minimises the number of false alarms and prevents you from drowning in the flood of normal transactions.

The development that will make Azure Sentinel suitable for SAP applications has reached the public review phase. The platform is expected to be generally available in the third quarter of 2021.

Ctac security specialists to man your control centre

Ctac can help you secure your SAP applications with Azure Sentinel. Our security specialists monitor the Sentinel security dashboard, ensuring proper follow-up of risky situations. We can also seamlessly integrate application layer monitoring with our other security services. This gives you a fuller picture of your security status, as well as a more secure SAP application landscape.

Would you like to know whether your SAP applications are being monitored adequately? Or would you like to find out whether Azure Sentinel is a solution for your security monitoring challenges? Then contact us by emailing [e-mail].