What is the Common Information Model (CIM) and What Problem Does it Solve?
In cybersecurity, organizations collect logs from many different systems—firewalls, servers, VPNs, and more. Each system often uses different terminology and formats, which can make it difficult to detect and respond to security threats.
The Common Information Model (CIM) is a standardized framework that normalizes this data, allowing organizations to analyze and correlate it easily across all systems.
What Problem Does CIM Solve?
Without CIM, security teams face challenges like:
- Inconsistent field names across different logs.
- Difficulty in correlating events from multiple systems (e.g., a failed login from a firewall and a failed login from a VPN).
- Complex querying and reporting when each system uses a different format.
CIM solves this by ensuring that all logs follow the same format, making it easier to detect threats, generate reports, and respond quickly.
Example: Detecting Multiple Failed Logins
Raw Logs:
| Source | Field Name | Sample Value |
|---|---|---|
| Windows AD | Account_Name | jdoe |
| VPN | client_ip | 192.168.1.10 |
| Firewall | src_ip | 192.168.1.10 |
Without CIM:
You'd need separate queries for each source to track failed logins. It’s time-consuming and error-prone.
With CIM:
CIM maps all these fields to common fields like user for the account and src for the IP address. Now, you can use a single query. This works across all systems, providing a faster, more accurate way to detect brute force attacks.
Key Benefits of CIM
- Consistency: Standardizes data from different sources.
- Efficiency: Faster detection and easier analysis.
- Scalability: Works as your systems grow.
In short, the Common Information Model simplifies data integration, helping security teams detect threats faster and respond more effectively.