Setting Up a SIEM Solution Using GitHub and Terraform

The process of setting up a SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) solution involves integrating multiple tools and platforms to streamline log monitoring and alerting. This setup primarily utilizes GitHub, Terraform, and Azure to achieve automation and efficient management.

Brief Overview

The SIEM solution setup begins with creating a GitHub repository for version control and integration with Visual Studio for seamless code editing. Next, an Azure subscription is established, and Terraform is used to automate the deployment of the Azure Sentinel environment. The process involves creating an application for authorization using App registrations and configuring Terraform with GitHub for continuous deployment. Finally, the automation process is initiated, setting up the necessary resources and services in Azure.

Created an Azure Subscription

The first step in setting up the SIEM environment was to create an Azure subscription. This subscription acted as the foundation for deploying and managing resources within the Azure ecosystem. It provided access to Azure services, including Azure Sentinel, and was essential for implementing Infrastructure as Code (IaC) through Terraform.

By setting up the subscription, a workspace was established where Terraform could deploy resources. This step also ensured that billing, permissions, and other settings were properly configured before moving on to more advanced automation tasks.

Using GitHub and Terraform for SIEM Setup

1. GitHub for Version Control and Automation

GitHub is used as a version control system to manage the configuration files and deployment scripts for the SIEM setup. A repository is created to store these files, and it is integrated with Visual Studio to facilitate code editing and updates. This integration simplifies the process of committing and pushing changes directly from the development environment.

The primary purpose of using GitHub in this setup is to maintain the Terraform scripts and configuration files in a centralised location, ensuring that any changes can be tracked and managed efficiently.

2. App Registration and Authorization

An application named "azure-terraform" is created in Azure Active Directory. This application acts as a service principal, providing the required permissions to Terraform for managing Azure resources. The Client ID, Client Secret, and Tenant ID are retrieved during this step and used for authorization within Terraform.

This app registration is essential for secure communication between Terraform and Azure. By assigning proper roles and permissions, it ensures that Terraform can deploy and manage the necessary resources in the Azure environment without manual intervention.

3. Terraform for Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Terraform is utilized to automate the deployment of Azure Sentinel and related components. The process starts by configuring Terraform to work with Azure through the application registration created earlier. Terraform is then connected to GitHub by creating a workspace within the Terraform organization. The workspace, named "terraform-azure-sentinel," organizes the deployment process and pulls the configuration files from the GitHub repository.

After setting up the workspace, Terraform is initialized to prepare the environment for deployment. The Terraform run process applies the scripts, automatically setting up Azure Sentinel along with the necessary resources and integrations. This automation significantly reduces manual effort and ensures consistent configuration of the SIEM environment.

4. Initializing and Running Terraform

Once the configuration is complete, Terraform is initialized and run to automate the deployment. This step triggers the setup of Azure Sentinel and the required components, making the environment ready for log monitoring and alerting. The automated process ensures that the deployment is consistent and efficient, minimizing human errors.

The result is a robust, automated SIEM setup with Azure Sentinel at its core, enabling efficient log monitoring, alerting, and incident management.

Initialized Azure Sentinel

After completing the configuration and automation setup, Azure Sentinel was initialized as the final step. Terraform executed the deployment scripts, setting up Azure Sentinel along with the necessary components and integrations for log monitoring and alerting.

The initialization process involved applying the Terraform scripts, which automatically provisioned the resources and configured Azure Sentinel as specified. This automated approach ensured that the SIEM environment was ready for efficient log management and alerting with minimal manual intervention.