File Integrity Monitoring Software
Track file and directory access, movement, and shares
Use a file integrity checker to detect malware threats
Malware and advanced persistent threats (APTs) often access and modify local files. Security Event Manager file integrity monitoring software is built to correlate logs from anti-virus tools and IDS/IPS with file audit events to more easily detect APTs, malware, and improve FIM security.
You can also configure Security Event Manager's integrated incident response actions to trigger when certain conditions exist that can kill a malicious process or quarantine systems for complete endpoint protection.
Demonstrate FIM security compliance requirements
Many industry compliance standards—like PCI DSS, SOX, HIPAA, NERC CIP, FISMA, and SANS Critical Security Controls—require you to both secure sensitive data and demonstrate how you’ve secured it.
Security Event Manager file integrity monitoring is built to help you more easily demonstrate these requirements. You can use built-in file integrity monitoring templates to audit key files, folders, and generate out-of-the box reports to help demonstrate compliance.
Easily perform Windows file integrity monitoring
With a simple configuration process, you can integrate Security Event Manager into your Microsoft OS by following steps from SolarWinds Customer Success here.
In line with the SolarWinds commitment to customization, you have the option to set up your Windows FIM tool to monitor either individual nodes or an entire connector profile. During the configuration process, you can customize the files, folders, or access criteria you want to monitor. You can also specify the conditions for the FIM security monitoring, so highly critical data can be scrutinized more thoroughly than less sensitive files.
Get More on File Integrity Monitoring
What is file integrity monitoring?
File integrity monitoring, also referred to as FIM, is the process of monitoring changes to specific files to detect potential security compromises.
There are several ways a file could become vulnerable to a security threat, including when a privileged user account is compromised. Since this type of user typically has access to data modification credentials, they could be at a higher-risk of being the target of zero-day malware, advanced persistent threats, and other kinds of malware targeting files from outside the system.
How does file integrity monitoring work?
File integrity monitoring works by examining logs to find modifications to important system files, folders, and registry keys. While it’s possible to manually check whether a file has been changed, FIM software is designed to accesses this information at scale with a sophisticated system of security monitor responses to help detect whether the file modification is a routine activity or a more malicious type of security threat.
Why is FIM important?
To protect your system from unwanted data modification, breaches, and threats, file integrity monitoring is critical to supporting a comprehensive security prevention and response infrastructure.
Many industry compliance standards also recognize the importance of FIM security—compliance organizations including PCI DSS, SOX, HIPAA, NERC CIP, FISMA, and SANS Critical Security Controls not only require you to secure sensitive data but also demonstrate how you’re maintaining a secure environment.
What does a FIM security tool do?
For cyberattackers, gaining access to sensitive and private data can be desirable targets, such as bank and credit card information, system access credentials, and confidential customer information. File integrity monitoring software is designed to help detect threats by tracking unauthorized file changes potentially threatening file integrity. A FIM security tool typically integrates with your server to help protect your system from threats seeking to access your sensitive data
Using a FIM security tool, you can better identify whether file changes may be malicious by correlating file audit events with other log data to provide threat intelligence and more easily pinpoint breach attempts. You can also use automated rules to block event threats potentially broken from configuring triggers.
FIM security tools are designed to work in collaboration with other security measures to help provide the most effective possible defense and remediation system against threats to business data.
How does file integrity monitoring work in Security Event Manager?
SolarWinds Security Event Manager is built to provide insider and outsider threat protection with integrated FIM security tool features to provide a multilayer line of defense against attacks.
SolarWinds SEM is a flexible SIEM solution designed to monitor many file changes concurrently, with the ability to modify the strength of observation for particularly sensitive files. SEM’s file integrity monitoring tool also offers a more comprehensive set of monitoring criteria than traditional FIMs.
SEM is designed to provide FIM and log data in a single solution, which can help users see the big picture and troubleshoot faster. For example, you’re better able to correlate when anti-virus logs are reporting malware at the same time malware is trying to access your sensitive files. SEM can also allow you to observe critical files for specific changes, so it’s easier to filter out the noise.
Related Tools and Resources
What is file integrity monitoring?
File integrity monitoring, also referred to as FIM, is the process of monitoring changes to specific files to detect potential security compromises.
There are several ways a file could become vulnerable to a security threat, including when a privileged user account is compromised. Since this type of user typically has access to data modification credentials, they could be at a higher-risk of being the target of zero-day malware, advanced persistent threats, and other kinds of malware targeting files from outside the system.
Comprehensive file integrity monitoring flags user access threats
Security Event Manager
- Keep track of changes in file data with an interactive dashboard.
- Get alerts when unusual file modifications occur.
- Demonstrate FIM security audit standards.
