Log Lifecycle and Compliance

Topics

Log data lifecycle management, retention policies, capacity planning, and regulatory compliance.

Log Management Plan

Overview

Log Management Plan is the foundation of EnergyLogserver SIEM responsible for managing the complete lifecycle of log data. This chapter focuses on business processes of log management, while technical configuration details can be found in the Configuration chapter, and the user interface in SIEM Plan.

What is a Log Management Plan?

Log Management Plan defines how long, where, and in what manner log data is stored in the EnergyLogserver SIEM system. It’s equivalent to an “archival policy” known from traditional document management systems, but adapted for cybersecurity needs.

Simplified explanation:

  • What it is: Automated log lifecycle management system

  • How it works: You define rules, the system automatically manages data

  • What it’s for: Cost optimization, compliance, system performance

Key Benefits

🏢 Business Benefits:

  • Cost control: Automatic migration of old data to cheaper storage tiers

  • Compliance: Automatic enforcement of retention periods required by regulations

  • Performance optimization: Fast access to current data, archival of old data

Security Benefits:

  • Long-term investigations: Access to historical security data

  • Forensics: Ability to analyze incidents from months/years ago

  • Audit trail: Immutable traces for compliance processes

Log Lifecycle

Lifecycle Stages

EnergyLogserver SIEM manages logs in 4 stages:

[Ingestion] → [Hot Storage] → [Warm Storage] → [Cold Storage] → [Archive] ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Real-time 0-30 days 30-180 days 180-730 days 730+ days Processing (SSD, fast) (Hybrid, ok) (HDD, slow) (Tape, offline)

1. Ingestion (Collection)

  • Time: Real-time

  • Purpose: Immediate processing and analysis

  • Storage: Memory buffers, temporary queues

  • Characteristics: Highest performance, lowest latency

2. Hot Storage (Active Data)

  • Time: 0-30 days (configurable)

  • Purpose: Active monitoring, real-time alerting, dashboards

  • Storage: High-performance SSD arrays

  • Characteristics:

    • Sub-second query response times

    • Full-text search capabilities

    • Complete data enrichment

    • All SIEM features available

3. Warm Storage (Recent Historical)

  • Time: 30-180 days (configurable)

  • Purpose: Recent investigations, compliance reporting, trend analysis

  • Storage: Hybrid SSD/HDD or high-capacity NVMe

  • Characteristics:

    • 1-5 second query response times

    • Compressed data format

    • Reduced indexing granularity

    • Core SIEM features available

4. Cold Storage (Long-term Historical)

  • Time: 180-730 days (configurable)

  • Purpose: Long-term forensics, regulatory compliance

  • Storage: High-capacity HDD arrays or object storage

  • Characteristics:

    • 10-60 second query response times

    • Highly compressed format

    • Minimal indexing

    • Basic search capabilities

5. Archive (Deep Storage)

  • Time: 730+ days (configurable)

  • Purpose: Legal hold, regulatory compliance, disaster recovery

  • Storage: Tape libraries, cloud archive, immutable storage

  • Characteristics:

    • Minutes to hours restore time

    • Maximum compression

    • Write-once, read-many (WORM) compliance

    • Manual retrieval process

Automatic Lifecycle Transitions

Policy-Driven Movement: EnergyLogserver SIEM automatically moves data between tiers based on:

  • Time-based rules: Age of the log entry

  • Data classification: Criticality and sensitivity levels

  • Source priority: Critical systems vs. low-priority devices

  • Compliance requirements: Regulatory retention mandates

  • Storage capacity: Automatic cleanup when thresholds reached

Example Transition Flow:

Security Event (Critical) → Hot Storage (60 days) → Warm Storage (365 days) → Archive (7 years) Network Flow (Normal) → Hot Storage (7 days) → Cold Storage (90 days) → Delete Application Log (Low) → Warm Storage (30 days) → Delete

Retention Policies

Policy Categories

1. Security Event Logs

  • Critical Security Events: 7 years minimum

  • Authentication Logs: 2 years minimum

  • Network Security: 1 year minimum

  • Endpoint Security: 6 months minimum

2. Infrastructure Logs

  • System Logs: 1 year

  • Application Logs: 6 months

  • Network Flow: 90 days

  • Performance Metrics: 30 days

3. Compliance-Driven Retention

  • Financial Services (SOX): 7 years

  • Healthcare (HIPAA): 6 years

  • Government (FISMA): 3-7 years

  • GDPR (EU): Data minimization principle

Configurable Parameters

Per Data Source:

  • Minimum retention period

  • Maximum retention period

  • Storage tier allocation

  • Compression settings

  • Backup requirements

Per Event Type:

  • High-priority events (longer retention)

  • Normal events (standard retention)

  • Low-priority events (shorter retention)

  • Exclusion rules (immediate deletion)

Capacity Management

Storage Planning

Calculation Framework

Daily Ingestion Volume × Retention Days × Compression Ratio = Required Storage

Example Calculation:

1 TB/day × 365 days × 0.3 compression = 109.5 TB annual requirement

Tier Allocation Guidelines

Hot Storage (High Performance):

  • 5-10% of total storage capacity

  • Recent 30 days of critical data

  • Over-provision by 20% for peak loads

Warm Storage (Balanced):

  • 20-30% of total storage capacity

  • 30-180 days of data

  • Hybrid storage for cost optimization

Cold Storage (High Capacity):

  • 60-70% of total storage capacity

  • 180+ days of data

  • High-density, cost-effective storage

Capacity Monitoring

Key Metrics:

  • Daily ingestion rate trends

  • Storage utilization per tier

  • Query performance vs. capacity

  • Cost per GB per tier

Automated Alerts:

  • Storage utilization > 80%

  • Ingestion rate anomalies

  • Performance degradation

  • Retention policy violations

Compliance and Regulatory Requirements

Regulatory Frameworks

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

  • Right to erasure: Automated deletion capabilities

  • Data minimization: Justified retention periods only

  • Privacy by design: Built-in data protection controls

SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act)

  • 7-year retention: Financial data and related security logs

  • Immutable storage: WORM compliance for audit trails

  • Access controls: Segregation of duties

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)

  • 6-year retention: Healthcare-related security logs

  • Encryption: Data at rest and in transit

  • Audit logging: Who accessed what data when

PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)

  • 1-year minimum: Security logs for cardholder data environment

  • Daily monitoring: Real-time analysis requirements

  • Secure deletion: Cryptographic erasure capabilities

Compliance Features

Legal Hold:

  • Suspend automatic deletion for specific data

  • Litigation support and forensic preservation

  • Chain of custody documentation

Audit Reporting:

  • Automated compliance reports

  • Retention policy compliance verification

  • Data handling audit trails

Data Classification:

  • Automatic PII/PHI detection

  • Retention rule application based on data sensitivity

  • Redaction and anonymization capabilities

Best Practices

Design Principles

1. Data Classification First

  • Classify data at ingestion time

  • Apply appropriate retention policies automatically

  • Consider privacy and sensitivity levels

2. Performance-Cost Balance

  • Hot storage for active data only

  • Aggressive compression for cold data

  • Tiered storage optimization

3. Automation Over Manual Processes

  • Policy-driven lifecycle management

  • Automated capacity planning

  • Self-healing storage systems

Implementation Guidelines

Storage Architecture

[SSD Tier] → [NVMe Tier] → [HDD Tier] → [Archive Tier] Real-time Recent history Long-term Compliance < 1s response 1-5s response 10-60s response Minutes/hours

Network Considerations

  • Dedicated storage networks (10GbE+)

  • Separate management and data planes

  • Redundant connectivity for availability

Backup and Recovery

  • 3-2-1 backup strategy implementation

  • Cross-site replication for disaster recovery

  • Point-in-time recovery capabilities

Monitoring and Maintenance

Daily Operations

  • Monitor ingestion rates and storage utilization

  • Verify automatic tier transitions

  • Check retention policy compliance

Weekly Reviews

  • Capacity planning analysis

  • Performance optimization

  • Cost optimization opportunities

Monthly Assessments

  • Retention policy effectiveness

  • Compliance requirement changes

  • Storage architecture optimization

SIEM Plan Integration

Connection Points

The Log Management Plan integrates with other EnergyLogserver SIEM components:

Configuration Integration

  • Storage policies defined in Configuration

  • Index templates and mapping configurations

  • Data pipeline and enrichment rules

SIEM Plan Coordination

  • Search and query optimization across tiers

  • Dashboard performance considerations

  • Alert and correlation rule efficiency

Analytics Impact

  • Historical data availability for trending

  • Long-term baseline establishment

  • Machine learning model training data

User Experience Considerations

Transparent Operation:

  • Users shouldn’t need to know which tier data resides in

  • Automatic query optimization across tiers

  • Seamless experience regardless of data age

Performance Expectations:

  • Recent data: Sub-second response times

  • Historical data: Reasonable wait times with progress indicators

  • Archive data: Restoration request workflow

Cost Awareness:

  • Query cost estimates for expensive operations

  • Data age indicators in search results

  • Storage tier visibility for administrators

Future Enhancements

Planned Features:

  • AI-driven capacity planning

  • Intelligent data tiering based on access patterns

  • Advanced compression algorithms

  • Cloud-native storage options

Roadmap Integration:

  • Machine learning for retention optimization

  • Automated compliance reporting

  • Self-optimizing storage systems

  • Integration with cloud storage providers