The 11 Best User & Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) Tools

As cyber threats continue to surge and malicious insiders pose significant risks, user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) tools have become an essential component of a comprehensive security strategy, helping organizations to detect anomalous behavior and hidden threats. 

These sophisticated UEBA tools use machine learning, data science, and pattern recognition to analyze user and entity behavior, establish baselines, and identify deviations that may signal security incidents, enabling swift responses to mitigate risks.

In this article, we’ll explore the top 11 UEBA tools that can help organizations strengthen their cybersecurity posture and stay ahead of the current threat landscape:

1. Teramind
2. Splunk User Behavior Analytics
3. Securonix
4. Gurucul
5. ManageEngine
6. Exabeam
7. Microsoft Sentinel
8. Rapid7
9. LogRhythm
10. Cynet
11. Varonis

1. Teramind

Teramind stands out with its robust user and entity behavior analytics platform, offering a comprehensive suite of security tools designed to enhance an organization’s security posture. At its core, Teramind provides intelligent anomaly detection powered by machine learning. The platform’s risk-scoring algorithm and regression analysis try to detect unusual behaviors that could signal a potential security threat. 

The solution’s strength lies in creating baselines for routine activities and schedules across employees and departments to quickly identify deviations that may indicate a breach. It monitors anomalous network activity and system sign-ins to detect compromised credentials and unrecognized logins.

Key UEBA Features

• User Activity Monitoring: Teramind’s user activity monitoring is meticulous, capturing every action to provide a clear picture of user behavior.
• Audit & Investigation Tools: The platform’s investigation tools, including session recordings and immutable logs, offer in-depth insights to security analysts to quickly investigate suspicious activities and gather crucial evidence for incident response.
• Data Loss Prevention: Teramind’s data loss prevention mechanisms are designed to help organizations safeguard their intellectual property and sensitive information from malicious insiders and external threats.

Why Teramind is Perfect for UEBA

• Detect Anomalous Behaviors on any Endpoint: With its advanced behavioral analytics capabilities, Teramind can identify suspicious behaviors and abnormal activities across endpoints on the corporate network, proactively enabling security teams to mitigate security risks and potential threats.
• Insider Threat Prevention: Teramind effectively prevents insider threats by monitoring users’ behavior protecting against intentional and accidental data breaches.
• Remote Desktop Control: Remote desktop control lets administrators directly access and control a user’s desktop, allowing for real-time attack prevention and hands-on remote training.
• Forensic Investigation Tools: Teramind’s forensic tools provide granular data and analytics, crucial for post-incident investigations and compliance.

What Users Are Saying about Teramind

• Users have praised Teramind as an excellent product with a wide range of use cases, providing reassurance about its effectiveness and versatility. 

• Great tool for investigations & forensics.
• The #1 most important productivity and employee management tool for any workplace.

With its comprehensive monitoring capabilities and user-friendly interface, Teramind is a top contender for organizations seeking to fortify their security measures and gain valuable insights into user behavior. 

2. Splunk User Behavior Analytics

Splunk User Behavior Analytics (UBA) is a cutting-edge security solution that leverages machine learning and statistical models to detect and analyze abnormal user and entity behavior, protecting against sophisticated internal and external threats. It’s designed to streamline the threat detection process, reducing the need for extensive manual analysis and allowing security teams to focus on the most significant threats.

Key Features

• Utilizes unsupervised ML algorithms to establish baseline behaviors and identify deviations, highlighting potential threats.
• Offers a streamlined workflow that simplifies the threat review process, transforming billions of events into actionable insights.
• Provides visualizations of threats across multiple attack phases, aiding in the rapid assessment of impact and informed decision-making.

Why Splunk Might Be a Good UEBA Solution

• Splunk UBA’s kill chain detection and attack vector discovery features let you track threat evolution and lateral movement.
• User feedback customizes anomaly models, improving threat detection over time.

Splunk Drawbacks

• The solution’s complexity and steep learning curve may present challenges for security staff with limited SIEM experience.
• The pricing model for Splunk can be cost-prohibitive for some small to medium-sized businesses.
• The detection features can be underwhelming for some.

Splunk UBA stands out with its advanced machine learning and threat visualization capabilities. However, it’s essential to consider the potential challenges related to its learning curve, cost, and not-so-comprehensive features. 

3. Securonix

Securonix Next-Gen SIEM offers a sophisticated UEBA platform with an analytics-driven approach to uncover anomalous behaviors across user and entity interactions. It’s designed to elevate the abilities of security analysts by providing clear visibility into complex threats with minimal noise.

Key Features

• Offers a comprehensive view of security events by integrating data with identity and entity context.
• Utilizes behavior analytics and machine learning to understand patterns and detect threats.
• Facilitates threat detection with threat models that align with industry frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK and US-CERT.

Why Securonix Might be a Good UEBA Solution

• Provides unparalleled insights into cloud environments, ensuring that security monitoring extends to all major cloud infrastructures and applications.
• Combines events with user context for effective insider threat monitoring, alerting on deviations from established baselines.

Securonix Drawbacks

• It can be complex to deploy, configure, and maintain.
• The backend complexity may challenge users when writing queries or developing custom analytics.
• Poor customer support.

Securonix’s UEBA solution offers powerful threat detection capabilities, but its customer support has drawn criticism. Customers report lengthy response times, unhelpful staff, and a lack of guidance, which may be a significant drawback for organizations seeking hands-on support for the platform’s customization and maintenance.

4. Gurucul

Gurucul’s UEBA platform enhances an organization’s security posture beyond traditional detection methods. It utilizes behavior-based risk scoring and machine learning models to detect threats immediately upon deployment. The platform continuously learns and adjusts to new activities, distinguishing between genuine threats and false positives, enabling security teams to focus on the most credible risks.

Key Features

• The platform’s enterprise-class risk engine synthesizes various analytics into a unified risk score, aiding teams in prioritizing their response actions.
• Gurucul offers comprehensive case management capabilities, enabling efficient tracking and management of security incidents.
• The software safeguards sensitive data by masking any attribute based on user roles or individual users’ permissions to meet data privacy requirements.

Why Gurucul Might Be a Good UEBA Solution

• The platform can track anomalous user activity across various sources, including networks, cloud services, machines, mobile devices, and IoT assets.
• Gurucul uses big data and behavior analytics to provide actionable intelligence with low false positives.

Gurucul Drawbacks

• The initial setup and tuning of Gurucul’s advanced features can be complex and resource-intensive.
• The lack of sufficient online documentation and training resources can make it difficult for users to become properly acquainted with the platform.
• Issues with third-party integrations.

Gurucul’s UEBA tool provides robust threat detection features, but its implementation and advanced analytics may present a learning curve for users due to limited online documentation and training resources.

5. ManageEngine

ManageEngine offers Log360, a unified security information and event management (SIEM) solution with advanced UEBA capabilities powered by ML algorithms for accurate threat detection. The UEBA module establishes baselines and monitors for abnormal behavior, like unusual logins or file deletions, to help defend against insider threats, account compromise, and data exfiltration.

Key Features

• The system can pinpoint unusual activities that deviate from established patterns, flagging them for further investigation.
• Activities are assessed for potential risks, with a risk score assigned to prioritize response actions.
• It compares user behavior against peer groups to identify outliers and potential threats.

Why ManageEngine Might be a Good UEBA Solution

• It monitors various activities across the network, providing broad security coverage.
• The solution becomes more effective over time as it processes more data and refines its anomaly detection capabilities.

ManageEngine Drawbacks

• The tool can be prone to bugs and glitches, and some configuration processes can be clunky for users.
• The support team could do better.
• ManageEngine Log360 can be resource-intensive and consumes a large amount of storage.

ManageEngine’s Log360 provides extensive UEBA features, but bugs, glitches, and high resource consumption can hamper it.

6. Exabeam

Exabeam’s UEBA solution establishes baselines of normal behavior to detect anomalies missed by traditional tools, like lateral movement and credential abuse. Its Advanced Analytics feature provides over 1,800 detection rules and 750 behavioral models to identify threats like compromised credentials, zero-day attacks, and advanced persistent threats.

Key Features

• Machine learning is applied to assign risk scores to events, streamlining the triage and investigation process.
• Automated visualization of incidents within Smart Timelines™ provides a complete history and risk assessment of each event.
• Dynamic Alert Prioritization enhances third-party alert prioritization by integrating UEBA context, focusing analyst efforts on the most critical alerts.

Why Exabeam Might Be a Good UEBA Solution

• Exabeam’s UEBA solution offers granular threat detection capabilities to catch compromised credentials and other elusive threats.
• With over 1,800 anomaly rules and extensive behavior-based ML models, Exabeam ensures that normal behavior is well-understood and deviations are quickly identified.

Exabeam Drawbacks

• Pricing can be steep.
• Exabeam’s complexity can make it challenging to set up, configure, and manage effectively.
• The platform requires extensive tuning and necessitates significant hardware for on-premises deployments.

Exabeam’s integration with SIEM systems and advanced analytics makes it a worthy option in the cybersecurity space. However, like any tool, it comes with challenges, such as configuration complexity and a reliance on high-quality data. 

7. Microsoft Sentinel

Microsoft Sentinel stands out as a cloud-native, scalable solution that offers a comprehensive approach to security management within an enterprise. Analyzing logs and alerts from various sources constructs behavioral profiles for entities such as users and applications, enabling the detection of anomalies and compromised assets.

Key Features

• It builds baseline behavioral profiles for entities, aiding in detecting abnormal activities.
• Utilizes machine learning and artificial intelligence to identify risky behavior patterns and potential threats.
• Evaluate the sensitivity and potential impact of compromised assets to prioritize incident response.

Why Microsoft Sentinel Might be a Good UEBA Solution

• Inspired by Gartner’s UEBA paradigm, it focuses on relevant attack vectors and aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
• Employs various techniques and machine learning to enhance threat detection and response.

Microsoft Sentinel Drawbacks

• There are frequent complaints of bugs and functionality issues.
• Microsoft’s tool is optimized for its ecosystem, which may cause integration issues with non-Microsoft products.
• The costs can be a barrier, especially for smaller organizations.

While Microsoft Sentinel offers centralized monitoring and automated incident response, it has notable cons. Users find the costs can escalate quickly as more services and tools are added, and the platform is geared towards larger enterprises with sufficient staff to manage it effectively.

8. Rapid7

Rapid7’s InsightIDR is a cloud-native SIEM and XDR platform incorporating user and entity behavior analytics. It’s designed to detect and eliminate stealthy, unknown, and insider threats by leveraging finely tuned analytics and machine learning. This UEBA solution is vital to a layered security strategy, providing visibility into user activity to mitigate risks and stop threats that traditional perimeter monitoring tools might miss.

Key Features

• InsightIDR provides continuous user and credential monitoring to detect anomalies from baselines.
• The platform automatically correlates network activity to users and entities.
• InsightIDR uses ML to detect unusual activity and stolen credential use.

Why Rapid7 Might be a Good UEBA Solution

• InsightIDR accelerates detection and response with an intuitive interface and robust detections.
• The solution includes deception technology to expose intruders early in their attack.

Rapid7 Drawbacks

• It produces occasional false positives.
• Rapid7 InsightIDR scans can be resource-intensive on the network and system.
• Integration with certain APIs can be complex, and automation is limited.

Rapid7 InsightIDR may be highly regarded for its incident detection and response capabilities, but some users have noted that it requires a significant investment in setup and maintenance. There are also concerns about its scalability and the complexity of its features for smaller teams. 

9. LogRhythm

LogRhythm’s UEBA solution enhances security operations by utilizing machine learning to identify anomalous user behavior indicative of insider threats or compromised accounts. It functions as a cloud-native add-on within the LogRhythm SIEM platform, offering advanced analytics to detect and prioritize potential threats for investigation and response.

Key Features

• LogRhythm UEBA employs self-evolving ML algorithms to analyze vast datasets for improved threat detection.
• The system automatically identifies and scores unusual user activities, aiding in quickly identifying potential security incidents.
• With SmartResponse™, analysts can leverage automated actions to respond to alarms, streamlining the threat mitigation process.

Why LogRhythm Might be a Good UEBA Solution

• LogRhythm UEBA adds security monitoring to detect complex threats that other tools might miss.
• Its cloud-native architecture enables quick implementation, letting teams focus on threat resolution.

LogRhythm Drawbacks

• The software takes time to be configured and implemented.
• They have limited customization options.
• UI could be better alongside availability and easy access to training materials.

LogRhythm NextGen SIEM is a strong contender in the UEBA space; however, the platform can have scalability issues when handling large volumes of log data, and the deployment and configuration of the tool can be cumbersome and require significant expertise.

10. Cynet

Cynet’s UBA is a security layer within the Cynet 360 platform that monitors and analyzes user behavior to identify and isolate compromised accounts. By customizing baseline behaviors and correlating user activities with other security events, Cynet provides real-time context to activities, enhancing the ability to spot suspicious actions.

Key Features

• Cynet allows for tailoring standard behavioral patterns, which helps detect unusual activities like first-time logins or actions during odd hours.
• The platform continuously correlates user activities with other events, providing a comprehensive view of potential risks.
• Cynet automates the alert process and can disable compromised accounts based on detected suspicious activities.

Why Cynet Might be a Good UEBA Solution

• It monitors various user activities, which can help detect lateral movements and command and control activities.
• Defining what is typical for each user or entity allows for more accurate detection of anomalies.

Cynet Drawbacks

• Users report that the web UI can be underwhelming.
• The dashboard can have glitches, and some alerts may need to be more accurate or even appear.
• Cynet can sometimes have high resource usage.

While Cynet is generally a robust security solution, it does have some areas for improvement. Memory consumption can occasionally be high, and some updated features in beta versions can be unstable, particularly on Mac and Linux systems. 

11. Varonis

Varonis is a robust UEBA platform that comprehensively monitors data activity across cloud and on-premises environments. It leverages advanced machine learning algorithms to develop user behavior profiles and detect anomalies, enhancing security against insider attacks and data breaches.

Key Features

• Varonis provides a live audit trail of events, ensuring immediate visibility into data activities.
• The platform utilizes behavior-based threat models to identify and mitigate abnormal activities.
• It ensures visibility across various platforms, aiding in detecting and containing sophisticated threats.

Why Varonis Might be a Good UEBA Solution

• Varonis’s ability to detect a wide range of cyberattacks automatically makes it a strong contender in the UEBA space.
• Varonis can streamline cybersecurity operations and potentially lower related costs by reducing the need for numerous security analysts.

Varonis Drawbacks

• The reporting interfaces in Varonis can be challenging to navigate and must be updated.
• Varonis is expensive, with most features locked behind costly add-ons.
• The implementation process also has vendor-exclusive components that can slow deployment.

Varonis stands out with its real-time monitoring, AI-driven threat detection, and cross-platform visibility. However, it’s essential to consider the upfront costs, potential complexity in use, and integration challenges that may accompany its deployment. 

What to Look for with UEBA Tools

When exploring UEBA tools, seeking solutions that can help rapidly detect and analyze malicious activity and enhance overall security is essential. Common features include:

Real-time Monitoring & Alerts

A top-tier UEBA tool provides continuous monitoring, ensuring every network action is observed and assessed in real-time. This capability is essential for the early detection of potential threats, allowing for immediate alerts and swift mitigation. 

Forensic Investigation Capabilities

Forensic capabilities are the backbone of any effective UEBA tool, enabling deep dives into security incidents to uncover a breach’s root cause and scope. These tools should offer detailed activity logs, user and entity behavior timelines, and the ability to reconstruct events to understand the sequence of actions leading to an alert.

Automation Capabilities

Automation reduces the manual workload on security teams by automating routine tasks and responses. This includes automatically executing predefined actions when certain conditions are met, such as isolating a compromised account or quarantining a suspicious file.

Reporting Tools

Reporting tools within UEBA solutions should provide clear, actionable insights through visual dashboards and detailed reports. These tools help visualize the data flow and user behavior across the network, making it easier for security teams to pinpoint anomalies and track security trends over time.

Machine Learning & AI

These technologies enable the tool to learn from historical data, establish a baseline of normal behavior, and adapt to new patterns, enhancing the tool’s ability to detect sophisticated, previously unknown threats.

FAQs

What is a UEBA tool?

A User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) tool is a security solution that uses advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI to detect and analyze suspicious behavior and anomalies within a network. It helps organizations identify threats by monitoring user and entity activities, providing real-time alerts and actionable insights for improved security.

Is CrowdStrike a UEBA?

No, CrowdStrike is not a UEBA tool. While CrowdStrike offers endpoint protection and threat intelligence services, it does not specialize in User and Entity Behavior Analytics.

What is SIEM and UEBA?

SIEM, or Security Information and Event Management, is a security system that collects and analyzes security log data from various sources to detect and respond to security incidents. UEBA, or User and Entity Behavior Analytics, is a subset of SIEM that focuses on detecting and analyzing abnormal user and entity behavior within a network to identify potential insider threats. Combining SIEM and UEBA provides organizations with a comprehensive security solution for threat detection and response.

What is the difference between Splunk UBA and UEBA?

Splunk UBA and UEBA refer to different aspects of security analytics. Splunk UBA (User Behavior Analytics) analyzes user behavior patterns to detect anomalous activities. At the same time, UEBA (User and Entity Behavior Analytics) encompasses a broader scope by including the analysis of both user and entity behavior.

What are the three pillars of UEBA?

The three pillars of UEBA are advanced analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. These pillars provide the foundation for UEBA tools to detect suspicious behavior and anomalies in a network effectively, enhancing security for organizations.

Does Splunk have UBA?

Yes, Splunk does have UBA capabilities. Splunk UBA (User Behavior Analytics) specializes in analyzing user behavior patterns to detect anomalous activities within a network.

Conclusion

As organizations expand their digital footprint and adopt cloud-based applications, the need for robust UEBA has never been more critical. The UEBA tools reviewed in this piece offer organizations various options to improve their cybersecurity by providing visibility into user and system behavior to quickly detect and respond to real threats. Organizations should carefully evaluate their needs and choose a solution that fits their security requirements and budget.