I’ve seen countless companies fall victim to cyber-attacks. It’s never easy to witness the aftermath of a successful security breach, especially when it could have been prevented with the right measures in place. That’s why I’m passionate about sharing my knowledge and experience to help others protect themselves from potential attacks.

One of the key components of a successful cyber security strategy is having a reliable monitoring dashboard in place. Such a dashboard enables you to monitor for potential threats in real-time, giving you the ability to act quickly and decisively to avoid disaster. But it’s not always easy to create a dashboard that provides the right data and insights.

In this article, I’ll walk you through the process of creating a monitoring dashboard for improved cyber security. Whether you’re in charge of your company’s security or a concerned individual looking to protect yourself, the information I share will help you stay informed and secure. So let’s get started!

How do I create a monitoring dashboard?

Understanding the Prerequisites of a Monitoring Dashboard

Before creating a monitoring dashboard, there are certain prerequisites that must be understood and taken into account. First and foremost, it’s essential to determine the scope of the monitoring dashboard. This includes identifying the systems, applications, and infrastructure that require monitoring. Secondly, the resources that will be used to collect and analyze data must be clearly defined. This involves considering the available tools and technologies needed to effectively track the desired data.

To effectively monitor data, there must also be a clear understanding of the metrics that will be tracked. This can vary from standard system metrics such as CPU usage, memory utilization, and disk space to more specialized data, such as transaction rate for a payment gateway. Finally, creating a monitoring dashboard requires identification of the audience and their specific needs. Knowing the who, what, and why of monitoring data will directly impact the design of the dashboard.

Requirements for Effective Monitoring

Effective monitoring requires a thorough understanding of the data and metrics that need to be tracked. Once the scope and metrics have been defined, it’s time to determine how alerts will be set up. A reliable alerting system can be the difference between preventing or mitigating issues before users even notice, or dealing with them after the fact. Key requirements for an effective monitoring system include:

Real-time monitoring: data must be collected in real-time in order to allow for quick response to any issues that arise.

Scalability: monitoring solutions must be scalable to ensure that they can cope with growing data volumes.

Reliability: a monitoring system must be reliable and provide accurate data.

Flexibility: effective monitoring requires the ability to customize alerts, add new metrics, or remove irrelevant ones.

Creating an Optional Management Module

Depending on the size of the organization, a management module can be a useful addition to a monitoring dashboard. This module acts as a centralized, one-stop location for managing alerts and tracking incidents. It allows quicker and more efficient resolution of issues. Additional benefits include the ability to set priorities, provide detailed incident reports, trend analysis and historical data.

The management module should include features such as a ticketing system to track and prioritize issues, resource allocation, and escalate unresolved issues as needed. A smooth-running management module saves time, money and resources.

Identifying Metrics to be Tracked

Metrics are specific data points that need to be tracked in order to gain insight into the health of a system. Identify key metrics by starting with a baseline of monitoring data that is relevant to the business. Metrics should be specific to the various systems and applications being monitored. For example, tracking transaction volume for a payment gateway is vital, but it might not be appropriate for a web server.

Some examples of common metrics include network bandwidth usage, CPU and memory usage, response time, transaction volumes and error rates. It is also important to include metrics from third-party sources such as. AWS CloudWatch events, and Microsoft Azure Subscription which can provide invaluable insights and context to metrics already being monitored.

Generating Alerts for Critical Metrics

Identifying metrics alone is not enough – it’s critical to determine how alerts will be generated based on the collected data. Alerting can take many forms, including email, SMS, and push notifications. Alerts should be triggered based on immediate notifications and sustained trends. Immediate notifications can be set up when a metric suddenly spikes above predefined limits, e.g., CPU usage.

Sustained alerts, on the other hand, are based on thresholds that are reached or exceeded for a predetermined length of time. Depending on the severity of the alert, the alert should be escalated automatically to the next level or person.

Creating an Alert summary for Quick Action

A vital component of an effective monitoring dashboard is an alert summary, which provides an overview of all current alerts sorted by priority, including information about the system, application, etc. in distress. An alert summary should be concise and provide only essential information befitting quick action.

The summary should also contain a recommendation of an optimal next step. Well-designed alert summaries can prevent precious hours from ticking by while waiting for an appropriate response, ensuring that the right person gets the right alert at the right time.

Building a Dashboard for Visual Data Representation

Building a monitoring dashboard requires choosing a medium that provides clear visual representation of data. Visual data representation simplifies complex data and makes it easily accessible to the broader audience. Graphs serve as an efficient way to monitor data and identify trends. The dashboard should provide continuous data insights on current data and historical data analysis.

A dashboard should include critical metrics essential to the specific systems and applications that have been identified. Visual overviews like dashboards provide a comprehensive view of the health of the systems, their performance, and their availability.

Displaying an Alert Summary on the Dashboard

The ultimate goal of a monitoring dashboard is to offer real-time data insights. For this reason, the alert summary should be prominently featured on the dashboard. The summary can be displayed clearly alongside the other key metrics being tracked. The critical alerts should be flagged with regard to the importance, allowing the audience to determine the appropriate response.

The dashboard should also allow full visibility and drill-down functionality into specific alerts, along with any related data points. Displaying the alert summary on the dashboard ensures that the most crucial information is accessible, allowing prompt and informed decision-making.

In conclusion, building a monitoring dashboard requires careful consideration of the prerequisites and specific metrics needed to track for effective monitoring. Dashboards must also include an easy-to-read alert summary, management module, visual data representation, among others, to provide real-time visibility into the systems’ health and act promptly and efficiently while preventing emergency situations.