Cybersecurity Engineering Discussions

John Tyson

Where we dissect the chaos of cyber security and turn it into actionable intelligence.

Episodes

  1. 15/11/2025

    Agentic AI Telemetry: Revolutionizing Data Infrastructure in the Cybersecurity Era

    Introduction In the rapidly evolving landscape of cybersecurity, agentic AI telemetry emerges as a pivotal advancement, enabling organizations to harness AI agents for enhanced data processing and threat detection. This blog post delves into the insights from the CribbleCon Keynote titled “The Agentic AI Era,” where industry leaders from Cribble outlined their vision for an AI-first data engine. By integrating machine-generated and human-generated data, this approach provides semantic context essential for automated investigations, ensuring robust security and compliance in high-stakes environments. As data volumes explode due to AI workloads, legacy systems falter under the strain. Cribble’s suite—Stream, Edge, Lake, and Search—addresses these challenges, offering scalable solutions that prioritize human-in-the-loop oversight and predictable financial operations. This keynote highlights how agentic AI telemetry not only accelerates data handling but also fortifies cybersecurity postures against emerging threats. The Challenge of Exponential Data Growth in Cybersecurity Understanding the AI-Driven Data Surge The integration of AI agents into cybersecurity operations is transforming how organizations manage telemetry data. Traditional infrastructure, designed for keyword searches and human dashboards, is ill-equipped for the scale of agentic AI telemetry. Data growth rates, already at 30% compound annual growth pre-AI, are poised to accelerate dramatically as AI agents generate magnitudes more queries for troubleshooting and threat analysis. Leaders at Cribble emphasize that without intentional deployment, AI could lead to catastrophic errors, such as misclassifying sensitive data, resulting in audit failures or compliance breaches. For instance, in cybersecurity contexts, deploying AI without human validation risks exposing personally identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI), violating standards like HIPAA or GDPR. Historical Parallels and the Need for New Infrastructure Drawing analogies to past technological shifts—like the PC revolution or mobile era—the keynote underscores that agentic AI telemetry represents an epochal change. Just as mobile infrastructure evolved to support real-time applications, cybersecurity telemetry must adapt to federated, open systems that access data across legacy databases, cloud warehouses, and data lakes without centralization. Cribble positions its data engine as the solution, built over seven years to handle this transition. This infrastructure ensures outcomes-focused operations, maximizing human productivity while mitigating risks associated with destructive AI decisions. Cribble’s AI-First Product Suite Stream and Edge: Optimizing Data in Motion Cribble Stream, a pioneering telemetry pipeline, decouples sources from destinations, allowing flexible routing, enrichment, and filtering of data. This is crucial for cybersecurity, where real-time data shaping prevents unauthorized access or leakage. Complementing Stream, Cribble Edge extends these capabilities to origination points, enabling edge processing to reduce central infrastructure loads. Features like centralized fleet management and version control ensure all agents remain updated—a common pain point in distributed cybersecurity environments. Recent enhancements include support for Windows 11, FIPS compliance, and Kubernetes explorer for deeper visibility. Lake and Lakehouse: Cost-Effective Storage and Analytics For data at rest, Cribble Lake offers inexpensive, secure storage with identity-based authorization, shifting from infrastructure-centric access controls. This aligns with cybersecurity best practices by enhancing data governance. The Lakehouse extension delivers sub-second queries over terabytes, separating storage and compute for scalability. In agentic AI telemetry scenarios, this high-performance layer supports rapid AI-driven analytics without escalating costs. Search: Federated Insights for Comprehensive Visibility Cribble Search provides a unified lens across disparate data stores, using familiar query interfaces like pipe-delimited syntax. This federation is vital for cybersecurity investigations, eliminating the need for users to navigate multiple tools. Integrated AI features, such as Copilot for generating queries in plain English, democratize access for novice and expert analysts alike. Search packs—bundles of pre-built knowledge—accelerate insights, while notebooks foster collaborative investigations in a virtual war room. AI Integration and Security Enhancements Co-Pilot Editor: Accelerating Configurations Launched earlier this year, the Co-Pilot Editor has seen rapid adoption, with hundreds of users creating thousands of pipelines weekly. It provides real-time feedback and human review, ensuring accuracy in data transformations critical for cybersecurity compliance. Cribble Guard: Real-Time Data Protection A standout innovation, Cribble Guard employs AI-powered rules to mask sensitive information like PII, PHI, and credentials in transit. With over 200 out-of-the-box rules and an agentic background detection system, it continuously scans for patterns, recommending refinements. In a live demonstration, Guard redacted emails and tokens in seconds, demonstrating its efficacy in preventing data breaches. This tool turns cybersecurity risks into resilience, supporting standards such as PCI and GDPR. Human-in-the-Loop Philosophy Cribble’s approach maintains human oversight in high-stakes decisions, avoiding autonomous errors. For investigations, AI assists by running multiple hypotheses, where error costs are minimal, enhancing efficiency without compromising security. Future Directions: Scaling for Agentic AI Upcoming Features and Integrations Cribble is expanding with Mac OS support for Edge, scaling to 500,000 nodes, and Outpost for restricted environments. Stream enhancements include optimized persistent queuing and integrations with Microsoft, Cloudflare, and others. Search will federate to additional platforms like Snowflake and Azure Data Explorer, improving performance to handle 10-100x query loads from AI agents. Monitoring and alerting will automate insights, reducing manual investigations. Cribble Cloud: Modern Architecture for Global Operations Cribble Cloud offers tiered storage, elastic resources, and distributed data planes, eliminating noisy neighbors and ensuring geographic flexibility. Features like Cribble as Code (via APIs, SDKs, and Terraform) enable programmatic deployments, while FinOps Center provides cost projections for predictable budgeting. Achieving FedRAMP in-process designation underscores its security rigor, complementing SOC 2, PCI, and HIPAA compliance. Notebooks: Collaborative Intelligence Notebooks transform investigations by integrating AI queries, code, charts, and context in real-time. A demonstration illustrated identifying credential theft from a malicious NPM package, summarizing findings for quick action. Preparing for the Agentic AI Era in Cybersecurity The fusion of machine and human data in agentic AI telemetry provides a 360-degree view, enabling automated root-cause analysis. Cribble’s open, federated platform differentiates it by supporting diverse agents while ensuring deterministic query translations for superior accuracy. As AI rewires workflows, organizations must adopt AI-first infrastructure to thrive. Resistance to this shift risks obsolescence, but intentional implementation—prioritizing security and human control—promises 10x productivity gains. For further reading on AI in cybersecurity, explore resources from authoritative sources such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on risk management frameworks and Gartner’s hype cycle for emerging technologies. This post, derived from the CribbleCon Keynote, illustrates how agentic AI telemetry is not a distant future but an immediate opportunity to bolster cybersecurity resilience. Key Takeaways Agentic AI telemetry revolutionizes cybersecurity by combining machine-generated and human-generated data for better threat detection. Cribble’s suite, including Stream, Edge, Lake, and Search, enhances data processing and simplifies real-time analytics for growing data volumes. The Co-Pilot Editor and Cribble Guard provide robust tools for data transformation and real-time protection against sensitive data breaches. The integration of AI with human oversight ensures accurate decision-making and compliance, preventing catastrophic errors in sensitive data management. Cribble’s open platform supports organizations in adapting to an AI-first infrastructure, promoting efficiency and security in cybersecurity operations. About SIEMtune Cribl Search Integration: Real-Time Insights with Cribl Edge Understanding Devo Gov Cloud Limitations Cribl Edge with Splunk: Integration Guide Cribl Edge Log Collection: Mastering File Monitor and Exec Sources The post Agentic AI Telemetry: Revolutionizing Data Infrastructure in the Cybersecurity Era appeared first on SIEMTune | SIEM Optimization & Cybersecurity Engineering for U.S. Enterprises.

    16 min
  2. 15/11/2025

    Onboarding AWS Servers to Azure Arc: Step-by-Step Guide with Sentinel Integration

    Onboarding AWS servers to Azure Arc represents a pivotal strategy for organizations seeking to unify management across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. This comprehensive guide delineates the process of connecting Windows and Linux servers hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to Azure Arc, followed by integration with Microsoft Sentinel for robust log collection and security monitoring. Azure Arc extends Azure’s governance and management capabilities to resources outside Azure, enabling consistent operations. Microsoft Sentinel, functioning as a cloud-native Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution, leverages the Azure Monitor Agent (AMA) and Data Collection Rules (DCRs) to ingest logs efficiently from Arc-enabled servers. The procedure outlined herein emphasizes automation through scripts or the multicloud connector, ensuring minimal manual effort and adherence to security best practices. It incorporates service principals for authentication, facilitating secure collaboration with AWS administrators. This approach is particularly effective for minimizing logging volumes on Windows and optimizing syslog configurations on Linux, aligning with semantic search optimizations and user intent for practical, intent-driven content in 2025 SEO trends. To highlight the significance of this integration, consider these verifiable facts: Azure Arc enables the management of servers across multiple clouds, including AWS, allowing unified operations. Microsoft Sentinel is a cloud-native SIEM that uses AI to provide expansive visibility. With Azure Arc, customer data remains in the deployed region by default. Azure Sentinel simplifies collecting security data from various sources. Azure Arc brings Azure services to any infrastructure, supporting hybrid environments. Key Takeaways Onboarding AWS servers to Azure Arc helps unify management across hybrid environments and enhances log collection with Microsoft Sentinel. The guide details prerequisites, security considerations, and steps for onboarding both Windows and Linux servers to Azure Arc. Using automation and service principals streamlines the onboarding process while maintaining security best practices. Integration with Microsoft Sentinel enables proactive threat detection and compliance across multi-cloud infrastructures. Implementing best practices ensures scalability, cost-effectiveness, and robust security operations in hybrid setups. Understanding Azure Arc and Its Role in Multi-Cloud Management Azure Arc serves as a bridge for extending Azure services to non-Azure infrastructures, including AWS EC2 instances. By onboarding AWS servers to Azure Arc, administrators gain centralized control over inventory, policies, and updates, irrespective of the underlying cloud provider. This capability is essential in multi-cloud strategies, where consistency in governance reduces operational complexities. In comparison to competitors like AWS Outposts or Google Anthos, Azure Arc offers a lightweight, agent-based approach without requiring hardware extensions, making it ideal for seamless integration. User intent for such guides typically revolves around informational needs for step-by-step implementation, focusing on efficiency and security in hybrid setups. Recent advancements, such as the multicloud connector enabled by Azure Arc, further streamline onboarding by autodiscovering AWS EC2 instances and automating agent installation. Benefits of Integrating AWS Servers with Azure Arc and Microsoft Sentinel The integration of AWS servers with Azure Arc and Microsoft Sentinel yields significant advantages. It enables proactive threat detection through AI-driven analytics in Sentinel, while Arc ensures compliance and monitoring across environments. Organizations can achieve cost savings by optimizing log ingestion and avoiding redundant tools. Furthermore, this setup supports scalability, allowing automated onboarding for fleets of servers. In line with 2025 cloud computing trends, such as AI-native infrastructure and edge collaboration, this integration enhances resilience and data sovereignty. The multicloud connector option reduces manual intervention, addressing common onboarding challenges and promoting efficiency. Prerequisites for Onboarding AWS Servers to Azure Arc Prior to commencing the onboarding of AWS servers to Azure Arc, verify the following requirements to ensure a smooth execution: An active Azure subscription with sufficient permissions to create resources in Azure Arc, Microsoft Sentinel, and Azure Monitor. A pre-configured Microsoft Sentinel workspace accessible via the Azure portal. AWS EC2 instances running supported versions of Windows or Linux operating systems, as specified in the Azure Arc compatibility documentation. Administrative access on the AWS instances, such as membership in the Administrators group for Windows or sudo privileges for Linux. Outbound connectivity from AWS instances to Azure endpoints, primarily over HTTPS on port 443; adjust AWS security groups accordingly. Installation of Azure CLI or PowerShell on a management workstation for handling service principals. Registration of essential Azure resource providers, including Microsoft.HybridCompute, Microsoft.GuestConfiguration, Microsoft.HybridConnectivity, and Microsoft.AzureArcData. For AMA deployment via DCRs, ensure Arc-enabled servers exist and assign the Contributor role to the target resource group. Additionally, select an appropriate Azure Arc region and plan for scalability when managing multiple servers. For multicloud connector usage, deploy the required AWS CloudFormation template to provision IAM roles. Verifying Prerequisites for Successful Onboarding To mitigate common onboarding failures, conduct thorough verification of prerequisites. Begin by confirming Azure resource provider registrations using Azure CLI: az provider show -n Microsoft.HybridCompute. Ensure the SSM agent is installed on AWS EC2 instances, as it is essential for multicloud connector operations. Test network connectivity from AWS instances to Azure endpoints (e.g., him.ds.microsoft.com) using tools like curl or telnet. Validate IAM permissions in AWS by reviewing attached policies for the ArcForServerSSMRole and ArcForServerRole, ensuring no explicit deny statements override allowances. In Azure, confirm the service principal has the “Azure Connected Machine Onboarding” role scoped correctly. This step-by-step verification can prevent issues such as agent connection failures and permission errors. Security Considerations for Onboarding AWS Servers to Azure Arc Security is paramount in hybrid environments. Utilize a dedicated Azure subscription for Azure Arc resources to isolate them from production workloads, enhancing access control. Implement network allowlists by restricting outbound traffic from AWS EC2 instances to only necessary Azure endpoints, such as those for Azure Arc (e.g., *.his.arc.azure.com on port 443). Employ least-privilege principles with IAM roles in AWS and service principals in Azure. For multicloud connectors, leverage OpenID Connect (OIDC) for federated identity to avoid long-lived secrets. Rotate credentials periodically and monitor for abnormal traffic, such as unexpected outbound connections from guest configuration processes. These measures align with best practices for compliance and risk mitigation. Step 1: Creating a Service Principal for Secure Onboarding A service principal provides a secure, non-interactive authentication mechanism, limited to the Azure Connected Machine Onboarding role to uphold the principle of least privilege. Required Permissions Application creation rights, such as those granted to an Application Administrator in Microsoft Entra ID. Role assignment capabilities, typically held by Owners or User Access Administrators at the subscription level. Creation Methods Azure CLI Option Authenticate with az login. Create and assign the principal:textaz ad sp create-for-rbac --name "ArcOnboardingSP" --role "Azure Connected Machine Onboarding" --scopes "/subscriptions/"Record the appId, password, and tenantId. Note that secrets expire after one year, necessitating periodic rotation. Utilizing Azure Portal Method Navigate to Azure Arc > Management > Service principals > Add. Specify the name, scope (subscription or resource group), secret expiration, and assign the onboarding role. Retrieve the application ID and secret value. Using Azure PowerShell Verify the context with Get-AzContext. Execute:text$sp = New-AzADServicePrincipal -DisplayName "ArcOnboardingSP" -Role "Azure Connected Machine Onboarding" $sp | Format-Table AppId, @{ Name = "Secret"; Expression = { $_.PasswordCredentials.SecretText }}Capture the AppId and Secret. This process is expedient, often concluding within minutes, and yields credentials suitable for script embedding. Common errors include “ServiceManagementReference field is required,” resolved by assigning the Application Administrator role. Step 2: Onboarding Servers to Azure Arc Using Generated Scripts or Multicloud Connector Onboarding AWS servers to Azure Arc can be achieved via pre-configured scripts or the multicloud connector for automated discovery. Script-Based Onboarding In the Azure portal, go to Azure Arc > Machines > Add/Create > Add a machine. Choose to add single or multiple servers. On the Basics tab, select the subscription, resource group, region, operating system, and connectivity method (public endpoint). Under Authentication, enter the service principal details: client ID, secret, tenant ID, subscription ID, resource group, and location. Apply tags as required. Download the appropriate script: OnboardingScript.ps1 or OnboardingScript.sh. Executing on Windows Servers Log in to the AWS EC2

    12 min
  3. 31/10/2025

    Agentic AI Telemetry: Revolutionizing Data Infrastructure in the Cybersecurity Era

    Introduction In the rapidly evolving landscape of cybersecurity, agentic AI telemetry emerges as a pivotal advancement, enabling organizations to harness AI agents for enhanced data processing and threat detection. This blog post delves into the insights from the CribbleCon Keynote titled “The Agentic AI Era,” where industry leaders from Cribble outlined their vision for an AI-first data engine. By integrating machine-generated and human-generated data, this approach provides semantic context essential for automated investigations, ensuring robust security and compliance in high-stakes environments. As data volumes explode due to AI workloads, legacy systems falter under the strain. Cribble’s suite—Stream, Edge, Lake, and Search—addresses these challenges, offering scalable solutions that prioritize human-in-the-loop oversight and predictable financial operations. This keynote highlights how agentic AI telemetry not only accelerates data handling but also fortifies cybersecurity postures against emerging threats. The Challenge of Exponential Data Growth in Cybersecurity Understanding the AI-Driven Data Surge The integration of AI agents into cybersecurity operations is transforming how organizations manage telemetry data. Traditional infrastructure, designed for keyword searches and human dashboards, is ill-equipped for the scale of agentic AI telemetry. Data growth rates, already at 30% compound annual growth pre-AI, are poised to accelerate dramatically as AI agents generate magnitudes more queries for troubleshooting and threat analysis. Leaders at Cribble emphasize that without intentional deployment, AI could lead to catastrophic errors, such as misclassifying sensitive data, resulting in audit failures or compliance breaches. For instance, in cybersecurity contexts, deploying AI without human validation risks exposing personally identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI), violating standards like HIPAA or GDPR. Historical Parallels and the Need for New Infrastructure Drawing analogies to past technological shifts—like the PC revolution or mobile era—the keynote underscores that agentic AI telemetry represents an epochal change. Just as mobile infrastructure evolved to support real-time applications, cybersecurity telemetry must adapt to federated, open systems that access data across legacy databases, cloud warehouses, and data lakes without centralization. Cribble positions its data engine as the solution, built over seven years to handle this transition. This infrastructure ensures outcomes-focused operations, maximizing human productivity while mitigating risks associated with destructive AI decisions. Cribble’s AI-First Product Suite Stream and Edge: Optimizing Data in Motion Cribble Stream, a pioneering telemetry pipeline, decouples sources from destinations, allowing flexible routing, enrichment, and filtering of data. This is crucial for cybersecurity, where real-time data shaping prevents unauthorized access or leakage. Complementing Stream, Cribble Edge extends these capabilities to origination points, enabling edge processing to reduce central infrastructure loads. Features like centralized fleet management and version control ensure all agents remain updated—a common pain point in distributed cybersecurity environments. Recent enhancements include support for Windows 11, FIPS compliance, and Kubernetes explorer for deeper visibility. Lake and Lakehouse: Cost-Effective Storage and Analytics For data at rest, Cribble Lake offers inexpensive, secure storage with identity-based authorization, shifting from infrastructure-centric access controls. This aligns with cybersecurity best practices by enhancing data governance. The Lakehouse extension delivers sub-second queries over terabytes, separating storage and compute for scalability. In agentic AI telemetry scenarios, this high-performance layer supports rapid AI-driven analytics without escalating costs. Search: Federated Insights for Comprehensive Visibility Cribble Search provides a unified lens across disparate data stores, using familiar query interfaces like pipe-delimited syntax. This federation is vital for cybersecurity investigations, eliminating the need for users to navigate multiple tools. Integrated AI features, such as Copilot for generating queries in plain English, democratize access for novice and expert analysts alike. Search packs—bundles of pre-built knowledge—accelerate insights, while notebooks foster collaborative investigations in a virtual war room. AI Integration and Security Enhancements Co-Pilot Editor: Accelerating Configurations Launched earlier this year, the Co-Pilot Editor has seen rapid adoption, with hundreds of users creating thousands of pipelines weekly. It provides real-time feedback and human review, ensuring accuracy in data transformations critical for cybersecurity compliance. Cribble Guard: Real-Time Data Protection A standout innovation, Cribble Guard employs AI-powered rules to mask sensitive information like PII, PHI, and credentials in transit. With over 200 out-of-the-box rules and an agentic background detection system, it continuously scans for patterns, recommending refinements. In a live demonstration, Guard redacted emails and tokens in seconds, demonstrating its efficacy in preventing data breaches. This tool turns cybersecurity risks into resilience, supporting standards such as PCI and GDPR. Human-in-the-Loop Philosophy Cribble’s approach maintains human oversight in high-stakes decisions, avoiding autonomous errors. For investigations, AI assists by running multiple hypotheses, where error costs are minimal, enhancing efficiency without compromising security. Future Directions: Scaling for Agentic AI Upcoming Features and Integrations Cribble is expanding with Mac OS support for Edge, scaling to 500,000 nodes, and Outpost for restricted environments. Stream enhancements include optimized persistent queuing and integrations with Microsoft, Cloudflare, and others. Search will federate to additional platforms like Snowflake and Azure Data Explorer, improving performance to handle 10-100x query loads from AI agents. Monitoring and alerting will automate insights, reducing manual investigations. Cribble Cloud: Modern Architecture for Global Operations Cribble Cloud offers tiered storage, elastic resources, and distributed data planes, eliminating noisy neighbors and ensuring geographic flexibility. Features like Cribble as Code (via APIs, SDKs, and Terraform) enable programmatic deployments, while FinOps Center provides cost projections for predictable budgeting. Achieving FedRAMP in-process designation underscores its security rigor, complementing SOC 2, PCI, and HIPAA compliance. Notebooks: Collaborative Intelligence Notebooks transform investigations by integrating AI queries, code, charts, and context in real-time. A demonstration illustrated identifying credential theft from a malicious NPM package, summarizing findings for quick action. Preparing for the Agentic AI Era in Cybersecurity The fusion of machine and human data in agentic AI telemetry provides a 360-degree view, enabling automated root-cause analysis. Cribble’s open, federated platform differentiates it by supporting diverse agents while ensuring deterministic query translations for superior accuracy. As AI rewires workflows, organizations must adopt AI-first infrastructure to thrive. Resistance to this shift risks obsolescence, but intentional implementation—prioritizing security and human control—promises 10x productivity gains. For further reading on AI in cybersecurity, explore resources from authoritative sources such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on risk management frameworks and Gartner’s hype cycle for emerging technologies. This post, derived from the CribbleCon Keynote, illustrates how agentic AI telemetry is not a distant future but an immediate opportunity to bolster cybersecurity resilience. Key Takeaways Agentic AI telemetry enhances cybersecurity by integrating machine and human-generated data for better threat detection and compliance. Cribble’s solutions, including Stream, Edge, Lake, and Search, address the challenges of exponential data growth in cybersecurity. The Co-Pilot Editor and Cribble Guard ensure accurate data transformations and real-time protection of sensitive information. Cribble’s open platform supports scalability and collaboration, enabling organizations to leverage AI for improved investigations. Adopting an AI-first infrastructure is crucial for organizations to thrive in the evolving landscape of cybersecurity. Agentic AI Telemetry: Revolutionizing Data Infrastructure in the Cybersecurity Era Cribl Search Integration: Real-Time Insights with Cribl Edge The Birth and Evolution of AI: A Deep Dive into the 1950s Cribl Edge with Splunk: Integration Guide 2025 Cybersecurity Trends: Navigating the Future of Digital Security The post Agentic AI Telemetry: Revolutionizing Data Infrastructure in the Cybersecurity Era appeared first on SIEMTune | SIEM Optimization & Cybersecurity Engineering for U.S. Enterprises.

    16 min

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Where we dissect the chaos of cyber security and turn it into actionable intelligence.