SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) systems are a key tool for many companies to monitor their IT landscape and detect threats early on. SIEM solutions collect and analyse log data from various sources – firewalls, servers, networks, etc. – to obtain a comprehensive picture of the security situation.
However, SAP systems often present a challenge. Traditional SIEM tools reach their limits here because they do not sufficiently take into account the special features of the SAP world.
The communication problem: SIEM and SAP speak different languages
SIEM systems are typically designed to monitor infrastructure and network events. They detect patterns and anomalies based on rules developed for these environments. SAP, on the other hand, is a complex application landscape with its own protocols, security mechanisms and a specific data structure.
The problem: Events relevant to security in SAP – such as unauthorised transactions, critical authorisation changes or suspicious user activities – are simply not understandable for many SIEM systems. Without special interfaces and mechanisms for data preparation, SAP remains difficult to access for central security monitoring.
The consequence: SAP in the blind spot of security monitoring
Even in organisations with experienced security teams and established SIEM solutions, the integration of SAP data is often neglected. As a result, critical incidents at the application level remain undetected, even though the rest of the IT landscape is comprehensively monitored.
It is often assumed that the existing SIEM is ‘sufficient’ or that the SAP department already takes care of security. The fact is, however, that without targeted integration of SAP-specific events, there is no holistic overview of the company's security situation.
The solution: Make SAP data accessible to SIEM
To make SAP incidents visible and analysable in SIEM, SAP logs, configurations and role analyses must be prepared in such a way that they can be understood in the central security monitoring system. Modern solutions, such as BCS for SAP, enable these security-relevant events to be extracted from the SAP application area, normalised and integrated into any common SIEM system – regardless of the manufacturer or size of the SIEM system and the type and complexity of the SAP system landscape.
This finally makes SAP visible in SIEM, giving companies a complete, context-sensitive overview of their security situation.
The in-house system: SAP Enterprise Threat Detection (ETD)
SAP Enterprise Threat Detection is SAP's SIEM solution. It addresses the central problem that traditional SIEM systems often do not understand the specific protocols, events and data structures of SAP, resulting in critical incidents at the application level being overlooked. However, a major disadvantage of SAP ETD is its high cost and the considerable effort required for implementation.
Its introduction is usually a long-term project with an implementation period of one to three years. The main reasons for this include the technical complexity of system integration, the individual adaptation of detection patterns, integration into existing IT and security processes, and the effort required for training and change management measures. For this reason, SAP ETD is particularly suitable for large companies with complex SAP landscapes and sufficient budget. For smaller companies or organisations with limited resources, the costs and scope of the project often represent a significant hurdle.
BCS for SAP: The new alternative
BCS for SAP (Business-Critical Security for SAP) is a particularly powerful solution to this challenge. BCS enables security-relevant SAP data to be automatically extracted, processed and forwarded to any SIEM system, regardless of the manufacturer or architecture. This enables end-to-end, transparent monitoring of the entire SAP landscape.
By using predefined use cases, warning rules and dashboards, security incidents can be efficiently detected, analysed and prioritised at the application level. This means that even complex threats and suspicious activities become visible at an early stage and can be specifically countered. Companies benefit from a comprehensive view of their business-critical processes and strengthen their compliance and overall cyber security strategy in the long term.
In addition, BCS is more cost-effective than SAP ETD because it enables flexible integration into existing SIEM landscapes and does not incur additional licence costs for a separate SAP solution such as SAP ETD. This makes BCS particularly attractive for companies that have already invested in a central SIEM infrastructure and want to expand their SAP security efficiently and economically.
Conclusion: Holistic security requires comprehensive integration
The monitoring of SAP systems must no longer be neglected in the context of IT security. Only by intelligently linking SIEM and SAP can companies truly detect and assess attacks and risks comprehensively. Organisations that have not yet integrated their SAP systems into central security monitoring should do so urgently – not least to meet compliance requirements and improve the protection of business-critical processes in the long term.
Your next step towards comprehensive SAP security
Would you like to know how you can seamlessly and efficiently integrate your SAP systems into your existing SIEM? Contact us for a no-obligation consultation or a live demo of BCS for SAP. Together, we will identify the right solutions for your requirements and take your SAP security to the next level!