Building a Modern Cybersecurity Monitoring & Response System
A Practical Architecture Using Wazuh, SOAR, and Threat Intelligence
Why most security projects fail before they start
Many organizations want “better security”, but what they usually get is:
- Too many alerts, no action
- Expensive tools nobody understands
- Security dashboards that look good but don’t protect anything
- A system that depends on a few individuals’ knowledge
The real problem is not tools.
It’s system design.
This article explains how we design a production-ready cybersecurity monitoring & response system—one that is practical, auditable, and automatable—and why this architecture works in the real world.
The real objective (not marketing buzzwords)
The goal is not “installing SIEM” or “using AI”.
The real objectives are:
- Detect real threats, not noise
- Know who must respond, and when
- React fast before damage spreads
- Keep evidence for audit & investigation
- Stay flexible and vendor-neutral
This is a system engineering problem, not a product selection problem.
The architecture philosophy
We deliberately separate responsibilities.
Detection ≠ Automation ≠ Escalation ≠ Investigation
Each part must do one job extremely well.
The core stack we use (and why)
System architecture overview
graph TD
A["Endpoints / Servers / Cloud"] --> B["Wazuh Agent"]
B --> C["Wazuh Manager (SIEM/XDR)"]
C --> D["Shuffle SOAR"]
D -->|Create / Update Incident| E["DFIRTrack"]
D -->|SEV-1 / SEV-2| F["PagerDuty"]
D -->|Automated Response| G["Firewall / DNS / IAM / EDR"]
F --> H["On-call Engineer"]
This diagram shows how detection, automation, escalation, and investigation are cleanly separated but tightly integrated.
1. Detection layer — Wazuh
Wazuh acts as the security sensor network:
-
Collects logs from:
- Firewall
- DNS
- IDS / IPS
- VPN
- Servers & endpoints
- Normalizes events
- Applies correlation rules
Wazuh answers:
“Something suspicious happened. What is it?”
We do not overload Wazuh with business logic.
Its job is detection, not decision-making.
2. Automation & decision layer — SOAR (Shuffle)
Once something is detected, we need logic:
- Is this serious?
- Is this known malicious?
- Should we block, alert, or just log?
This is where SOAR comes in.
Shuffle allows us to build explicit security playbooks:
- Threat-intelligence enrichment
- Severity calculation
- Conditional response
- System-to-system orchestration
Shuffle answers:
“What should we do next?”
This is where engineering experience matters most.
3. Guaranteed human response — PagerDuty
Automation is powerful—but humans are still responsible.
PagerDuty ensures:
- The right person is notified
- Escalation happens if no one responds
- Response time is measurable (SLA)
PagerDuty answers:
“Who is responsible right now?”
This is the difference between alerts and accountability.
4. Investigation & audit trail — DFIRTrack
Every serious event becomes an incident:
- Evidence
- Timeline
- Decisions
- Actions taken
DFIRTrack provides:
- Incident records
- Asset tracking
- Investigation notes
- Audit readiness
DFIRTrack answers:
“What happened, exactly?”
This is essential for compliance, post-incident review, and trust.
How real use cases are implemented
Example 1: DNS communication to malicious domains
Problem
Malware almost always uses DNS to “phone home”.
System behavior
- DNS logs are collected
- Domain is compared against live threat-intelligence feeds
-
If malicious:
- Incident is created
- Endpoint is identified
- Firewall/DNS block is applied
- On-call engineer is notified (if severity is high)
This detects attacks before data is stolen.
Example 2: IDS / IPS traffic to known attacker IPs
Problem
Some attacks bypass endpoint security.
System behavior
- IDS/IPS logs are analyzed
- Destination IP matches known attacker infrastructure
- Correlated with asset criticality
- Automated containment or escalation
This avoids “signature spam” and focuses on real risk.
Example 3: VPN login success from outside Thailand
Problem
A successful login can still be an attack.
System behavior
This detects credential theft, not just brute force.
Why threat intelligence must be always fresh
Attackers rotate:
- Domains
- IPs
- Infrastructure
That’s why we build:
- Scheduled IOC updates
- Confidence scoring
- Expiration handling
- Automated enforcement updates
Security systems that rely on static rules become obsolete fast.
Why this architecture scales (and survives audits)
- Modular
- Vendor-neutral
- Open-source friendly
- Easy to extend
- Clear responsibility boundaries
This system works for:
- SMEs
- Factories
- Enterprises
- Managed security services (MDR)
Why clients hire us to build this
Because we don’t:
- Install tools and disappear
- Sell dashboards without response
- Hide logic inside black boxes
We design systems:
- With clear intent
- With documented logic
- With measurable outcomes
Security is not about tools.
It’s about decisions, timing, and responsibility.
If you are planning a similar system
If you’re thinking:
- “We want better security visibility”
- “We need real incident response, not alerts”
- “We want something we can understand and control”
Then this architecture is a strong foundation.
If you want it designed and implemented correctly,
with real operational experience behind it—
Let’s talk.
Final thought
Good security systems don’t feel complicated.
They feel calm, predictable, and under control.
That’s the system we build.
