// THREAT DETECTION AND DATA PRIVACY TERM
Root Cause
The root cause is the most fundamental, underlying reason why a cybersecurity incident occurred, rather than just the immediate symptoms or triggers. It's the core issue that, if addressed, would prevent the same type of incident from happening again.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
In cybersecurity incident response, the root cause is the deepest underlying deficiency, vulnerability, or failure (technical, process, or human) that directly initiated or allowed a security incident or breach to materialize, requiring thorough post-incident analysis to identify and remediate for effective recurrence prevention.
BACKGROUND
Computer security is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It focuses on protecting computer software, systems, and networks from threats that can lead to unauthorized information disclosure, theft, or damage to hardware, software, or data, as well as to the disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- Originating cause
- Underlying cause
- Fundamental cause
- Primary cause
- Core issue
- Basic cause
USAGE NOTE
Identifying the root cause is a critical phase in incident response and post-mortem analysis, enabling organizations to implement lasting preventative controls rather than merely patching symptoms.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Root Cause.
Develops a leading Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platform that aggregates and analyzes machine data from various sources to enable security teams to investigate incidents, identify attack patterns, and determine the root cause of breaches.
Offers a cloud-native endpoint protection platform (Falcon) with robust Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) capabilities that provide deep visibility into endpoint activity, allowing analysts to trace attack paths and identify the initial compromise (root cause).
A global leader in incident response and cyber security forensics. Mandiant's services and technology focus on understanding the 'how' and 'why' of cyber attacks, specializing in detailed forensic analysis to uncover the root cause and full scope of breaches.
Provides a comprehensive cybersecurity platform including its Cortex XDR solution, which unifies security data across endpoints, networks, and cloud to accelerate investigations, automate responses, and facilitate root cause analysis of sophisticated threats.
Offers a broad portfolio of security solutions, including Microsoft Sentinel (cloud-native SIEM) and Microsoft Defender XDR, which provide extensive telemetry, threat intelligence, and analytics to help organizations detect, investigate, and determine the root cause of security incidents.
Develops the InsightIDR SIEM and XDR solution, which combines security analytics, user behavior analytics (UBA), and endpoint detection to provide visibility and context necessary for security teams to conduct incident investigations and pinpoint the root cause of security events.
Specializes in cloud-native SIEM and User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA). Exabeam's platform uses machine learning to detect anomalous behaviors and stitch together security incidents, helping security teams understand the kill chain and identify the true root cause of attacks.
Offers a range of security solutions, including the QRadar SIEM platform, which collects and analyzes security data from across an enterprise. Its advanced analytics and AI capabilities aid in correlating events, detecting anomalies, and performing in-depth investigations to determine the root cause of security incidents.