Introduction

In today’s rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape, traditional tools such as antivirus and firewalls are no longer sufficient to defend against sophisticated cyber attacks, including Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) and insider threats. To counter these evolving tactics, organizations need a multi-layered security strategy that combines proactive monitoring, intelligent event correlation, and real-time threat detection.

One powerful layer in this defensive model is File Integrity Monitoring (FIM) — especially when integrated with a next-generation Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platform such as IBM QRadar. Together, these technologies enable organizations to detect unauthorized file modifications, understand the broader attack context, and respond with precision.

What is File Integrity Monitoring (FIM)?

File Integrity Monitoring (FIM) is a foundational cybersecurity control that tracks changes to critical files, configurations, and system binaries. Its goal is to detect unauthorized modifications, whether caused by cyberattacks, insider misuse, or accidental changes.

FIM solutions typically use cryptographic hashing algorithms (e.g., SHA-256, MD5) to create a baseline of trusted files. Any subsequent change — whether an edit, deletion, or permission modification — triggers an alert if the new hash differs from the baseline.

Some common files and configurations that FIM monitors include:

• Operating System Files
• Password Policies
• User Accounts
• Registry Keys and Values
• User Rights Assignments
• Critical application binaries and configuration files

Role of IBM QRadar in FIM Integration

IBM QRadar acts as the central nervous system of an enterprise’s security operations, collecting and correlating logs, events, and network flows across all connected sources. When integrated with a FIM solution – Qualys FIM, QRadar transforms simple file change alerts into actionable intelligence by correlating them with other threat indicators — such as privilege escalation attempts, failed logins, or malware execution.

How does this work?

1. File Integrity Monitoring: The FIM agent continuously scans designated files and directories. When a file is created, modified, or deleted, an alert is generated with details such as timestamp, user, process, and system path.
2. Event Forwarding to QRadar: The generated alerts are sent to QRadar for further processing. QRadar ingests these events and correlates them with other potential threat indicators from its own log sources.
3. Event Parsing and Analysis: Once QRadar receives the FIM events, it parses the event details based on their source for batter readability for SOC analyst.
4. SOC Analyst Investigation: A Security Operations Centre (SOC) analyst uses the alerts in QRadar’s interface to investigate incidents. They review the event details and decide on necessary actions to mitigate any detected issues.

Configuring Rules on FIM Solutions

To ensure the effective detection of file tampering, custom FIM rules must be defined based on business-critical assets. For instance, Qualys FIM allows administrators to specify monitoring for directories, configuration files, and registry paths — categorized by risk and impact. These rules are set based on the severity and importance of the files and directories being monitored.

Qualys App Configuration with IBM QRadar

IBM QRadar supports native integration with Qualys through the Qualys App for QRadar, available from the IBM App Exchange: Qualys App for IBM QRadar

Configuration Steps:

1. Install the Qualys App on your QRadar console.
2. Configure Gateway URL and authentication credentials within the app settings.

     3. Schedule Cron jobs to fetch:

• • FIM Events
  • FIM Ignored Events
  • FIM Incidents

Example : Detecting File Tampering

Let’s walk through a common example of detecting file tampering.

Suppose a security administrator wants to monitor the /etc/hosts file on a Linux server to ensure it is not modified by unauthorized users. To achieve this, a file monitoring rule is configured to continuously track any access, modification, or permission change to the /etc/hosts file.

Whenever an unauthorized user attempts to access or modify this file, the File Monitoring System detects the event in real time and collects details such as the username, timestamp, source process, and type of action performed. The collected data is then forwarded to IBM QRadar in its raw event format.

Log source configuration and payload analysis in QRadar

Once data is ingested in QRadar, QRadar will create custom DSM and log source will be auto detected with TCP Multiline Syslog protocol. Data will be processed through a configured log source, which normalizes and parses the raw events into a readable and structured format. This allows the SOC analysts to easily visualize and analyze file-tampering activities, correlate them with other system events, and trigger offenses or alerts when unauthorized file modifications are detected.

LogSource configuration:

Payload Extraction:

Benefits for Customers

Integrating FIM with QRadar provides several advantages:

1. Early Detection of Threats: By monitoring file integrity, organizations can detect unauthorized changes to sensitive files, which may indicate a cyberattack.
2. Efficient Incident Response: With QRadar's correlation and alerting capabilities, SOC analysts can quickly investigate and respond to incidents before they escalate.
3. Comprehensive Security Monitoring: By combining FIM with QRadar, organizations gain a holistic view of their security posture, improving threat detection and reducing the risk of breaches.
4. Regulatory Compliance: FIM helps organizations maintain compliance with various security regulations by ensuring that critical files and configurations remain intact and secure.

Conclusion

In an age where data integrity is security, relying solely on perimeter defences is no longer enough. File tampering is often the first sign of a deeper breach — and without real-time detection, organizations may remain unaware until it’s too late.

By integrating File Integrity Monitoring (FIM) with IBM QRadar, security teams gain actionable visibility, intelligent correlation, and proactive defence capabilities.

This synergy not only enhances protection against APTs but also strengthens compliance and operational resilience.

Empower your SOC. Protect your files. Trust your integrity — with IBM QRadar.