Design custom event renders

Oct 13, 2025 by wbrum.org 113 views

Introduction

In the realm of security solutions, having a clear and comprehensive view of events is crucial for threat hunting and auditing. The existing Timeline feature in the Security Solution provides a valuable tool for entities and users, but it falls short in terms of pre-built event renders. This article proposes a solution to customize or add new Event Renders in the Security Solution Timelines feature, enhancing user visibility and providing a more complete picture of security events.

The Current State of Event Renders

Currently, the pre-built event renders in the Security Solution Timeline feature are limited, leaving a significant gap in coverage. Standard events such as user A sending an email to user B with a specific subject are not adequately represented. This limitation hinders the effectiveness of the Timeline feature in providing a complete human-readable timeline of user activities.

The Need for Custom Event Renders

When auditing a user or entity, having a complete and detailed timeline of their activities is essential. However, the current implementation of the Timeline feature only covers about half of the cases, leaving a significant portion of security events unaccounted for. This is where custom event renders come into play, allowing users to tailor the existing Timeline feature to their specific needs and provide a more comprehensive view of security events.

Benefits of Custom Event Renders

Implementing custom event renders in the Security Solution Timeline feature offers several benefits, including:

Enhanced visibility: Custom event renders provide a more detailed and human-readable view of security events, enabling users to better understand and respond to threats.
Improved threat hunting: With a more comprehensive view of security events, users can more effectively identify and mitigate potential threats.
Increased efficiency: Custom event renders streamline the auditing process, reducing the time and effort required to review and analyze security events.

A Specific Use Case: Auditing a User or Entity

When auditing a user or entity, having a complete and detailed timeline of their activities is crucial. Custom event renders enable users to create a human-readable timeline of events, providing a more comprehensive view of user activities. This is particularly important in cases where the existing Timeline feature only covers about half of the cases, leaving a significant portion of security events unaccounted for.

Existing Discussions and Proposals

There have been previous discussions and proposals for custom event renders in the Security Solution Timeline feature. For example, a thread on the Elastic Discuss forum (https://discuss.elastic.co/t/create-new-event-renderers/307382) highlights the need for custom event renders and proposes potential solutions. While these discussions are valuable, they are relatively old, and the need for custom event renders remains a pressing issue.

Implementation and Roadmap

To implement custom event renders in the Security Solution Timeline feature, the following steps can be taken:

Identify key events: Determine the most critical events that are currently not covered by the pre-built event renders.
Design custom event renders: Create custom event renders for the identified key events, ensuring they are human-readable and provide a clear view of security events.
Integrate custom event renders: Integrate the custom event renders into the Security Solution Timeline feature, allowing users to select and customize the event renders to their specific needs.
Test and refine: Test the custom event renders and refine them as needed to ensure they meet the requirements of the Security Solution Timeline feature.

Conclusion

Frequently Asked Questions

In this article, we will address some of the most frequently asked questions related to custom event renders in the Security Solution Timeline feature.

Q: What are custom event renders, and why are they necessary?

A: Custom event renders are user-defined event renderers that allow users to create a human-readable timeline of security events. They are necessary because the pre-built event renders in the Security Solution Timeline feature are limited, leaving a significant gap in coverage.

Q: What are the benefits of custom event renders?

A: Custom event renders provide several benefits, including enhanced visibility, improved threat hunting, and increased efficiency. They enable users to create a more comprehensive view of security events, streamline the auditing process, and reduce the time and effort required to review and analyze security events.

Q: How do custom event renders work?

A: Custom event renders work by allowing users to select and customize the event renders to their specific needs. Users can create custom event renders for key events that are currently not covered by the pre-built event renders, ensuring they are human-readable and provide a clear view of security events.

Q: What are some examples of custom event renders?

A: Some examples of custom event renders include:

User A sent email to user B with the subject "Confidential"
User A accessed the company's financial database
User A attempted to login to the company's network from an unknown location

Q: How do I create custom event renders?

A: To create custom event renders, you will need to identify key events that are currently not covered by the pre-built event renders. You can then design custom event renders for these events, ensuring they are human-readable and provide a clear view of security events. Finally, you can integrate the custom event renders into the Security Solution Timeline feature, allowing users to select and customize the event renders to their specific needs.

Q: What is the process for implementing custom event renders?

A: The process for implementing custom event renders involves the following steps:

Identify key events that are currently not covered by the pre-built event renders.
Design custom event renders for these events, ensuring they are human-readable and provide a clear view of security events.
Integrate the custom event renders into the Security Solution Timeline feature, allowing users to select and customize the event renders to their specific needs.
Test and refine the custom event renders as needed to ensure they meet the requirements of the Security Solution Timeline feature.

Q: What are some potential challenges associated with custom event renders?

A: Some potential challenges associated with custom event renders include:

Ensuring that custom event renders are human-readable and provide a clear view of security events.
Integrating custom event renders into the Security Solution Timeline feature without disrupting existing functionality.
Ensuring that custom event renders meet the requirements of the Security Solution Timeline feature.

Q: How can I get started with custom event renders?

A: To get started with custom event renders, you will need to identify key events that are currently not covered by the pre-built event renders. You can then design custom event renders for these events, ensuring they are human-readable and provide a clear view of security events. Finally, you can integrate the custom event renders into the Security Solution Timeline feature, allowing users to select and customize the event renders to their specific needs.

Q: What is the future of custom event renders in the Security Solution Timeline feature?

A: The future of custom event renders in the Security Solution Timeline feature is promising. As the need for custom event renders continues to grow, we can expect to see more advanced features and functionality being added to the Security Solution Timeline feature. This will enable users to create even more comprehensive views of security events, improving threat hunting and auditing processes.

Conclusion

Custom event renders are a crucial feature for the Security Solution Timeline feature, providing users with a more comprehensive view of security events and enhancing their ability to identify and mitigate potential threats. By understanding the benefits, process, and potential challenges associated with custom event renders, users can get started with implementing this feature and improving their security posture.