Episode 146: User Behavior Analytics (Domain 4)

Certified: The CompTIA Security+ Audio Course

User Behavior Analytics (UBA) shifts the security paradigm from rules-based alerts to behavioral baselines, allowing defenders to spot anomalies that signal potential insider threats, account compromise, or malicious misuse. In this episode, we discuss how UBA platforms collect data from logs, access patterns, login times, file usage, and application activity to build profiles of “normal” user behavior. We explain how deviations—such as a sudden increase in file downloads, access to previously untouched systems, or logins from multiple countries—can indicate compromise even when no malware is present. Unlike traditional signature-based systems, UBA identifies patterns of misuse and behavioral risk that slip past conventional detection tools. We also explore how UBA integrates with SIEMs, supports compliance auditing, and enables proactive investigation by correlating human activity across the environment. Behavioral insight transforms security from static rules to dynamic context.