Understanding FortiSIEM incident categories: Performance, Security, and Change

Which of the following options is NOT a valid category of incidents in FortiSIEM?

• A. Performance
• B. High Risk
• C. Security
• D. Change

Answer: (B)

In the context of FortiSIEM, incidents are categorized to help identify and manage various situations affecting network security and operations. Among the provided options, "High Risk" is not recognized as a standard category of incidents within FortiSIEM. Instead, the valid categories of incidents typically include: - Performance: This category focuses on monitoring and evaluating the performance of network resources and services, ensuring they operate within established baselines. - Security: This is a crucial category related to the detection and management of security threats and vulnerabilities within the network. It encompasses incidents that could compromise the integrity, confidentiality, or availability of the system. - Change: This category pertains to tracking and analyzing modifications made within the infrastructure, helping to manage and control changes that could impact security or performance. By essentially categorizing incidents into performance, security, and change, FortiSIEM allows organizations to create a structured approach for incident response and resource allocation. "High Risk," while an important concept in risk management frameworks, does not constitute a distinct category within the incident management framework of FortiSIEM.

When you’re monitoring a network with FortiSIEM, labels aren’t just pretty tags. They guide how your team moves from alert to action. If you’ve ever wondered which categories FortiSIEM uses for incidents, you’re in the right place. Here’s a clear, practical look at how FortiSIEM classifies incidents and why one of the tempting options—High Risk—doesn’t fit as a category.

Performance, Security, Change: Three sturdy pillars

In FortiSIEM, incidents are grouped to reflect what’s happening at the infrastructure level. Think of it like triage at the doors of a busy hospital: you sort by the kind of issue so the right specialists spring into action. The three real categories you’ll encounter are:

• Performance: This is all about speed, latency, throughput, and how well resources are serving users. If a server, switch, or application is lagging behind its baseline, it lands in Performance. It helps you answer questions like, “Are our services meeting user expectations?” and “Is there a bottleneck creeping in?”

• Security: This one covers threats, vulnerabilities, and anything that could compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. It includes detections of malware, unauthorized access attempts, suspicious behaviors, and policy violations. In short, Security incidents are the red alerts that demand rapid containment and investigation.

• Change: Changes to the environment—like software updates, new configurations, or unusual modifications—fall here. The Change category helps you track what was altered, when, and by whom, so you can assess whether a change introduced risk or degraded performance.

If you’re studying the FortiSIEM framework (NSE content often brushes on this), keeping these three buckets in mind makes the workflow feel more human. You’re not chasing every clue as one big, amorphous problem. You’re matching signals to familiar lanes.

Why “High Risk” isn’t a category

It’s tempting to think “High Risk” would be its own bucket, especially when you’re weighing impact and urgency. But in FortiSIEM, risk and category aren’t the same thing. Risk is a layer of context you bring to incidents. It’s a likelihood/impact assessment that can influence how you respond, who you escalate to, and how you prioritize fixes. It’s a shade you add on top of the three core categories, not a category by itself.

To put it simply: you’ll see a Security incident, perhaps with a high risk rating attached. You might also see a Change incident with a medium risk rating because a risky configuration change was detected. But the system’s primary incident buckets stay Performance, Security, and Change. The risk score is a separate attribute you can reference when you’re deciding which incidents deserve the fastest attention.

Let me explain with a practical feel-good example. Imagine a server begins responding slowly (Performance) and FortiSIEM also flags a recent configuration tweak (Change). The Security engine detects a suspicious login pattern on that same host. Each signal adds context, but the incident itself remains categorized as Performance, Security, or Change—your triage lenses. The risk rating then helps you decide the order of response, not redefine the category.

Making the categories work in the real world

Categories aren’t just labels; they shape how dashboards look, how alarms are routed, and how investigations unfold. Here’s how to put them to work in a busy environment:

• Setup clean rule mappings: When you create detection rules, assign the resulting incidents to Performance, Security, or Change. Consistent mapping makes dashboards predictable and helps teams focus on what matters most.

• Use tiered dashboards: Have separate views for each category, plus a combined view for quick sanity checks. It’s amazing how a well-placed chart can reveal trends you didn’t notice before.

• Triage with purpose: A Performance incident might trigger a runbook for resource scaling or capacity planning. A Security incident could fire an incident response playbook. A Change event might prompt a rollback or a post-change verification process. The categories guide who handles what.

• Leverage correlation wisely: FortiSIEM’s correlation rules can link related events across categories. You can surface a composite incident that hints at a broader issue, like a performance degradation tied to a change that opened a security vulnerability. The key is to tune correlations so you don’t drown in noise.

• Track history and learn: Over time, you’ll see patterns. Perhaps a frequent Change incident precedes a Security alert on a particular device. Noting these patterns helps you tighten controls and reduce recurring problems.

A small mock scenario to anchor the idea

Picture this: a network switch starts showing increasing packet loss (Performance). You spot a firmware upgrade that was pushed to that switch a few hours earlier (Change). Then FortiSIEM flags a spike in failed SSH attempts from an unfamiliar IP (Security). You don’t try to treat this as a single “high risk” umbrella issue. Instead, you triage by category, but you use the risk rating to decide which thread to pull first. Maybe the Security alert is the loudest, so you escalate the incident response plan. Meanwhile, the Change record prompts a quick rollback if the performance impact looks substantial. It’s a practical, layered approach that makes complex events manageable.

Bringing it together: why this matters for NSE 5 topics

In the Fortinet NSE 5 space, you’ll encounter hands-on scenarios involving FortiSIEM, FortiGate integration, and a structured incident workflow. Understanding the three valid categories gives you a solid mental model for how security operations teams reason through alerts. It’s less about memorizing labels and more about seeing how data flows from detection to action.

A few practical tips you can carry into your next lab or assignment:

• Confirm category assignments early in the incident lifecycle. Clear categorization reduces confusion during escalation.

• Keep the risk scores as a guidance tool, not a decision-maker. They help priority but don’t replace category-driven workflows.

• Build cross-category visibility into your dashboards. Security events don’t live in a silo; they often interact with performance and change signals.

• Document why an incident was categorized a certain way. A short note on the triage rationale saves time for team members who pick up the case later.

Common pitfalls to watch out for

Every system has quirks, and FortiSIEM is no exception. A few things to look out for:

• Overloading a single category with mixed signal types. If you lump too many different alerts into one bucket, you lose the clarity you need for quick action.

• Relying solely on a single risk score. It’s useful, but it shouldn’t override the category-based workflow. Treat risk as a companion metric.

• Forgetting to review historical data. Things evolve. An incident that was Performance a year ago might look different now due to capacity changes, new devices, or policy updates.

A friendly reminder: keep the dialogue open

If you’re part of a team that uses FortiSIEM, it helps to have a shared language about what each category means in your environment. A quick run-through during shifts or a short, casual refresher in a team huddle can prevent misinterpretations. You’ll find that teams work more smoothly when everyone uses the same lenses to view incidents.

Why a well-structured taxonomy matters

Labels do more than tidy a console. They shape how teams collaborate, how rapid a response feels, and how effectively you sustain network health over time. When you know that Performance, Security, and Change are the core incident categories, you’re better equipped to triage, correlate, and remediate in a measured, thoughtful way. And that, in turn, means fewer firefights and more steady, predictable operations.

A final thought

FortiSIEM’s incident framework isn’t about fitting every situation into a single box. It’s about giving security and operations teams a clear map for action. Performance tells you about resource health, Security flags the threats, and Change records what was altered. High Risk, while an important concept for risk management, isn’t a standalone category in this schema. The distinction matters because it keeps the focus where it belongs: on how incidents are categorized to enable fast, targeted responses.

If you’re exploring FortiSIEM in your NSE studies, keep this triad in mind. It’s a simple, practical lens that helps you translate complex network events into confident, actionable steps. And when you can move from alert to action with clarity, you’re already ahead of the curve.