Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response in The Cloud
August 2, 20213 Common Challenges To Avoid While Implementing SOAR
August 20, 2021Threat Hunting, Detection and Remediation with SOAR
In the constantly-evolving cyberthreat landscape, new vulnerabilities and threats are being discovered almost daily. In 2020, 50 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) were disclosed per day, indicating that the risk of cyber threats to organizations is very high. On top of that, the ability to detect and mitigate these threats is very low. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach 2021 report, on average, it takes organizations 280 days to detect and contain a data breach. That’s 280 days (more than 9 months!) that a bad actor spends inside an enterprise network before being discovered and removed.
In such a complex threat scenario, organizations cannot always detect the threats to their networks and systems – much less mitigate or eliminate them – using traditional methods, security tools, or processes. Moreover, hunting these threats is a time-consuming activity that requires skilled professionals which many organizations lack and/or can’t afford or retain. This is where Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) technologies come into play as an effective solution to these challenges.
A SOAR platform like SIRP enables organizations to collect and aggregate security data from multiple sources, and use this data to automate threat detection and remediation. With SOAR, enterprises can identify and understand the threats more proactively and effectively, and respond to security events and streamline security operations – all without time-consuming manual work or human intervention.
Here are 5 ways SOAR can facilitate the threat hunting and remediation process, and ultimately strengthen the organization’s security profile.
Proactive and Automated aThreat Hunting
SOAR enables organizations to literally “hunt down” threats in a proactive and automated fashion. Using SOAR capabilities, analysts can automatically search for malicious activity across the enterprise network, and find multiple threats, Indicators of Compromise (IOC), while correlating with attackers’ tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs). Equally importantly, they can understand the risks these threats pose, and address them before they can cause harm.
Since no human intervention is required in the threat hunting process, security teams can focus on tackling identified threats faster. Moreover, automated workflows prevent the pileup of new security events, and also reduce the complexities inherent in the threat hunting and remediation processes.
Centralized Data for More Robust, All-round Security
As the number of threats increases, organizations must analyse more data to proactively search for and remediate them. This can be an overwhelming task if done manually. SOAR makes it easy to gather, operationalize, and analyze disparate data sets. It seamlessly integrates data from various security platforms like external threat intelligence feeds, Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platforms, User Behavioral Analytics (UBA), vulnerability scanners, and firewalls. It also raises alerts when anomalous or potentially dangerous activities are detected. With SOAR, organizations can better understand the threats they face, and improve threat remediation and incident response.
Optimized Threat Intelligence and Reporting
SOAR platforms provide optimized threat intelligence to support contextual and intelligent decision-making. Analysts can leverage this intelligence to devise appropriate threat responses that require their (human) inputs. Built-in reporting capabilities highlight threats, and deliver up-to-date insights that can drive actionable, automated responses.
Streamline Security Operations from a Single Platform
A single SOAR platform includes pre-canned incident response procedures (playbooks) and pre-built scripts, so security teams can streamline security operations, and resolve incidents intelligently and agilely.
These platforms can automate repeatable and time-consuming tasks such as routine patches and password updates, so organizations can focus their security efforts on tasks that yield the most value. At the same time, organizations can set strategic human “decision goalposts” to ensure that the right decisions can be taken when required.
Respond to Threats Faster
Many organizations struggle to deal with a growing volume of alerts. A majority of these alerts are irrelevant or “false alarms”, so teams end up wasting lots of time on unnecessary investigations, when they should be focusing on real threats that can actually harm the organization.
SOAR streamlines threat monitoring, investigation and alerts. It also automates incident response, so security personnel can respond to alerts more efficiently. They can quickly qualify threats, and standardize investigation and response. They can also set up triggers for follow-up investigations. With orchestration and automation, the same process is followed every time, which improves visibility into the threat hunting and remediation workflows, and ensures that no threat slips through the cracks.
Conclusion
In an era where cyber threats are not a question of if but when, SOAR enables businesses to swiftly detect, respond to, and remediate attacks. SOAR delivers quality threat intelligence so organizations can understand attackers’ TTPs, identify critical IOCs, and contextualize incidents. SOAR solutions also help security personnel automate many operations tasks to improve their productivity, and help them work smarter rather than harder.
The SIRP’s no-code, risk-based SOAR platform delivers all these benefits. In addition, it also provides streamlined reporting, a world-class security scoring engine, and powerful case management. These capabilities empower organizations to optimize threat hunting, prioritize response at scale, and strengthen their security posture. To learn more about SIRP, arrange a personalized demo.
