Security teams frequently struggle with the volume of alerts and issues they are tasked with daily. On average, most enterprises receive between 10,000 and 150,000 a day. Regardless of how large a security team may be, manually going through alerts like this is an almost impossible task.
In this article we’ll be covering one of the methodologies that help with improving software security: Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR).
What Is SOAR?
Gartner defines SOAR as “technologies that enable organisations to take inputs from several sources, mainly from security information and event management (SIEM) systems, and apply workflows aligned to processes and procedures”.
In short, SOAR is comprised of two fundamental principles:
- Security Automation. With automatic processes in place to cover low-level tasks that don’t require human interaction (such as security scans or scanning logs), security developers have more time to respond to actual threats.
- Security Orchestration. Having a method to connect the various security tools and integrate them to streamline a team’s processes is vital for complex systems and helps power security automation.
Combining these two principles results in a robust methodology to allow your security organisation to improve their workflow and incident response.
Why is SOAR Important?
Security professionals are constantly flooded with a vast array of security tools and alerts. Over 79% of teams feel overwhelmed by the volume of alerts they receive, with most organisations getting over 10,000 alerts per day.
The key to SOAR’s advantages lies in what is known as ‘playbooks’, which are predefined actions that are automated. These can be custom-fit to a system’s needs, and most SOAR security tools offer pre-made playbooks to fit everyday use cases. For example, a playbook could take a potential piece of malware, analyse and classify it, isolate and kill the process, and create a report.
Utilising methodologies like SOAR to centralise and simplify application security improves the quality of life for security teams and helps keep information transparent and standardised.
Benefits of SOAR
Using a SOAR system can bring a plethora of benefits to an organisation, such as:
- Simple management through a single interface allows teams to keep all the information gathered by other systems in one location. With it, developers can save time and perform better analytics.
- Reporting and collaboration by consolidating information from different security tools. This allows teams to respond better to threats and use this information to improve communication and collaboration by sharing data across other groups.
- Streamlined operations via standardised procedures and automation for simple tasks. With these systems in place, security teams have more time to analyse threats and form a basis for problem-solving.
- Scalability with the automation of tedious operations as an organisation grows and the implementations of orchestration and workflows save time. This allows developers and security professionals to spend more time doing high-level tasks such as threat analysis and response efforts.
SOAR Tools
There are plenty of SOAR solutions and tools on the market, each with pros and cons. Here is a brief breakdown of a few of the most popular tools:
IBM Security QRadar
IBM’s tool includes more than just a SOAR solution, as it also includes integrations for other security methodologies like SIEM and Threat Intelligence. It operates with IBM’s X-Force Threat Intelligence platform to collaborate with other security teams, consolidate information, and use AI to analyse and report threats.
Splunk SOAR
Splunk offers a robust security platform that can integrate into over 350 tools to provide a comprehensive solution for any organisation. Their automated playbooks allow teams to set up tools for simple low-level actions and a built-in case management system to track incidents and create workflows.
Cloud SOAR
Sumo Logic’s Cloud SOAR (formerly DFLabs’ IncMan) is another AI-powered tool that encompasses all of the typical features of a SOAR platform. They offer a robust collection of playbooks to fit an organisation’s needs, and they help close any skill gaps for inexperienced team members.
It’s clear that we’re facing an age of alert fatigue and information overload, and the enormous quantity of threats your business has to deal with on a daily basis can be overwhelming. SOAR platforms relieve much of the low-priority legwork and allow analysts to concentrate on improving your overall security operations.
HOW CAN ULESKA HELP?
Instead of struggling to maintain disjointed security solutions, you can save time by using tools that seamlessly integrate with your existing workflows. Uleska provides orchestration security tools that you can rely on and easily integrate with your CI platforms and DevOps workflows. Discover more now.
