Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response

By: A Staff Writer

Updated on: Sep 27, 2023

Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR)

Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) is an evolving framework that aims to streamline the coordination, management, and response mechanisms in an organization’s security operations. It facilitates data collection from disparate security solutions and integrates them into a unified system, enabling security analysts to make informed decisions. The primary objective of SOAR is to improve the efficiency of security operations by automating repetitive tasks and orchestrating processes across multiple security technologies. The framework is composed of three principal components:

1. Security Orchestration: This involves streamlining workflows and harmonizing data from multiple security tools, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and security information and event management (SIEM) solutions. The orchestration layer allows analysts to create a comprehensive view of the security landscape, thereby making it easier to execute coordinated actions across various security platforms.
2. Automation: This facet automates manual, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks, thus freeing human analysts to focus on complex, strategic activities. Automation can be applied to various tasks like alert triage, incident enrichment, and remediation.
3. Response: This comprises mechanisms to act on identified security incidents or vulnerabilities. It may include sending notifications, isolating affected systems, and initiating predefined security measures. The response aspect aims to minimize human error and reduce the time between threat detection and resolution.

Importance of Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response in Modern Security Operations

In an era where cyber threats are growing both in volume and sophistication, the traditional approach to cybersecurity—which often involves manual operations and disconnected point solutions—is no longer sufficient. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, global damage costs due to cybercrime are expected to reach $6 trillion annually by 2021, with projections increasing to $10.5 trillion by 2025. This underlines the need for an integrated approach like SOAR, which enables organizations to act more efficiently and respond faster to security incidents.

Examples and Use-Cases

1. Phishing Attack Mitigation: A SOAR platform can automatically categorize incoming alerts related to potential phishing activities. Upon receiving such an alert, the platform can enrich the alert data by correlating it with threat intelligence feeds. If a high-risk indicator is detected, the SOAR system can automatically isolate the affected endpoint from the network and alert the security team for a more in-depth analysis.
2. Compliance Reporting: Businesses are subject to a range of compliance standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS. SOAR can automate the collection of compliance data and generate reports, thereby saving significant time and reducing the likelihood of non-compliance.
3. Incident Response: In a case where a malware outbreak is detected, a SOAR solution can automatically initiate predefined countermeasures like blocking IP addresses, updating firewall rules, and scanning other systems for the same vulnerability. This reduces the dwell time of an attack and minimizes its impact.

Key Metrics and Statistics

• Efficiency Gains: According to a study by the Ponemon Institute, automation in security operations can result in an average time savings of 25% for security staff.
• Improved Response Time: A 2020 survey by the SANS Institute indicated that organizations implementing SOAR experienced a 50% reduction in the mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR) to incidents.
• Cost Savings: The same Ponemon study also found that automation can lead to an average cost reduction of $2.1 million annually for a security operations center (SOC).

SOAR is increasingly considered a necessity in complex, multi-faceted security environments. It not only enhances operational efficiency but also contributes significantly to the overall cybersecurity posture of an organization.