Sometimes, there seem to be so many security threats that no organization can appropriately safeguard all its systems and endpoints. How can anyone manage all their security and respond to threats in time?
With SOAR, they don’t have to do it alone. SOAR, which stands for “Security, Orchestration, Automation, and Response,” uses automated responses to help IT teams react quickly to security threats and address vulnerabilities.
So, what is SOAR in cybersecurity, how does it work, and what makes it such a powerful security tool? Let’s explore…
What is SOAR?
SOAR is a stack of software programs designed to assist IT teams by incorporating automated responses. It combines threat and vulnerability management, incident response, and security operations into a single automated system, enabling swift and convenient cybersecurity.
SOAR systems are designed to automatically identify threats and implement responses, improving the efficiency of security operations while alleviating the demand on IT teams.
Why is SOAR Important?
SOAR security helps organizations quickly respond to incidents and improve operational efficiency with less risk of human error. This is great for cybersecurity, as it helps companies build better defenses against hackers and viruses while reacting to and resolving incidents more quickly.
SOAR security adds automation to security and threat management, augmenting IT security teams with tools and features to help them handle security threats as quickly and accurately as possible. As cyber threats continue to grow and find new ways to compromise accounts, devices, and networks, the need for strong cybersecurity has never been greater.
How Does SOAR Work?
SOAR integrates security tools, automates workflows, and provides real-time response capabilities, leveraging predefined workloads, machine learning, and data analytics to manage incidents efficiently.
At its core, SOAR consists of three key components: orchestration, automation, and response. These, when used together, can significantly improve IT security efficiency.
Orchestration allows IT teams to work together and address their network environment in a unified approach. This uses tools to combine internal and external threat data, which teams can use to identify the root cause of any security situation.
Automation eliminates (or at least reduces) the need for time-consuming manual steps. This automatically carries out tasks like managing user access and quality logs, making it easy to perform tasks that would normally require multiple tools or steps.
Response determines how an organization acts when a security threat appears. SOAR enables organizations to plan, coordinate, and manage their threat responses with less human error and greater efficiency.
3 Core Elements of Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response
We can break SOAR down into three core components: security automation, security orchestration, and centralized intelligence. Each plays a key role in the overall functionality of a SOAR platform and enables swift, automated security responses.
1. Security Automation
Security automation uses tools and platforms to automate security tasks and processes, thus streamlining operations, improving efficiency, and reducing the need for repetitive, manual tasks. This includes a wide range of security processes, including vulnerability management, threat detection, and incident response workflows.
2. Security Orchestration
While security automation can improve speed and ease of use, security orchestration is focused on boosting the overall effectiveness and efficiency of security operations. This involves using security tools and technology, including firewalls, SIEM, and vulnerability scanners, to streamline workflows within a centralized security ecosystem.
As a result, proper security orchestration can lead to faster incident response, better collaboration, and improved visibility into an organization’s security and threats.
3. Centralized Intelligence
Centralized intelligence brings everything together, enabling security teams to collect and analyze data from across many sources and solutions. That data can then be analyzed to identify security incidents or vulnerabilities and respond accordingly.
Additionally, centralized intelligence can help automate incident responses, such as isolating infected devices or blocking suspicious activities.
How SOAR Streamlines Security Operations and Increases Efficiency
Now that we understand what SOAR is and how it works, we need to look at its impact. SOAR platforms can help streamline security and improve efficiency, but it’s also essential to understand how they manage that.
The first way SOAR improves efficiency is by automating repetitive tasks. This gives employees time to focus on more complex or pressing matters, while quickly carrying out processes that would otherwise take extra time and effort.
SOAR also reduces response times by automating threat detection and response. Every second matters when dealing with cyber threats, so being able to react to one quickly can save valuable time and minimize potential damage.
SOAR can also improve the accuracy of threat detection and response. Automated tools can analyze vast quantities of data and activity in moments while minimizing the chances of human error, so you’re not only reacting more quickly but also more accurately.
Effective Use Cases of SOAR
So, how can you use SOAR in your security operations? There are many different use cases, which will vary across industries and businesses, but common ones include:
Incident response: SOAR solutions can help quickly identify and respond to security incidents, such as malware infection, phishing scams, and even suspicious login attempts.
Managing security operations: Cybersecurity can be a complex matter with many moving parts. SOAR helps manage security operations by automatically checking for threats, updating databases, assigning incident severity, and more. This helps streamline security and make daily operations more efficient and effective.
Threat hunting: SOAR can quickly scan systems to find signs of compromise, malware, viruses, and more, using threat intelligence tools and cohesive databases of potential risks.
Creating a cohesive security strategy: Given the complexity of security and the many factors that need to be considered, it can be difficult for IT teams to make completely cohesive security strategies. SOAR can help teams ensure all their bases are covered and provide valuable feedback for efficient and holistic cybersecurity.
SIEM vs SOAR: Understanding How They Work Together to Strengthen Security
SOAR might seem similar to SIEM (Security Information and Event Management), but the two are not the same. They can, however, be used together to improve security operations.
SIEM is security software that provides security monitoring and analysis in real time. It does this by collecting data from multiple sources, aggregating said data, and creating an overview of any security-related events across the network so that they can be identified and addressed.
The main difference is in how SIEM focuses on monitoring and analyzing data, while SOAR is designed for automating and managing incident responses. As such, the two can be used together to gather and act on security data — in fact, many SOAR platforms include SIEM tools as part of their security orchestration.
Best Practices for Achieving Maximum Value from SOAR Solutions
This leads to one major question: how do you get the most value out of your SOAR solution? Following these best practices will help you maximize the value:
Proper configuration is key to ensuring the SOAR security solution can access all the systems and data it needs to run. If your system isn’t configured properly, you’ll miss key details and automation potential.
Employee training helps ensure your teams know how the SOAR solution works and how they can use it to improve their daily work and efficiency.
Integrate existing systems so the SOAR solution can properly automate, monitor, and manage your security.
Continually monitor and improve the solution’s performance to ensure it’s being fully utilized and performing up to standards.
How to Choose the Right SOAR Platform for Your Organization’s Needs
When you’re looking for a SOAR platform, it’s important to find one that matches your business needs. Consider the following when deciding on a solution for your organization:
Size and scalability: You’ll want a solution that can not just match the size of your company, but also scale to grow with it.
Security needs: Consider your security needs, including how many devices, the size of your network, and the threats you face, then make sure you can find a platform that matches.
Budget: You’ll want a platform that provides all the tools and features you need, but also doesn’t break your budget; shop around until you find the best features at the best price.
Integration: A SOAR platform won’t do you any good if it doesn’t work with your existing infrastructure. Make sure you find one that can integrate with your network and existing solutions.
Ease of use: An overly complicated platform won’t do your IT team any good; make sure you find one that balances the quality of the solution with ease of use.
Enhance Endpoint Security with Splashtop AEM
If you want to manage your security easily and efficiently, you’ll want a powerful endpoint management solution that can provide proactive monitoring and automated patch management. Fortunately, Splashtop AEM is just that solution.
Splashtop AEM (autonomous endpoint management) enables you to manage and monitor multiple endpoints from a single interface so that you can roll out security patches, address zero-day vulnerabilities, and resolve potential issues from anywhere immediately. It also includes automated IT tasks, so you can receive proactive alerts and resolve issues quickly via smart actions.
Splashtop AEM works well with SOAR, making it easy to automate response actions, improving security efficiency across your organization. Plus, with a customizable policy framework and dashboard insights, you can keep every device on your network aligned and secure.
Want to learn more? You can experience Splashtop for yourself with a free trial today:
