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When responding to a breach, every second counts. Increasingly, organizations are using SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) tools to contain incidents more quickly and minimize damage as much as possible.
The Urgency of Threat Containment
Every cyberattack is different, but most follow a similar timeline. Attackers first gain access through phishing, exploiting vulnerabilities, or using stolen credentials. Once inside, they move laterally, escalate privileges, and gather information. Then, they deploy the payload, such as ransomware.
Attackers typically issue a ransom demand or threaten to release stolen data to pressure the organization. At this point, the organization begins incident containment and recovery efforts. A post-attack analysis follows, in which security experts work to identify attack vectors and improve security for future prevention. This entire process can span from a few days to several weeks.
Organizations must act fast, as delaying incident containment can significantly amplify the damage of a breach. However, businesses face staffing shortages, which increases breach costs.
According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach report, organizations with high-level staffing shortages saw breach costs rise to $5.74 million, compared to $3.98 million for those with adequate staffing. To reduce these rising costs, immediate, coordinated responses across teams and systems are crucial.
What Is SOAR and How Does It Enhance Response Times?
SOAR technology helps organizations streamline security operations and ease the strain on IT teams. It includes three key components:
- Automation: Performs repetitive tasks like threat intelligence gathering and analysis
- Orchestration: Coordinates security tools to work together and manage incidents efficiently
- Response: Focuses on mitigating, containing, and resolving security incidents
When integrated with SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response), SOAR provides a unified, real-time view of threats. SIEM analyzes network log data for patterns, while EDR monitors endpoints for suspicious activity. Together, they enhance threat visibility and speed up response times.
How SOAR Facilitates Incident Containment in Seconds
SOAR’s automated workflows and its ability to send out real-time alerts make it invaluable for swift incident containment.
Automated Workflows for Real-Time Action
Pre-configured playbooks can quickly automate incident containment actions, such as isolating infected devices or disabling compromised accounts so that security operations center (SOC) teams can respond to them. Automating this process minimizes the response time and reduces the chance of human error.
For instance, if the SOAR response platform detects a phishing email containing a malicious link, it can automatically quarantine the email and potentially disable the recipient’s account before it reaches other inboxes.
Real-Time Alerts for Faster Decision-Making
If a potential threat is detected, SOAR can significantly reduce response times by immediately sending real-time alerts to key stakeholders.
This feature enables security teams to respond swiftly, mitigating threats immediately to minimize damage and reduce the attack’s overall impact.
Why Every Organization Needs SOAR
Organizations can gain many tangible benefits by enabling SOAR response, including:
- Minimized downtime and reduced financial loss from threats by accelerating detection and response times. As a result, the impact of incidents is significantly limited.
- Enhanced efficiency by automating repetitive tasks like real-time alert triage, log analysis, and incident prioritization. This shift enables security teams to concentrate on proactive threat mitigation.
- Better compliance and reporting capabilities through detailed incident documentation. These capabilities ensure organizations meet regulatory requirements and can quickly provide evidence during audits or investigations.
Getting Started with SOAR: Steps for Adoption
If you’re considering integrating SOAR response solutions into your security processes, we have included some practical steps for adoption that can help.
Assess Your Current Security Environment
Conduct a comprehensive audit of your current incident response process to identify gaps. This audit can involve testing your current security measures through simulated attacks or penetration testing, as well as analyzing previous security incidents to identify trends.
Choose the Right SOAR Solution
Choosing the right SOAR response solution for your organization involves balancing features such as compatibility, scalability, the ease of creating playbooks, and the ease with which it can be integrated with existing security tools. Evaluate your organization’s needs and choose a SOAR solution that fits.
Train Your Security Team
No matter which SOAR response solution you choose, it will only be as effective as your incident response team. Training your security team properly is vital to maximizing the value of automated workflows and response capabilities.
Ongoing training and adapting to emerging threats will help ensure your team stays effective and that they can make the most of the tool’s capabilities.
Using SOAR for Incident Containment
SOAR helps security teams respond more quickly and efficiently. Doing so improves incident containment and resource management across your entire organization.
Learn more about SOAR, and find out how it can enhance your incident containment capabilities.
