Security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) technology helps coordinate, execute, and automate tasks between various people and tools, all within a single platform. It allows organizations to respond quickly to cybersecurity attacks and observe, understand, and prevent future incidents, thus improving their overall security posture.
Understanding SOAR
SOAR is a solution that combines three software capabilities: threat and vulnerability management, incident response, and security operations automation. It provides a top-to-bottom threat management system, allowing organizations to identify and respond to security incidents more efficiently and effectively.
Read more: What is threat management?
Orchestration
Orchestration enables cybersecurity and IT teams to collaborate and address the overall network environment in a more unified manner. By utilizing various tools and integrating internal and external data sources, teams can understand the security landscape and identify the root causes of security incidents.
Automation
One differentiator of SOAR is its automation capabilities. Unlike traditional security systems that rely on manual processes, SOAR automates repetitive and time-consuming tasks, freeing up valuable resources for more strategic activities. From managing user access to analyzing query logs, security automation can handle a wide range of security operations tasks, making the security workflow more efficient.
Read also: What is compliance automation?
Response
The orchestration and automation components of SOAR lay the foundation for its response feature. By leveraging automation, SOAR eliminates the risk of human error and enables organizations to manage, plan, and coordinate their response to security threats. This leads to faster response times and more accurate interventions, minimizing the impact of security incidents on the organization.
Related: What is compliance automation?
Benefits of SOAR
Implementing a SOAR system offers several benefits that can address the unique challenges faced by organizations:
Meeting budgetary needs
The increasing number and complexity of threats pose budget challenges for enterprises. However, with SOAR, organizations can streamline their security approach and automate many processes, resulting in cost savings and efficient resource allocation.
Enhancing time management and efficiency
SOAR saves valuable time for IT teams by automating repetitive tasks. Instead of spending countless hours on manual processes, team members can focus on supporting other organizational objectives. This enhanced time management leads to increased productivity and more efficient use of human resources, reducing the need for additional hiring.
Effective incident management
SOAR enables organizations to respond more quickly and effectively to incidents by automating the investigation process and eliminating manual steps. Security issues can be addressed more efficiently with fewer mistakes and reduced human error.
Flexibility
SOAR systems can be customized to meet an organization's specific needs. Whether collecting data from disparate sources or tracking information according to specific requirements, SOAR can be seamlessly integrated into existing security systems without extensive redesign.
Enhanced collaboration and innovation
SOAR facilitates collaboration among different teams responsible for addressing various types of threats. By centralizing security operations and enabling teams to collaborate on SOAR settings and automation, organizations can establish unified protocols and empower IT teams to develop innovative solutions.
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Farah Amod
