SOAR - Security Orchestration, Automation and Response
What is it?
Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) refers to a category of tools and technologies that help security teams manage and respond to threats more efficiently by integrating various security systems and automating routine tasks.
Here's how it works:
SOAR platforms are designed to streamline security operations by combining three core capabilities:
Security Orchestration
This involves connecting and coordinating multiple security tools and systems—such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, endpoint protection, and threat intelligence platforms – into a unified workflow. Orchestration ensures that these tools can communicate and work together seamlessly.Security Automation
Automation reduces the need for manual intervention by handling repetitive tasks like log analysis, alert triage, and threat hunting. For example, if a phishing email is detected, a SOAR platform can automatically isolate the affected endpoint, block the sender, and notify the user.Incident Response
SOAR platforms help security teams respond to incidents faster and more effectively. They provide playbooks – predefined workflows for handling specific types of threats – that guide analysts through the response process or execute it automatically.
Why is SOAR important?
Modern organisations face a high volume of security alerts daily, many of which are false positives. Without automation, security teams can become overwhelmed, leading to slower response times and missed threats. SOAR helps by:
- Reducing alert fatigue
- Improving response time
- Ensuring consistent incident handling
- Freeing up analysts for more complex tasks
Key features:
- Playbook Automation: Customisable workflows for common incidents (e.g., malware detection, phishing, data exfiltration).
- Case Management: Centralised dashboards for tracking incidents, evidence, and analyst actions.
- Threat Intelligence Integration: Pulls in data from external sources to enrich alerts and improve decision-making.
- Collaboration Tools: Enables communication between team members during incident response.
Real-World use case
Imagine a company receives a suspicious email. A SOAR platform can:
- Automatically scan the email for malicious links or attachments.
- Check the sender against threat intelligence databases.
- Quarantine the email and isolate the recipient’s device.
- Create a case for analysts to review.
- Generate a report and update the incident log.
All of this can happen in seconds, dramatically reducing the time to detect and respond to threats.