What is SOAR in Cybersecurity?

Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response, also known as SOAR, is a category of security solutions that combines three core functions:

• Orchestration
• Automation
• Response

SOAR platforms help security teams collect security data and alerts from various sources, automate response actions, and coordinate and manage security tasks through all-inclusive workflows. These functions are essential in elevating an organization's ability to manage and respond to security threats.

Solving Cybersecurity Challenges with SOAR

SOAR addresses several significant challenges in cybersecurity. One primary issue is the high volume of security alerts that organizations face on a daily basis. Managing these alerts manually can be overwhelming and inefficient. SOAR platforms automate the prioritization, investigation, and response processes, bridging the gap between different security tools and systems, and allowing for a more cohesive and efficient response to incidents.

What Are Common SOAR Use Cases?

1. Incident Response: Automating the detection, investigation, and remediation of security incidents.
2. Threat Intelligence Management: Integrating and correlating threat intelligence feeds to identify potential threats.
3. Vulnerability Management: Automating the process of identifying, prioritizing, and remediating vulnerabilities.
4. Compliance and Reporting: Streamlining the collection of data and generation of reports to meet compliance requirements.

What is Included in SOAR?

SOAR platforms typically include the following components:

• Playbooks: Pre-defined workflows that guide the automated response to specific types of security incidents.
• Integrations: Connectivity with various security tools and systems, such as SIEM (Security Information and Event Management), firewalls, and endpoint protection platforms.
• Dashboards and Reporting: Tools for monitoring security operations and generating detailed reports.
• Case Management: Features for tracking and managing security incidents from detection to resolution.

What Are the Key Benefits of SOAR?

• Efficiency: Automates repetitive tasks, freeing up security analysts to focus on more complex issues.
• Consistency: Ensures that responses to incidents follow best practices and are consistent across the organization.
• Speed: Reduces the time it takes to detect, investigate, and respond to security incidents.
• Visibility: Provides comprehensive insights into security operations and incident handling.

How Does SOAR Work with Other Tools?

SOAR platforms are designed to integrate seamlessly with other security tools and systems. This integration allows for the automated collection and correlation of data from various sources, such as Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), firewalls, and threat intelligence feeds. By doing so, SOAR enhances the capabilities of these tools, providing a more comprehensive and coordinated approach to threat detection and response.

SOAR vs SIEM – What’s the Difference?

In cybersecurity, SOAR and SIEM are essential tools with distinct functions. SIEM focuses on collecting, analyzing, and correlating security events and logs from various sources, providing real-time monitoring and alerts. Its key functions include log management, event correlation, incident detection, and compliance reporting.

SOAR, on the other hand, not only collects and analyzes security data but also automates and orchestrates responses to incidents. While SIEM emphasizes detection and log analysis, SOAR enhances efficiency and effectiveness by automating and coordinating responses across the security infrastructure. Together, they provide a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity.

How Exeon Can Help

Our advanced threat detection platform, ExeonTrace, provides comprehensive visibility into IT and OT networks, helping organizations identify vulnerabilities and detect malicious activity in real-time.

Secure Your Organization with SOAR

SOAR is an indispensable component of modern cybersecurity strategies, offering automation, orchestration, and enhanced response capabilities. While it comes with implementation challenges, the benefits in efficiency, consistency, and speed make it a considerable tool for organizations. Solutions like ExeonTrace bring forward the advanced capabilities of SOAR platforms, always staying ahead in the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats.