Optimize SecOps by pairing SIEM with SOAR

In an ever-expanding threat landscape, digital security breaches can result in costly downtime, lost revenue, regulatory fines and brand damage. According to a recent IBM Security and Ponemon study, the average cost worldwide of a data breach has risen 12 percent over the past 5 years to $3.92 million in 2019. But in the U.S., the average cost of a breach is $8.19 million—more than double the worldwide average. This cost equates to approximately $150 per lost or stolen record. And in regulated environments such as health care, financial services, energy and others, the long-term costs are even higher.

No CISO wants to lose their job over a security breach that makes headlines and hits the bottom line. To address these threats, Gartner predicts that companies will spend more than $124 billion on information security products and services in 2019.

How can CISOs optimize SecOps, especially when the security skills shortage prevents them from staffing-up effectively?

It’s no easy feat to protect an organization’s IT and security operations (SecOps) against human errors and malicious attacks continuously, but a security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) tool can help. Per the IBM/Ponemon study, companies deploying security automation technologies experienced about half the cost of a breach ($2.65 million average) compared to those that were not equipped with these technologies.

You know your organization needs to level-up with automation. Now what?

While most large companies and enterprises have already invested in network monitoring, application performance monitoring (APM), and/or security information and event management (SIEM) solutions, these disparate tools rarely work well together without intervention, and full visibility into their activity is nearly impossible. These obstacles slow the identification of indicators of compromise (IOCs) and hinder effective incident response. Automating manual, repetitive tasks is a must to secure mission-critical systems.

The good news is, if you already have a SIEM and documented workflows or use cases, your organization is likely mature enough for automation. To get to the next level of security maturity, pair your SIEM with the right SOAR solution.

Here are three ways SIEM paired with best-in-class SOAR optimizes security operations:

1. SIEM + SOAR increases real-time visibility of potential security incidents in progress. A unified view of your organization’s security infrastructure enables your analysts to investigate and remediate threats efficiently.
2. SIEM + SOAR accelerates incident response. Overworked and understaffed analysts cannot keep up with the endless onslaught of daily SIEM alarms. Because of this, many alerts go uninvestigated, and potentially malicious activity slips through the cracks. SOAR enables your SOC to investigate and remediate threats at machine speeds while simultaneously allowing your analysts to turn their attention to higher-value tasks.
3. Report on the value of your SecOps with SOAR. When analysts try to keep up with SIEM alerts, they are able to do little much else than attempt to keep up (which they can’t). When a SOAR solution empowers your analysts with automation and visibility into the entire IT infrastructure, you are better equipped to demonstrate the value of your security operations center (SOC) and even report on ROI to your C-suite.

Are you ready to level-up your SOC? Download the Buyer’s Guide for Modern Security Automation E-book to learn more about how to enhance your SOC.