Three Fundamental Pitfalls to Avert When Enforcing SOAR

There isn’t a predetermined road map for success when deploying Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) solutions because firms are still at the early stages of adopting it. There is no magic solution for all the challenges security operations teams encounter. SOAR promises to facilitate process improvement, boost productivity, and maximize effectiveness for enterprise SOCs.

It is undeniable that enterprises all over the world are spending money on Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) systems. According to Market Watch, at a predicted CAGR of 8.8% from 2021 to 2027, the global SOAR market is expected to grow from USD 766.7 million in 2020 to USD 1430 million by 2027.

However, despite the rising interest in SOAR, many companies encounter hardships when putting it into practice. Here are a few typical mistakes businesses make that can prevent them from utilizing a SOAR solution to its full potential.

Constructing fragile integrations

The most incredible way to gauge the efficacy of SOAR platforms, according to industry experts, is TTP (time-to-Python). How much can firms accomplish with the SOAR platform before they have to learn Python? Ordinarily, it is measured in minutes. But before criticizing SOAR’s shortcomings, let’s look at the software companies create to achieve the orchestration they seek.

Also Read: Four Reasons Why No-Code Automation is the new frontier in SecOps

If the security team is typical, firms will probably replace at least one technology in each tech area every four years or so. The technology behind Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) might last longer. Companies must make one key investment to avoid the pain of “rebuilding everything” every time a security product is changed: they must provide an abstraction layer between “analysis” and “security product.”

Organizations standardize data and queries across similar technologies by using an efficient abstraction layer. One endpoint technology, for instance, becomes identical to another upstream in the technology stack.

Firms should also be on the lookout for other potential weak spots. Businesses that automate a process they don’t fully understand run the risk of it breaking quickly. They must anticipate the processes, technology, and even people to falter occasionally when it comes to things breaking. The automation companies must resist those failure scenarios without adding to the workload.

Compatibility issues with internal skills and the SOAR solution

There are several possibilities in the SOAR sector, and firms anticipate more competitors to enter the market as demand increases. Each solution adopts a slightly different strategy, similar to other cybersecurity technologies. Some are better suited to highly skilled analysts, while others are made to be user-friendly for all skill levels.

For instance, certain SOAR solutions primarily rely on coding skills in order to properly utilize the security tool integration and playbook authoring capabilities. Analysts must be proficient in scripting languages like Perl, Python, and Ruby before they can begin integrating or creating playbooks for these specific solutions.

Companies need to select a SOAR solution that is compatible with their current in-house capabilities in order to ensure a seamless rollout and prevent delays.

Also Read: Four Critical Elements for a Successful Cybersecurity Program

Companies should be sure to confirm that the selected platform has both a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and a script authoring module, such as an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Through straightforward drag-and-drop capabilities, the GUI may be able to help non-coders take advantage of the strengths of the SOAR solution right away. Still, the IDE would allow more sophisticated modification from coders as needed.

Not having established incident response procedures

When deploying a SOAR system, having specified incident response protocols is essential (talking about people, processes, and technologies). It will be challenging to decide which business tasks to begin automating first without clearly defined incident response processes. Enterprises should ensure that they have Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and practices in place before implementing a SOAR solution in order to integrate with their people, processes, and technologies as successfully as possible.