The near-constant attacks on computer networks make it clear that cybersecurity is no longer a human-scale problem. Traditional security measures such as firewalls and antivirus software aren’t enough to ward off the onslaught of increasingly sophisticated attacks leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning.
It’s why most organizations are taking steps to automate key elements of their cybersecurity programs.
In a recent Opinion Matters survey, three-quarters of senior cybersecurity professionals said cybersecurity automation is important. Respondents said key use cases for automation include phishing analysis, alert triage and vulnerability management.
Manual intervention is simply too slow to keep up with the pace of attacks. One study found that enterprise security teams get an average of 174,000 security alerts every week. Manually collecting, correlating and analyzing large volumes of log and network traffic is resource-intensive under the best of circumstances. It’s practically impossible amid a global cybersecurity workforce shortage.
Automation makes threat response faster and improves accuracy by eliminating the inconsistencies humans often introduce. Security policies are consistently applied across all systems, enhancing the overall security posture and reducing the risk of errors that could create vulnerabilities.
Top Security Automation Solutions
Automated tools and workflows allow organizations to adopt more proactive security measures such as threat hunting. Leveraging AI and advanced algorithms, automated security platforms can actively search for anomalies and potential vulnerabilities in real time, enabling organizations to identify and neutralize threats before they escalate into full-scale attacks.
Here are some of the key automation solutions organizations should consider:
- Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems aggregate and analyze log data from various sources across the IT infrastructure. Automated correlation of events and real-time alerting enables organizations to respond swiftly to security incidents.
- Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions automatically detect and respond to threats on individual devices. These tools identify malicious behavior, quarantine infected endpoints and initiate automated remediation processes.
- Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) platforms orchestrate multiple security technologies using API connectors. They can ingest and correlate vast amounts of threat intelligence from the network, subscription services and other sources to learn the difference between normal and suspicious network activity.
- Identity and Access Management (IAM) tools can automate user provisioning, de-provisioning, authentication and authorization. This helps organizations enforce consistent and efficient management of user access across systems and applications.
- Vulnerability Management solutions continuously monitor networks, systems and applications to identify potential weaknesses that could be exploited by malicious actors. These tools prioritize identified vulnerabilities based on risk levels and automatically deploy patches, configuration changes or other measures to mitigate risks.
Call on the Experts
Implementing these systems can be a challenging undertaking, however. It will require integrating various data sources, configuring correlation rules, and continuous tuning and optimization. In most cases, working with a managed services provider (MSP) that has made significant investments in security automation solutions offers several compelling advantages.
First and foremost, MSPs have the expertise and specialization to make the most of advanced automation platforms. They also provide instant access to advanced solutions that could be too expensive for individual organizations to implement on their own. Additionally, MSPs can offer around-the-clock monitoring and response capabilities.
Verteks has invested in the technology and training necessary to support customer efforts to automate cybersecurity. Operating from our world-class security operations center, our team of cybersecurity specialists can deploy and manage SIEM, SOAR and other automation solutions that will help you stay ahead of evolving threats.
