安全自动化

With security automation 和 orchestration, each of your tools is connected, meaning designated tasks can be completed automatically.

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What is 安全自动化?

Security automation is the process of connecting your tools to execute SecOps-related tasks without the need for human intervention. Between the security talent gap 和 the rapid proliferation of threats, staying ahead of attackers can be a challenge for organizations, automation can be used to help strengthen your defense 和 response capabilities.

Be careful not to confuse this with security orchestration, which is the connective layer between tools to create streamlined workflows. 而不是, automation is the first step security professionals need to take to automatically h和le a single task. This page breaks down the basics of security automation, 包括它是什么, 你为什么需要它, 它对你有什么帮助, what it looks like in action.

安全自动化 Explained

The concept of automation isn’t new—just take a look at your banking app, 策划新闻提要, or the backups happening on your computer as you read these words. Though you likely benefit from automation in a whole range of areas in your personal life, it is also often used alongside orchestration in many security tools today to streamline series of repetitive, manual tasks into cohesive 和 automated workflows.

Security processes require a long set of tasks, many of which require jumping from system to system to gather intel. This lengthy process can take hours (if not days) to complete, depending on the incident. 然而, with security automation 和 orchestration, each of your tools is connected, meaning designated tasks can be completed automatically. This removes a majority of the manual 努力 so your team can focus on bigger threats 和 more proactive security measures.

Automation spans various aspects of security. On the defensive side, it covers prevention, detection, response, remediation. 在进攻方面, red teams 和 attackers can utilize automation to perform vulnerability assessments or gain a leg up on their targets. 安全监测、 intrusion detection systems, managed detection 和 response services all utilize a form of security automation to detect anomalies 和 aggregate data.

Benefits of 安全自动化

Today’s security teams are overwhelmed, they need solid solutions to help them tackle the complex threat l和scape. A security automation tool helps solve some of these common problems:

1. Lack of security talent

Good security talent is hard to come by, when you do find it, you want to optimize what your most talented people spend their time on. Employees will feel more engaged if they contribute more meaningfully 和 strategically to the organization 和 feel challenged. Automating rote tasks 如 sifting through thous和s of alerts means they can shift their attention toward more strategic, 有趣的, 有价值的任务, 如 威胁狩猎, conducting deeper forensics, strategic planning.

2. Error-prone manual workflows

People may be great at analysis 和 critical thinking, but can be error-prone when it comes to manually processing large volumes of data 和 making quick, 准确的决定. This is especially true if you have many different security systems that teams need to jump between in order to detect, 分析, respond to incidents. 当 事件响应 time slows to a grinding halt, attackers have the upper h和, putting your company’s reputation 和 well-being at risk.

3. 警惕疲劳

These days, teams have more threats to deal with, endpoints to consider, tools that beep. If alerts have become the norm, they could overwhelm your team 和 lead to missed intrusions. You can fully optimize your resources by streamlining the alerting process with security automation. 如果调查, 升级, response process of threats is automated, fewer alerts will come your way—和 these will be the ones you need to take seriously.

4. Slow time to resolution

Disparate systems that don’t talk to each other or present data in an easy-to-digest format make it difficult to investigate incidents as quickly as possible. Automating routine investigatory tasks means you can 应用 human analysis where it matters 和 not have to dig through logs to pinpoint minute details.

5. Operational inefficiencies

Siloed systems make it tough to get a whole picture of your data, 优先级的任务, share information among teams, access data quickly. With automation 和 orchestration, you can consolidate your security 努力s into a central hub that gives you a quick look into potential threats 和 boosts the efficiency of your response. 

What Security Processes Can Be Automated?

If your team is spending a lot of time on repetitive, 低价值的任务, there is a lack of integration among your tools, or you lack development resources to build integrations 和 automation, it could be time to see where security automation 和 orchestration could fit into your business.

As a starting point, consider introducing automation to the five following areas:

  1. Monitoring 和 detection: You want visibility into your IT environment, but involving someone for the entire process is tedious 和 takes precious time 和 努力. Security automation tools stay on the lookout for threats 和 notify you when you need to step in.
  2. 数据浓缩: Automated systems can do the heavy lifting of investigating potential attacks after an alert comes in, which means your team can conduct deeper forensics, 应对威胁, or develop better protections to avoid a repeat scenario.
  3. 事件响应: 当 you realize you’re under attack, a fast response is crucial. Automating steps of your 事件响应 plan means you can contain 和 remove malware, deactivate an IT service that’s under attack, or install security patches or upgrades as soon as an attack is confirmed. Learn more about how security orchestration 和 automation can fit into your 事件响应 plan.
  4. 用户权限: With automated provisioning or deprovisioning of a user, 你可以节省时间, 努力, resources in the event someone attempts to escalate their permissions as part of user account-related threats.
  5. 业务连续性: Automation can help ensure your systems 和 data remain intact in the event of an attack by taking action the moment a threat is detected.

当 Not to Use 安全自动化

Though security automation offers plenty of benefits, it’s OK if you’re not comfortable automating everything. Human insight is needed when you have to piece together conclusions 和 make a rational judgment call. You may also want to avoid automation for tasks that are highly sensitive or require reason beyond what a machine can correlate.

例如, orchestration 和 automation can h和le the process of collecting password failure data 和 alerts from security systems, but a human should decide whether the password failure attempts are from a brute-force attack or someone who forgot their password. He or she should also react accordingly by either blocking the IP or helping the user.

Automation can also eliminate the tedious work of flagging potential phishing emails 和 triggering a response, but this should only occur after an actual person confirms the authenticity or inauthenticity of the email.

Security automation can alleviate many of today’s biggest security issues 和 offer your team operational efficiencies that can benefit you now 和 in the long run.

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