Cost-Benefit Analysis of SecOps Automation Tools

Analysis of SecOps Automation Tools
Analysis of SecOps Automation Tools

Implementing automation into a Security Operations Center (SOC) is imperative for a business. A relentless threat landscape has left analysts struggling to do their jobs: a recent IBM report revealed that, on average, SOC Team Members spend one-third of their typical workday investigating and validating incidents that aren’t a real threat. But what is the best way to implement SOC automation? And what method is best for your organization? Read on to find out.

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

SIEM solutions collect, aggregate, and analyze security data across an organization’s environment. Sources typically include firewalls, intrusion detection systems, antivirus programs, and other security tools.

Benefits

The benefits of SIEM solutions include:

  • Centralized Visibility: SIEM solutions aggregate and correlate data to provide security teams with a single pane of glass for monitoring security events.
  • Real-time Threat Detection: SIEM solutions conduct real-time monitoring and generate alerts based on predefined rules and machine learning to help security teams quickly identify potential threats.
  • Compliance and Reporting: SIEM tools automate the collection and reporting of log data to streamline compliance audits
  • Historical Analysis: SIEM solutions enhance forensic investigations by storing logs that inform

Costs

SIEM solutions are the costliest option. Depending on your organization’s size and the security program’s scope, the initial investment for licensing, infrastructure, and deployment can range from tens of thousands to millions of dollars. Ongoing costs include updates, patches, hardware maintenance, and the skilled security staff required to manage and tune the SIEM solution. From a technical perspective, the high volume of alerts generated by SIEM solutions often results in false positives and alert fatigue.

Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR)

SOAR tools streamline and automate the incident response process by integrating various security tools. They orchestrate workflows across disparate systems and automate routine tasks, such as incident investigation and response.

Benefits

The benefits of SOAR solutions include:

  • Automation of Repetitive Tasks: SOAR automates routine tasks such as alert triage, incident response, and threat hunting, reducing the workload on security analysts.
  • Improved Incident Response: These solutions orchestrate responses across multiple security tools, enabling faster and more coordinated responses to incidents.
  • Reduced Mean Time to Resolve (MTTR): SOAR speeds up incident investigation and resolution.
  • Enhanced Threat Intelligence Integration: SOAR solutions integrate with threat intelligence feeds to provide context for alerts, improving decision-making.

Costs

SOAR solutions typically have high licensing costs, which increase depending on the number of necessary integrations with existing security tools. You’ll also likely need to spend time and money training SOC teams to use SOAR tools, maintaining automation workflows, and updating integrations when necessary. If your organization has an exceptionally complex environment, legacy technologies, or specific requirements, you must also spend time and money customizing playbooks and workflows. However, SOAR solutions typically cost less than SIEM tools and offer operational cost savings over time.

Homegrown Automation Solutions

Homegrown automation solutions, as the name suggests, are custom-built automation systems developed by an organization’s IT or security teams to meet said organization’s specific security needs and operational requirements.

Benefits

The benefits of developing a homegrown automation solution include:

  • Customization: Developers can tailor homegrown automation solutions to specific organizational needs, allowing greater flexibility in addressing unique security challenges.
  • Control Over Development: Organizations exercise full control over the development cycle, allowing for quick adaptation to changes in the security landscape.
  • Integration Flexibility: Security teams can design the solution to integrate seamlessly with existing systems and tools without additional licensing costs.

Costs

Developing a homegrown automation solution typically has lower upfront costs than purchasing an SIEM or SOAR solution, but only if your organization has sufficient in-house expertise to carry out the task. If not, hiring the necessary personnel could equal or surpass that of a SOAR or SIEM solution. The same is true for maintenance costs. A poorly developed automation solution that does not meet secure coding standards could also miss threats or otherwise cause damage to your organization’s environment.

Summary of Costs, Benefits, and Suitability

The table below summarizes the costs, benefits, and recommendations for what type of organization should consider each solution.

ToolsCostsBenefitsSuitability
SIEMTypically, SIEM is the most expensive solution due to licensing, hardware, storage, and ongoing maintenance costs.Centralized visibility, real-time detection, and compliance management.Organizations requiring comprehensive threat detection and compliance.
SOARLess expensive than SIEM, but still costly due to licensing, integration, customization, and training. It can offer long-term savings in operational costs.Automates tasks, improves response, reduces MTTR, and integrates threat intelligence.Mature SOCs with the need for automated, coordinated response.
Homegrown SolutionLower upfront costs but significant ongoing costs for development, maintenance, and scaling.Customization, cost control, integration flexibility.Organizations with unique requirements and development resources.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this article will help you make an informed decision about implementing automation into your SOC. Remember, it’s crucial to understand your specific requirements and resources before you decide on the best course of action, so make sure to involve all relevant stakeholders in your decision-making process – especially security teams – and don’t rush into anything. SOC automation is a big investment, but one you must make.

About the author:
Josh is a Content writer at Bora. He graduated with a degree in Journalism in 2021 and has a background in cybersecurity PR. He’s written on a wide range of topics, from AI to Zero Trust, and is particularly interested in the impacts of cybersecurity on the wider economy.