SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) playbooks are a set of predefined workflows that automate the incident response process. These playbooks are designed to help security operations teams respond to security incidents more quickly and effectively by automating routine tasks and standardizing incident response procedures.
SOAR playbooks can be customized to fit the specific needs of an organization and can be created for a wide range of security incidents, such as malware infections, phishing attacks, and network breaches. SOAR playbooks can be created using a variety of tools, including security orchestration platforms and scripting languages such as Python and PowerShell. They can be customized to fit the specific needs of an organization and can be updated and refined over time as the organization’s security needs evolve.
The following are 9 examples of SOAR playbooks to streamline SOC processes:
- SOAR Playbook for Automated Incident Response
- SOAR Playbook for Ransomware
- SOAR Playbook for Cryptojacking
- SOAR Playbook for Vulnerability Management
- SOAR Playbook for Threat Hunting
- SOAR Playbook for Automated Patching and Remediation
- SOAR Playbook for Phishing Email Investigations
- SOAR Playbook for Malware Containment
- SOAR Playbook for Case management
SOAR Playbook for Automated Incident Response
SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) playbooks are a set of predefined workflows that automate the incident response process. These playbooks can be customized to handle a wide range of security threats, such as phishing, malware, DoS, web defacement, and ransomware.
SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) playbooks can be used to block threat indicators (IOCs) on a variety of security tools, including firewalls, EDR solutions, and SIEMs. By automating the process of blocking IOCs, SOAR playbooks can help organizations respond to threats more quickly and effectively, reducing the risk of data breaches and other security incidents.The following is an example of how SOAR playbook in the SOC handles remediation and response for these common security threats:
Phishing:
Detection: The SOAR platform can detect phishing attacks by monitoring email traffic and analyzing email headers and content for suspicious patterns.
Analysis: Once a phishing attack is detected, the SOAR platform can analyze the email content and identify any malicious links or attachments.
Containment: The SOAR platform can automatically quarantine the affected email and block any associated domains or IP addresses to prevent further attacks.
Remediation: The SOAR platform can automatically alert affected users to the phishing attack and provide guidance on how to respond, such as resetting passwords and monitoring accounts for suspicious activity.
Malware:
Detection: The SOAR platform can detect malware infections using a variety of tools, such as endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions, antivirus software, and network traffic analysis tools.
Analysis: Once malware has been detected, the SOAR platform can automatically analyze the malware to determine its type and the extent of the infection.
Containment: The SOAR platform can isolate infected endpoints and block network traffic associated with the malware to prevent further infections.
Remediation: The SOAR platform can automatically remediate the infection by removing the malware from infected endpoints and restoring any damaged or compromised files.
DoS:
Detection: The SOAR platform can detect DoS attacks by monitoring network traffic for unusual patterns or high traffic volumes.
Analysis: Once a DoS attack is detected, the SOAR platform can automatically analyze the traffic to determine the source of the attack.
Containment: The SOAR platform can automatically block the traffic associated with the DoS attack to prevent further damage.
Remediation: The SOAR platform can automatically alert the affected parties and provide guidance on how to respond, such as contacting the internet service provider (ISP) to block the source of the attack.
Web defacement:
Detection: The SOAR platform can detect web defacement attacks by monitoring website traffic and analyzing website content for unauthorized changes.
Analysis: Once a web defacement attack is detected, the SOAR platform can analyze the website content to determine the extent of the changes.
Containment: The SOAR platform can isolate the affected website and block any associated domains or IP addresses to prevent further attacks.
Remediation: The SOAR platform can automatically remediate the attack by restoring the website content to its original state.
Ransomware:
Detection: The SOAR platform can detect ransomware infections using a variety of tools, such as EDR solutions, antivirus software, and network traffic analysis tools.
Analysis: Once ransomware has been detected, the SOAR platform can automatically analyze the ransomware to determine its type and the extent of the infection.
Containment: The SOAR platform can isolate infected endpoints and block network traffic associated with the ransomware to prevent further infections.
Remediation: The SOAR platform can automatically remediate the infection by removing the ransomware from infected endpoints and restoring any encrypted files.
The following is an example of how SOAR playbooks can be used to block IOCs on various security tools:
Firewall
Firewalls are used to control access to networks by blocking or allowing traffic based on defined rules. SOAR platforms can work with firewalls to automate the process of blocking traffic associated with identified threats. By ingesting IOCs (Indicators of Compromise) from external and internal intelligence sources, SOAR platforms can automatically analyze the IOCs and determine the best course of action, such as blocking associated IP addresses or domains on the organization’s firewall.
Detection: The SOAR platform can detect threats by ingesting and analyzing IOCs from external and internal intelligence sources.
Analysis: Once a threat is detected, the SOAR platform can automatically analyze the IOC and determine the best course of action, such as blocking the associated IP address or domain.
Containment: The SOAR platform can automatically block the IOC on the organization’s firewall to prevent further attacks.
Remediation: The SOAR platform can automatically alert affected users and provide guidance on how to respond, such as resetting passwords and monitoring accounts for suspicious activity.
SOAR Threat intelligence Playbook for Coordination & Automation
Threat intelligence automation is an important capability of Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) platforms. When SOAR playbooks automatically ingest and normalize indicators of compromise (IOCs) from external and internal intelligence sources and enrich the collected IOCs, it enables security operations teams to quickly identify and respond to potential threats.
SOAR platforms can integrate with a variety of threat intelligence feeds, including commercial and open-source feeds, and automatically ingest and normalize IOCs from these feeds. Once ingested, the SOAR platform can automatically enrich the IOCs with additional context and metadata, such as the source of the IOC and the associated threat actor or campaign.
The enriched IOCs can then be used to automatically trigger incident response workflows, such as the isolation of affected endpoints, the blocking of malicious traffic, and the containment of the threat. The automation of these workflows enables security operations teams to respond to threats more quickly and effectively, reducing the risk of data breaches and other security incidents.
In addition to automating incident response workflows, threat intelligence automation can also help organizations improve their threat intelligence capabilities. By automatically ingesting and normalizing IOCs from external and internal sources, organizations can gain a more comprehensive view of the threat landscape and better understand the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by threat actors.
