Identifying and Implementing Security Automation Cases: A Step-by-Step Guide
In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, efficiency and effectiveness are paramount. To tackle this challenge, Kevin Schmidt, a director analyst at Gartner, suggests a four-phase approach for identifying high-priority areas for security automation.
Phase 1: Prework (Foundation and Readiness)
The first phase involves assessing the current state of security operations (SOC), evaluating team capabilities, and examining existing processes. Stakeholders are engaged to identify pain points and gaps in security workflows. Foundational training for SOC staff on security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) platforms is crucial to prevent automation failures later on.
The goal is to establish a baseline of repetitive, time-consuming, or error-prone tasks suitable for automation.
Phase 2: Use Case Selection (Prioritization of Tasks)
In this phase, security leaders identify and prioritize security processes ripe for automation based on impact, frequency, and complexity. Well-scoped, foundational tasks are selected to start simple and build confidence. Examples could include automated threat hunting, identity and access management tasks, or incident triage.
The potential ROI and risk of automating each use case are evaluated, with a focus on high-value and low-risk processes.
Phase 3: Automation/Playbook Development
Detailed workflow playbooks are designed for each selected use case, mapping out each step from alert to resolution. Automation scripts and SOAR playbooks are developed, integrating detection, triage, enrichment, remediation, and notification tasks.
Playbooks are thoroughly tested in a controlled environment to ensure accuracy and minimize unintended consequences. Continuous feedback loops and staff involvement are incorporated to refine automation, ensuring it adapts over time and teaches SOC teams.
Phase 4: Implementation (Deployment and Scaling)
Automated playbooks are gradually deployed in production, starting with least complex and highest value tasks. SOC analysts are trained to work alongside automation tools, emphasizing their role in oversight and escalation.
Monitoring automation performance continuously is essential to identify gaps, errors, or opportunities for further coverage. The approach is scaled incrementally by adding more complex use cases and integrating with other tools such as cloud-native security controls or DevSecOps pipelines.
This phased approach helps select automation targets that maximize security posture improvements while managing change effectively, avoiding common pitfalls like rushed deployment or lack of training. Starting small and building up capability allows security teams to optimize workflows and prove value before expanding automation broadly.
Key considerations include strong foundational training in SOAR platforms, careful scoping of initial use cases, detailed playbook design, and incremental deployment with continuous monitoring. This method aligns well with established best practices such as DevSecOps integration, cloud-native security automation, and the crawl-walk-run methodology widely recommended for successful SecOps automation implementations.
During the development process, dependencies in the playbooks, such as third-party APIs, log formatting, OS or application version, should be documented. Operational processes must be updated to reflect playbook usage, documenting how and when to use which playbook.
The gains analysis should yield the success metrics, which can be used to validate the effort required to develop the automation. Estimate total gains per month based on how frequently these tasks are performed or the known time spent to perform them manually.
The type of activities any one operator performs shouldn't change much, but that individual's involvement in the activities and tasks will change. Security leaders must communicate metrics for reporting, which should be revamped on a regular basis to include actual gains realized through automation.
The gains analysis should give security leaders a good idea of the processes and tasks needed to drive playbook development. Produce a gains analysis report where all captured data is combined to make decisions about which automations to implement, which to put on hold, and which should not be touched.
Common barriers to security automation include automating the wrong things, incorrect prioritization of use cases, misunderstanding what should be automated, and misunderstanding where to automate. Calculate the total time savings for all tasks and create a prioritized list of the activities for which automation delivers the greatest benefit.
By following this four-phase approach, organisations can optimise their security operations, increase efficiency, and enhance their overall security posture.
- In the realm of security operations (SOC), foundational training for SOC staff on security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) platforms is critical to prevent automation failures in the future.
- When selecting use cases for automation, security leaders should prioritize tasks based on their impact, frequency, and complexity; potential ROI and risk must also be evaluated to focus on high-value and low-risk processes.
- During the implementation phase, continuous monitoring of automation performance is essential to identify gaps, errors, or opportunities for further coverage; the approach should be scaled incrementally by adding more complex use cases and integrating with other tools such as cloud-native security controls or DevSecOps pipelines.
