5 reasons why SOAR is a must-have technology for every high-functioning MSSP

Like it or not, cyber threats are becoming more numerous, more sophisticated, and more unpredictable with each passing day. This is bringing more and more cybersecurity challenges for MSSPs. And without sugarcoating it, combating cyber threats by applying older techniques and technologies is not going to cut it.

Many organizations are relying on Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP) to take care of their cybersecurity woes, but even though MSSPs assist their clients by helping them detect and remedy cyber threats, they often fail to respond to the evolving threat landscape. This is why incorporating a contemporary cybersecurity solution that boosts the efficacy of the entire MSSP, such as SOAR, is considered a necessity.

MSSP security: Top 5 cybersecurity challenges for MSSPs

Managed Security Service Providers basically provide managed services that revolve around monitoring, detecting, and preventing cyber threats of their clients. But the thing is, MSSPs are often overloaded with work for different clients, and the evolving cyber threats make it more difficult to properly assess and extinguish them accurately.

Some of the most pervasive challenged that MSSPs are facing today are:

• Lack of skilled security professionals

• Too many tools to manage

• Failing to balance multiple technologies

• Insufficient threat hunting

• Poor role and responsibility segregation for security processes

• Not integrating well with existing tools

Make no mistake, providing managed security services is a true minefield. If they want to be successful and make their clients happy, MSSPs need to acquire and maintain talented security professionals, evolve according to the way organizations consume IT, provide deeper-level security investigations rather than mere log monitoring, and also keep up with the latest technologies to match the evolving threat landscape.

Unfortunately, many MSSPs offer ineffective security services, mainly because they fail to evolve and change the way they operate. They fail to utilize the resources at hand at an optimum level, and this prevents them from fully securing their clients. But thankfully, people in the cybersecurity industry are problem solvers, ergo, the invention of Security Orchestration, Automation and Response.

Not so long ago, SOAR was coined by Gartner as a force multiplier, a technology that binds the entire security platform and boosts the efficacy of every cybersecurity ecosystem it is deployed in. But how will SOAR specifically address the main challenges MSSPs are facing today?

1. Lack of skilled security professionals

It is no secret that the cybersecurity industry is facing a lack of skilled professionals in the worst time possible when the number of cyber threats is growing exponentially with each passing day. SOAR addresses this issue by providing automation.

By automating a multitude of repetitive and menial tasks, SOAR actually replaces analysts and does the job for them. SOAR literally carries out repetitive tasks from inception to completion, with no human interaction necessary whatsoever in most cases. This allows analysts to focus on more challenging tasks and also helps MSSPs keep their staff satisfied by automating a myriad of boring tasks.

Not only will SOAR automate these tasks but by using machine learning, SOAR will be able to simultaneously threat hunt potential false positives and determine which alerts are actually worthy of the analysts’ time, thus allowing them to optimally use their precious time.

2. Using multiple tools under one roof for optimal MSSP security

Most MSSPs are flooded with software, and having to juggle multiple tools and jump from one tool to another makes it difficult for employees to communicate effectively.

In this regard, Cloud SOAR provides a centralized, fully customizable dashboard that allows MSSPs to have a broad perspective of their entire software repertoire, set and track relevant KPIs, and oversee the progress of their entire security operations.

This is why SOAR is deemed as connective tissue, because it connects people, processes, and technologies and allows every employee to have access to the right information at the right time, ultimately boosting the efficacy of the entire organization.

3. Providing thorough threat hunting

MSSPs have to grow beyond providing traditional security log monitoring services. When clients choose an MSSP to handle their cybersecurity, they expect the job to be done thoroughly and professionally, with no loopholes and mishaps. Unfortunately, many MSSPs are using traditional services that are outdated and don’t correspond well with the evolved threat landscape.

SOAR performs threat hunting at a deeper level, allowing MSSPs to track even the most unprecedented cyber threats. SOAR relies on its machine learning engine to learn the characteristics of incoming alerts, and by studying their characteristics it can determine whether an alert is an actual threat with full accuracy. Furthermore, SOAR recommends remediation actions to resolve cyber threats, allowing analysts to have a better understanding of how to proceed with the remediation phase.

4. Segregation of responsibilities

Sometimes, it’s hard to draw the line between duties that belong to managed services and internal IT. This often causes confusion, and if the responsibilities are not defined correctly, that’s when breaches happen.

SOAR vendors are very well aware of this issue, that’s why, Cloud SOAR has been specifically adjusted to allow complete segregation of data at a customer level, and our multi-tenant architecture has been designed to offer controlled, coordinated, and transparent access across all tenants. This allows MSSPs to onboard multiple tenants and effectively manage data segregation while allowing access control among every client.

Cloud SOAR’s multi-tenant architecture allows MSSPs to create Runbooks that can be pushed to the desired tenant, all the while allowing clients to retain control over how and when these Runbooks are executed and also allowing them to create their private Runbooks.

5. Seamless integration with every tool for better MSSP security

MSSPs are built on specific solutions, which means that often they don’t integrate well with the existing tools of their clients. This type of poor integration which results in a lack of visibility creates conflicts between the MSSP and the client, and the alerts generated by the MSSP may signify potential threats when they actually contain false positives, ultimately forcing the client to investigate the threat internally.

This could all be avoided if the MSSP would seamlessly integrate with the client’s tools, as it would allow them to have full visibility and prevent such redundant complexities from happening.

This is exactly what SOAR does. SOAR provides streamlined integrations with a wide range of third-party tools. In fact, Cloud SOAR has adopted an open architecture philosophy and allows clients to connect with over 200 of the most popular tools and technologies. Thanks to its Open Integration Framework, Cloud SOAR is constantly adding new bidirectional integrations, making life easier for every MSSP.

MSSP Security: The collaboration between SOAR and MSSPs is going to intensify

MSSPs are in dire need of contemporary technologies to fill in the gaps left by the inability to respond to the evolving threat landscape. SOAR has proven to be the perfect antidote to sophisticated cyber threats, and not only does SOAR help MSSPs overcome these five challenges, but it also helps them:

• Improve the overall vision

• Improve communication within the organization

• Reducing false positives

SOAR adds a much-needed boost to MSSPs and allows them to coordinate better, utilize their resources in an optimal manner, and respond to sophisticated cyber threats effectively. And at the current pace that the volume of sophisticated cyber threats is growing, soon SOAR is going to be considered a necessity, rather than a luxury for every security environment.