The potential benefits of workflow automation for security teams are huge - from improved incident readiness to faster time to value, improved retention, and reduced errors, there lots of compelling reasons to adopt this technology. But there are also some popular misconceptions holding teams back from fully embracing workflow automation.
In this blog post, I'll debunk some of the most common myths about workflow automation and explain why it's worth investing in for any security team.
About workflow automation
Workflow automation makes it possible for everyone on the team, regardless of their technical skill, to build, run, and monitor their most important workflows. Traditionally, this meant the introduction of coding and scripting. But this is rapidly being replaced by no-code and natural language solutions like Tines. These solutions offer a visual interface for building workflows.
Dragging and dropping actions into a workflow, team members can turn processes built on repetitive, manual tasks into hands-off workflows that only loop them in when their judgment is required. By embracing workflow automation, teams can operate more effectively, mitigate risk, reduce tech debt, and focus on the work that matters most.
5 common misconceptions about workflow automation
1. “I could just write a script for this”
You could just write a script – if you know how to. But security practitioners often don't have that skill, meaning they have to outsource their automation to others.
Additionally, the easy part with code is writing it the first time. The hard part is the deployment, security upgrades, maintenance, versioning, and downtime that comes afterward.
This is especially challenging when your best team members move on to other organizations (and at least some of them will, very soon – 55% of security practitioners say they’re likely to switch jobs in the next year.)
The right workflow automation platform encourages collaboration and ensures that any number of team members can step in when required. Technical users who do know code can instead focus on the output of the overall workflow, rather than the process of coding it.
2. “This isn’t powerful enough for our workflow.”
Workflow automation platforms provide security teams with the building blocks they need to power their most important workflows, from simple unrecognized login alerts to complex, all-encompassing vulnerability management.
There's no limit to how complex the workflow can be or how many steps can be automated – if you can imagine it, you can do it.
Ideally, your platform allows your workflows to scale automatically to meet your specific requirements. And it has a robust set of trust and security capabilities – role-based access control, audit logs, version history, error handling, credential management, and approval-based change control – to keep your workflows secure.
3. “Automation means replacing team members.”
From what I've seen, this very rarely happens in practice. Firstly, there’s always more work to do and bigger problems to solve. The security landscape is ever-changing and these teams need to constantly adjust and improve in order to keep pace.
It’s far more common to see benefits for team members once they start building their own workflows. They gain a valuable new skill, the ability to create efficiencies across the security team and enhance key processes.
As they begin to automate their repetitive, manual tasks, it frees them up to focus their skills and attention on high-impact work like improving the organization's security posture.
Additionally, because of the ease of using workflow automation, builders can maintain and evolve their own workflows, which is especially beneficial as processes, tools, and threats continue to evolve.
Automation simply unlocks the potential of team members – and team members who are engaged in and excited by their work stick around.
4. “Automation will implement rash decisions during remediation.”
Automation isn't necessarily all or nothing, as many may assume. The best workflow automation platforms make it easy to put a human in the loop for important decisions. The same is true for any AI-powered capabilities within these platforms.
Instead of automating black and white remediation actions like blocking an account after a suspicious login, these workflows ask the affected user or an analyst for their input first.
This can easily be facilitated through automated Slack messages or chatbots – "Did you recently log in from a certain location?" – and implementing actions based on their response.
5. “Managing integrations is painful.”
We've reached a point where teams are turning away from multi-product platforms towards laser-focused tools that provide best-in-class solutions, like JIRA, Slack, and others.
This means that connecting the tools in your stack has never been more important.
When your organization’s tools – custom and off-the-shelf – talk to each other, you can maximize your data and resources. Best-in-class workflow automation platforms make it easy to integrate across your tech stack.
Taken from The Ultimate Guide to Workflow Automation for Security Teams. Read the full guide.