Insight

In continuing my chat with Marc Solomon, CMO of ThreatQuotient, Marc and I discuss:

1. SOC integration. At its heart, SOAPA is an integrated heterogenous technology architecture for security operations, so I ask Marc how integration plays into ThreatQ’s strategy. Marc mentions that the platform includes bi-directional integration where ThreatQ consumes and provides data. What type of data? External threat data, enriched data, event data, etc. ThreatQuotient can be used as a SOAPA data broker, acting as the single source of truth for security operations.
2. ThreatQuotient has some SOAR functionality so I ask Marc about process automation. Marc says that while SOAR has been out for a while, he still sees most companies automating basic tasks, so there’s a general state of immaturity. Marc is bullish about more process automation in the future however and everything starts with the data.
3. Are we moving toward SOC visualization consolidation? One of the biggest SOC bugaboos is the need to view security through multiple UIs. Personally, I believe that SOC visualization is the next frontier with new tools acting as a standard workbench for multiple activities. Marc agrees but reminds us not to forget about specialization. Yes, there will be more UI consolidation but there will always be specialized tools and SOC analysts using these tools will want to work with within their UIs. Once again, Marc points to the data. If the data is normalized, consistent, and available, it will be useful regardless of how you view it.
4. My colleague Dave Gruber and I have done a lot of research in this area while Marc has looked at XDR through the lens of ThreatQ. In Marc’s view, XDR is long overdue to combine the threat detection power of multiple different technologies into a single system. Marc still believes that these analytics will need tools like ThreatQuotient to act as a SOAPA data hub and broker, while XDR takes more control of the analytics layer.
5. The future of SOAPA. Marc believes SOAPA is the future of security operations as tools like ThreatQ bring in more data sources, opening the SOC to new use cases.

Thanks again to Marc Solomon and ThreatQuotient for participating in the SOAPA video series. Look for more videos in 2021.

Mark Solomon, CMO of ThreatQuotient. and I had a chance to get together and talk SOAPA recently. In part 1 of our video, Marc gives a brief description about what ThreatQ does and then we proceed to chat about:

1. What’s the deal with cyber threat intelligence (CTI)? For every SOC manager who tells me that threat intelligence is the foundation of security operations, another says that his or her organization struggles to operationalize threat intelligence. What’s going on here? Marc believes the term “threat intelligence” is somewhat poisoned and meaningless today. The real key is to collect, process, analyze, and act upon the CTI that aligns with your organization’s infrastructure, industry, location, etc., and then integrate it into every aspect of security ops.
2. Use cases for ThreatQuotient. ThreatQ is lumped into a bucket called threat intelligence platforms (TIPs) but I know the product can do more than just weed through threat feeds. Marc says that 70% of customers use ThreatQ for other use cases like alert triage, incident response, phishing investigations, etc. ThreatQuotient is kind of a swiss army knife for SOAPA.
3. Alert fatigue. I mention to Marc that ESG data points to an overwhelming volume of alerts and ask if this is consistent with what he is seeing. Marc agrees but reminds the audience that security is a big data problem. Therefore, it’s about normalizing and contextualizing the data to make it useful. By doing so, you can improve fidelity, accelerate processes, enhance collaboration, and see real ROI on security investments.
4. SOC modernization. This term has become yet another piece of industry hyperbole, so I asked Marc what he thinks. To Marc, it all starts with the data, but the data tends to be siloed and in different formats today. Thus, SOC modernization starts with data normalization, integrated defenses, and a focus on enabling the SOC staff. Marc also emphasized the need for more process automation, process maturity, and improved collaboration processes and tools.

Marc’s an old hand at security so it was great to kibbitz with him about SOAPA. More soon in part 2 of our video.