How to automate threat detection & response for IT security

Traditionally, threat detection has been highly manual, with security professionals often sifting through large volumes of data. In the last decade, the new automation and AI capabilities have led to a significant shift in this area.

A key element in today’s threat detection and response (TDR) tools is their ability to react to vulnerabilities through automated responses, like isolating compromised systems and performing automatic patching.

These automated responses allow organizations to keep their systems secure, which is increasingly important as the number of data breaches is at an all-time high. To help you in setting up an automated threat detection and response system, we have outlined the key steps below.

What is automated threat detection and response?

Automated threat detection and response help IT departments identify and respond to cyber threats automatically. Different EDR, MDR, SIEM, and XDR tools assist with this process by automating activities such as monitoring system activity, detecting anomalies, and responding to threats.

With AI and automation on the rise, automated threat detection is becoming increasingly important in cybersecurity. In fact, IT automation ranked second among IT trends across the U.S. and Europe in 2023.

Benefits of automated threat detection and response

Automated threat detection and response offers benefits, such as protection against cyberattacks and better regulatory compliance. Below is a detailed look at its benefits.

1. Protect against cyber attacks

The number of cybersecurity attacks and their costs are at an all-time high. In the first quarter of 2024, cybersecurity attacks increased by 28% over the Q4 in 2023. Plus, IBM’s Cost of Data Breach Report explains that the average cost of a data breach in 2024 is $4.88 million, a 10% increase over last year.

Automated threat detection and response helps reduce cyber-attacks and associated costs by identifying and containing breaches in record time. When a threat is detected, XDR tools can isolate endpoints and block indicators, which helps prevent its spread.

3. Reduce incident response time

AI and automation can help organizations identify and contain data breaches nearly 100 days faster than those who don’t use them. In addition, the use of AI and automation for breach prevention reduced data breach costs by an average of $2.2 million in 2024.

The best tools for threat detection and IT management, like Atera, offer advanced automation to reduce incident response times. The automation includes real-time device monitoring and troubleshooting, threshold-based alerts, scripting, and more.

4. Access to real-time alerts

A staggering 71% of analysts believe their organizations may already have been compromised without them knowing, highlighting the lack of visibility into potential threats and the need for timely alerts. The cost of manual alerting triage is huge as well, with Vectra AI Research Report estimating that it is $3.3 billion annually in the US only.

Threat detection and response tools automatically generate alerts when they detect changes in system performance, such as sudden spikes in network traffic. This allows you to monitor your network’s health at all times.

4. Security compliance and reporting

Automated threat detection and response tools, like MDR and XDR, help comply with regulatory compliance requirements, such as HIPAA, GDPR, and Finra. These tools generate detailed logs, audit trails, and reports, which provide evidence to regulators and help to comply. 

5. Better employee efficiency

VMware’s recent Global Incident Response Threat Report found that 51% of cybersecurity professionals self-identified as burned out, and 67% of those had lost work hours due to stress. While somewhat speculative, one of the leading causes of this is the highly manual and time-consuming processes cybersecurity professionals deal with on a daily basis.

Threat detection and response automation can significantly boost employee efficiency and satisfaction. 

5 steps to automate threat detection and response in 2024

Below, we have outlined the key strategies that assist in automating threat detection and response.

The key strategies are:

1. Collect and aggregate data
2. Detect incidents
3. Receive alerts and prioritize them
4. Respond to threats
5. Improve continuously

Keep on reading for a detailed breakdown of these.

1. Collect and aggregate data

To automate threat detection and response, you need to collect and aggregate data. The most effective (and really the only) way to do this is to use a cybersecurity tool. These tools gather data from various sources, such as endpoints, network traffic, cloud infrastructure, and more, and then aggregate it into a centralized system for analysis.

You can choose between different types of cybersecurity tools, such as:

• EDR: EDR tools are used to monitor, detect, and respond to security threats on endpoints. 
• SIEM: SIEM tools capture log data, security events, and system activity from a variety of sources, such as network devices and servers.
• MDR: MDR tools are managed by a third-party provider, and they assist in monitoring network activity, investigating threats, and remediating them. 
• XDR: XDR tools are the most comprehensive and gather data from various sources, including EDR, email security, identity and access management (IAM) systems, network traffic analysis (NTA), and cloud workload protection platforms (CWPP).

The right cybersecurity tool depends entirely on your organization’s needs. XDR software is the best option for the most comprehensive needs. XDR tools provide a unified view of an organization’s entire security landscape, unlike more traditional tools, such as EDR and SIEM, which are more siloed.

2. Detect incidents

With the help of machine learning and AI, cybersecurity tools automatically analyze the collected data to identify unusual patterns and flag potential security incidents.

To assist with this process, these tools are capable of:

• Centralized view: Once data has been collected from multiple sources, machine learning algorithms analyze the data and display it in a centralized dashboard.
• Threat intelligence: Today’s cybersecurity tools receive constant updates from the global threat intelligence feed, which improves their capability to detect threats.
• Analytics: You can use the available analytics of cybersecurity tools to gain insights into potential vulnerabilities and trends.
• Data enrichment: Cybersecurity tools, like XDR software, combine data from multiple sources, and related events in the data flow are stitched together. This provides a better understanding of the underlying context.

3. Receive alerts and prioritize them

An efficient alerting system is important since SOC teams receive an average of 4,484 alerts daily, which are ignored in 67% of cases because of alert fatigue and false positives. The benefit of cybersecurity tools, such as XDR, is that they can convert a large number of alerts into a small number of incidents.

Once the data has been collected, these tools analyze which alerts are genuinely critical. Based on their severity, the alerts are then categorized or scored accordingly, and IT professionals can respond accordingly.

4. Respond to threats

The best cybersecurity tools don’t stop at detecting threats; they also assist in responding to them. After a cyber threat is identified, threat response includes actions taken to contain and eliminate it.

Taking actions to respond to threats can mean:

• Isolating compromised systems: Endpoints that have been compromised are automatically isolated from the network to prevent further exposure.
• Initiating automated responses: Automated responses, like blocking malicious IP addresses or disabling access to sensitive files, are triggered.
• Password reset and 2FA authentication: The system automatically resets user passwords and enables multi-factor authentication.
• Generating reports: Detailed incident reports are created to document the threat and actions taken. This helps to support future threat prevention.

To improve threat response, IT teams can create an incident response plan.

5. Improve continuously

As cyber threats evolve, cybersecurity tools adapt by learning from past events. Machine learning algorithms continuously refine their detection abilities to identify future threats more accurately.

In addition, there are various proactive measures you can take

• Monitor system activity in real-time: Continuously monitor your system activity to identify anomalies and unusual patterns.
• Enable threat hunting: The best cybersecurity solutions enable continuous threat hunting, which means searching for signs of compromise (IoCs) and suspicious activity across the entire security ecosystem.
• Deploy patches: Use automated patch management tools to deploy patches automatically to ensure that your endpoints are protected from known vulnerabilities.

• Have strong passwords: Set strong passwords and use password manager tools to protect each account in your organization.
• Set up multi-factor authentication: Require at least two forms of verification for accessing sensitive information and devices. 
• Do backups: Regularly back up your data to ensure it can be recovered in the event of a ransomware attack or data loss. IT management solutions, like Atera, offer automated backups.
• Scan your network: Perform regular network discovery scans for any anomalies or suspicious activity on your endpoints.

The best threat detection and response strategy is one that prevents threats from occurring in the first place, so it’s important to improve your organization’s security posture.

How Atera can assist with automated threat detection and monitoring

Atera helps IT teams safeguard their IT infrastructure with a suite of enterprise IT management tools. The available tools include:

• Real-time monitoring and alerting: Monitor system activity in real-time through Atera’s RMM tool and get alerts on any looming issues.
• Patch management for all OS: Scan, identify, download, test, and deploy system patches automatically with Atera’s patch management tool.
• IT automation: Use Atera to create an IT automation profile and automate tasks such as updating operating systems and drivers, rebooting/shutting down devices, and running scripts.
• Centralized dashboard: Get a unified view of your security posture through Atera’s centralized dashboard.
• Network discovery: Identify and map all connected devices on your network for better visibility into each endpoint and potential vulnerabilities.
• IT ticketing: Improve your incident management through Atera’s AI helpdesk software. 
• Integrations: Atera’s features are complemented by integrations with the leading threat intelligence, antivirus, and firewall management software, such as ThreatDown and Bitdefender.

With Atera’s IT management tools and the available third-party cybersecurity integrations, enterprises can automate threat detection and response and improve their overall cybersecurity posture.

Atera is not free, but has a fair pay-per-technician pricing, which means you pay a fixed price no matter how many endpoints/devices you manage. To try it out, you can do so with a 30-day free trial or contact our sales team for a custom demo.