Cross-platform security operations are a vital element of enterprise cybersecurity. Your organization has many different tools and data sources as its disposal. Reliably detecting and responding to threats means using all of them in concert. 

Both Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools help achieve this broad goal, but in different ways. This article will explain some of the key differences between these two technologies and provide insight into the best path forward for security leaders today. 

What is the main difference between SOAR and SIEM? 

Both SOAR and SIEM provide centralized visibility and control to your security tech stack. Each tool can dramatically improve your security posture, but in different ways:  

• SOAR enables cross-platform integration and automation between security tools, including tools made by different third-party vendors. This allows analysts to create automated incident response playbooks that leverage every tool in the security tech stack at once. 

• SIEM collects and analyzes log data from across the organization to identify threats. It generates alerts when it detects suspicious activity and helps analysts conduct investigations that inform an effective response. 

The main difference between SOAR and SIEM is that one primarily enhances incident response, while the other is better suited to threat detection. This makes them complementary tools, since you can’t launch an effective response to a threat without first detecting and investigating it. 

There are other important differences between SOAR and SIEM 

Since each tool is designed around a particular focus, they offer unique features and capabilities to security teams. Here are a few other important differences between standalone SOAR solutions and most SIEM platforms: 

1. Threat management capabilities 

SIEM technologies identify threats by analyzing and correlating log data from different tools and technologies across your IT environment. That includes everything from endpoint devices, firewalls, Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tools and more. Your SIEM ingests all of this data and generates alerts when it detects unusual activity that warrants investigation.  

SOAR works by identifying specific security events and launching an automated series of actions in response. An example of a SOAR triggered response would be isolating an infected endpoint when its behavior matches a known indicator of compromise. This response action must be pre-configured ahead of time. 

These capabilities can overlap, especially in full-featured security platforms with consolidated toolsets. But each one has a particular effect on your organization’s overall security posture. SIEM is essentially reactive while SOAR is more proactive in nature—but a secure organization needs both. 

2. Context and efficiency 

To analyze log data and generate accurate alerts, SIEM solutions need to process enormous volumes of data. Modern SIEM platforms are designed to contextualize security events by drawing data from a wide range of tools, services, and third-party solutions. In an enterprise IT environment, that can mean processing hundreds of thousands of alerts per day. 

SOAR platforms also draw data from third-party tools and services, but in a much more simplified way. It only looks for the specific patterns it has been configured for. It won’t provide additional context into the events it detects, but it will launch the appropriate response action. This makes SOAR more efficient at threat response, but it also limits the volume of data it can analyze and the results it can deliver. 

This difference is particularly pronounced when it comes to unknown threats. A modern SIEM equipped with behavioral analytics can detect threats for which no known indicators of compromise exist. Configuring a SOAR platform in this way might produce unexpected results, like automated actions misfiring in response to false positives. 

3. Complexity of implementation 

Implementing a SIEM platform can be one of the most complex initiatives an organization undertakes. It takes a great deal of time and expertise to ensure optimal functionality while keeping resource consumption within reasonable boundaries. Additionally, the solution requires continuous fine-tuning and customization to maintain its value over time. 

On the other hand, SOAR implementation involves fewer moving parts. It ingests fewer data sources and demands less in terms of IT infrastructure. However, SOAR still requires ongoing upkeep for managing incident response playbooks and updating them to meet changing security needs. 

SOAR and SIEM are complementary technologies 

Integrating SOAR and SIEM provides security teams with a holistic, proactive approach to operational security. Together, they provide tools for enhancing visibility, streamlining incident response, and automating repetitive security tasks. This frees up analysts to focus on higher impact strategic initiatives, getting more done in less time. 

That doesn’t necessarily mean investing in two separate standalone solutions. Early vendors focused specifically on building out their platforms, but the market has matured significantly since then. Now, industry-leading technology vendors offer consolidated platforms that include both SIEM and SOAR capabilities in one. 

Since SIEM is the more demanding and complex option of the two, it is usually the SIEM that incorporates SOAR features—not the other way around. Once your organization begins unlocking the value of cybersecurity consolidation, it can leverage the benefits of both technologies through a single, unified interface. 

Benefits of integrating SOAR and SIEM 

Integrating SOAR and SIEM into a consolidated platform strengthens security operations and provides deep visibility and control over your security posture. Organizations that use both technologies can leverage real-time event monitoring and correlation from SIEM while automating cross-platform incident response using SOAR. 

This enables the Security Operations Center (SOC) to successfully detect unauthorized activity while still leveraging automation against known threats. The combination of contextualized investigation and efficient incident response helps SOC analysts prioritize sophisticated high-severity threats before spending time on less critical alerts. 

With the right team of product experts leading your implementation and configuration initiative, you can strike the right balance between machine-powered security automation and human expertise. 

Rely on Lumifi as your information security partner 

Lumifi is a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) vendor that specializes in custom SIEM implementation and cybersecurity consolidation. Our product experts can help you optimize security operations by configuring your security tech stack to meet its real-world needs. Learn more about our proprietary SOC automation platform, ShieldVision™,  and how it can help you consolidate disparate security tools like SOAR and SIEM into a comprehensive, centralized solution.