In the past, IT Service Management (ITSM) tools were an adequate solution when coupled with automation tools such as SOAR platforms (security orchestration, automation, and response), but in the modern threat landscape and regulatory environment, they are no longer a recommended solution.
The reasons revolve around scalability and fit-for-purpose.
The threat landscape is growing and so are SOCs. Teams need to be agile, collaborate in real-time, and have full visibility into future and incoming threats. The regulatory landscape is changing too, with requirements for data breach reporting, and executive involvement in incidents meaning that SOCs are increasingly being held accountable for supporting
If you are currently using ITSM tools, you may well be experiencing challenges related to scalability and automation without fully knowing why. Let’s compare and contrast ITSM tools vs Case Management and identify how your SOC could become more efficient.
Limitations to ITSM tools
Traditional ITSM tools can be successful for use cases outside of cybersecurity. However, for a future-proofed SOC and for a strong SOC collaboration tool, we recommend looking outside of ticketing-based interfaces. Here’s the breakdown of why:
- Slow response times
Because ITSM platforms are built for stable, repeatable workflows, they make it more challenging to adapt to new threats than they would be with an agile case management tool. Security incidents require real-time threat containment, while ITSM ticketing tools create bottlenecks with requirements of manual approvals and status updates. A survey conducted by HDI found that 25% of IT professionals said that ITSM tools added friction to ticket resolution due to these rigid workflows.
- Lack of sensitive information management
Ticketing systems lack the ability to granularly share or restrict access to cases and data depending on the sensitivity of the information on the case, or other requirements for sharing. For example, insider threat cases need data access restrictions, and privacy incidents need data sharing with privacy teams.
Needing to take serious incidents offline is a failure of information control. In fact, a study from Gartner found that 31% of enterprises are concerned about data privacy and compliance when using cloud-based ITSM tools. ITSMs can lack the granular attribute-based access controls as more sophisticated tools, leading to potential data leaks.
- Hefty manual workload
A report by Gartner revealed that 62% of cybersecurity leaders are experiencing burnout, with many spending a significant amount of time on repetitive manual tasks. Security environments generate hundreds, if not thousands, of alerts daily and ticketing systems treat each alert as a separate incident requiring action.
Cydarm can automate the repetitive work that improves the quality of life of the analysts, and helps them focus on the important things.
- Lack of compliance support
Many ITSM tools may not support compliance with incident response requirements in cybersecurity standards, such as ISO 27001, NIST or SOC2. It’s then difficult and time-consuming for analysts to create detailed reports for security audits and legal requirements or to have to manually document best practices for the entire SecOps team to follow.
Case management platforms built specifically for incident response meet the most up-to-date compliance standards such as ISO 27001 through features such as data encryption, access controls, and incident reporting.
SOC case management platform: an ITSM alternative
Now that you know some of the limitations ITSM tools face, let’s turn to an alternative platform: SOC Case Management. A scalable case management platform can not only fill in the gaps left behind from your ITSM, but replace ITSM within your SOC as a future-proof tool for enhanced security.
ITSM vs case management
Your SecOps team has complex needs and your SOC tooling should provide the functionality to meet these needs. A mature SOC will have built-in automation, defined incident response plans and playbooks, meet compliance and regulatory standards for incident handling and reporting, and secure evidence storage – all of which a case management platform will have. Here we’ll compare functionality of ITSM and case management tools in regards to specific features needed by SOC teams.
Speed & automation
When it comes to overall optimization and automation, case management wins hands down. Case management platforms allow SOCs to update and refine their workflows and playbooks as new threats and TTPs emerge, whereas ITSMs have stable, more manual workflows requiring updates and approvals at every step.
Incident handling
ITSMs are designed to incorporate stable, predefined workflows to implement business processes. . With a case management tool purpose built for adversarial operations, your SOC can better handle complex, incidents This format streamlines workflows by prioritizing adaptability, automation, and enabling SOC teams to respond to higher-threat incidents quicker.
SOC analysts have said the biggest challenges they face are being understaffed, spending too much time on manual tasks, and having poor processes in places – all items that could be resolved with a more streamlined SOC case management platform.
Real-time collaboration
Efficient, up-to-date collaboration is essential when dealing with cyber incidents and data breaches. ITSMs do not have the streamlined collaboration capabilities needed for cross-functional teams to quickly collaborate and communicate on incidents.
A case management platform will not only provide a central collaboration space, but the ability to restrict access to information, capabilities, and playbooks depending on need-to-know principles, to ensure threats are handled whenever and wherever they occur.
Regulatory reporting
A fully mature SOC follows compliance and regulatory requirements related to incident handling and reporting.
Case management platforms meet the most up-to-date compliance standards, and regulatory requirements for reporting of notifiable data breaches through incident tracking and automated reporting.
ITSMs, on the other hand, may have frameworks in place for these standards but ultimately rely on the SecOps team to enable best practices.
Should you switch to a SOC case management platform?
If you’re using an ITSM platform for ticketing within your SOC, and are having issues with its scalability and maintainability, your next step is to implement case management.
ITSM platforms need heavy customisation to be able to support SOC workflows, needing ongoing maintenance, and carriage of tech debt.
If you need case management that just works, book a discovery call.