A Security Team’s Most Critical Skill? No-Code Automation

Security teams today are facing a major hurdle to their success: too much work and not enough people. I saw it time and again in my fifteen years working in both incident response and overseeing security teams. The problem isn't necessarily on the personnel side, though. The problem is the mundane, repetitive tasks those teams do every day — too much manual work that's clogging the team's productivity. Security analysts are looking for a solution to reduce those monotonous, manual tasks so they can be freed up to work on high-value projects for their organization and do what they do best: analysis. 

No-code automation is that solution. Imagine having the ability to simply automate following up on suspicious log-ins or conducting secure employee onboarding and offboarding with only a few simple clicks — no need to know how to code. It not only has the potential to save a team time, but it's also a way to work smarter, not harder.

Why is no-code automation a critical skill for your security team going forward? Read on.

 All About No-Code Automation

An analyst's day is filled with manual tasks performed over and over again — and the teams I managed were spending about three-quarters of their time performing actions they had already done that day. Too often, a security analyst who doesn’t know how to code is faced with a dilemma: continue performing these manual tasks, or learn a new language to code a workflow that alleviates that task? Or, pull in a developer team to script that automation, waiting on them to finish, and then having to go back to them as the workflow evolves? Sometimes it's easier to just keep doing the manual, repetitive tasks.

But no-code automation is just that: automation that needs no coding, that features simple building blocks that, with drag-and-drop actions, can build complex and intricate workflows. These actions, once wired to one another, perform sequential events automatically that can execute entire tasks or the most time-consuming steps so that an analyst doesn't have to. Analysts are also empowered to build the workflows they need in the way that they want them to run and in their own time. They don't have to rely on a developer's timeline — they can simply get to work. 

By automating their routine manual tasks, analysts can also get to work on higher-level projects like improving their overall security approach or fine-turning their alerts. Being able to add more value can improve engagement and retention as well.

No-Code as a Critical Skill

No-code automation is what every security team needs — and what I wish my teams had access to in order to make their daily activities manageable and more fulfilling. Here are three benefits no-code can bring to your security team.

Ensures a More Proactive Security Response

We're seeing an increasing number of security threats and cyberattacks these days, and organizations need to be prepared to defend themselves and evolve their response in step with the increased sophistication of attackers. No-code automation can help security teams keep pace with and even stay ahead of threats to their organization. Some of the biggest threats today — phishing, credential leaks, compromised passwords — can be handled through automation and pull in a human to make real-time decisions when needed. Automating security workflows can help make responses more speedy and more accurate, and having the ability to update and evolve those workflows will only make responses more valuable as well.

Increases Job Satisfaction

Security teams are in a tricky situation. They're tasked with using their talents and skills to protect their organization and reduce risk, yet the security industry is facing a staffing shortage. Additionally, our recent report uncovered that 69% of teams are understaffed, and 71% of analysts are burned out. How do you retain good talent and ensure they feel like they're making an impact in their organization? One way is to minimize the monotonous, mundane tasks they do each day through no-code automation, which can increase their satisfaction and decrease human error as well.

How can no-code automation address the staffing shortage? It can help reduce the need for level one analysts since previously manual workflows will be automated and increase retention, as mentioned before. Knowing that your organization has adopted no-code automation can be a differentiator when it comes to attracting new talent.

Helps Unite Disparate Tools

No-code automation can also solve problems that many organizations face as they unbundle their security stacks. Many security teams are turning away from "big box shop" software to individual best-in-breed tools purpose-built for specific use cases. However, this can cause a lot of fragmentation.

A solution? Since no-code automation can sync with mainstream tools and custom tools alike, a no-code platform essentially fuses all of an organization's resources together to perform seamlessly in one workflow, allowing you to continually evolve and improve your company’s processes.

Your Future Critical Skill Today

Security teams today are facing the reality of having too much work and not enough people. It's true that no single solution can address all of your security needs; there is no silver bullet. But no-code automation is a solution that reduces that workload, freeing your security team to provide more value to your organization. As threats continue to increase, it will be a vital skill that will make analysts more efficient and help prevent turnover and detachment, ensuring they will continue to defend your organization proactively.