How SOC Analysts Can Save 28 Minutes Per Alert Review
Security Operations Center (SOC) analysts often spend significant time reviewing alerts to determine if they are harmless or require further investigation. Typically, each alert may take around 30 minutes to review because analysts must gather context…
Security Operations Center (SOC) analysts often spend significant time reviewing alerts to determine if they are harmless or require further investigation. Typically, each alert may take around 30 minutes to review because analysts must gather context from various tools such as reputation checks, enrichment, detonation requests, and log pivots. This process can lead to increased backlog, escalation pressure, higher operational costs, and slower response times to genuine threats.
Interactive sandbox analysis, such as that provided by ANY.RUN , can reduce the time taken to review benign alerts to an average of 2 minutes. This method allows analysts to execute suspicious files or links within a controlled environment, observing real-time processes, network connections, and redirect chains. This approach quickly eliminates uncertainty and enables the identification of benign or malicious behavior.
Investigating alerts often involves multiple steps such as checking hash values, searching threat intelligence sources, detonating files, and examining log pivots. Although each step is manageable, the cumulative process extends the time required for a thorough investigation. The primary delay arises from assembling the context necessary to understand the file or link's actions.
The 2-Minute Solution: Interactive Execution
Interactive execution allows analysts to observe the behavior of a file or link directly, eliminating the need to piece together fragmented data. Tools like ANY.RUN show real-time processes and network activity, enabling quick and confident closure of benign alerts and clear evidence collection for malicious ones.
Security Operations Center (SOC) analysts often spend significant time reviewing alerts to determine if they are harmless or require further investigation.
In environments using sandbox analysis, approximately 90% of alerts receive an initial verdict within the first 60 seconds of execution. This rapid visibility allows for quicker decision-making as the activity becomes apparent immediately. The sandbox combines automation with interactivity , simulating user behavior to reveal hidden malicious content without manual intervention.
Sandbox technology facilitates immediate interaction, allowing users to click through pages, submit data, download payloads, and observe responses in real time. It provides a comprehensive view of process trees, network connections, and any suspicious activity. The session gathers indicators of compromise automatically, eliminating the need to switch between tools or manually compile data.
SOC teams utilizing ANY.RUN report the following improvements:
21 minutes less MTTR per case due to faster evidence collection and earlier containment Up to 20% reduction in Tier-1 workload by minimizing repetitive manual triage 30% fewer Tier-1 → Tier-2 escalations due to clearer verdicts and stronger evidence 94% of users report faster triage and quicker decisions on suspicious activity Up to 3× SOC efficiency by optimizing analyst time and increasing throughput Stronger SLA performance with faster closure of benign alerts and quicker escalation of real threats Lower tooling overhead by avoiding hardware setup costs with cloud-based execution Less alert fatigue with immediate visibility into session activity
Integrate ANY.RUN into your workflows to enhance triage speed, reduce escalations, and decrease MTTR using execution-based evidence from the outset of every investigation.
Based on reporting by Cyber Security News.