Automated incident response is a cybersecurity process that uses pre-defined rules, playbooks, and orchestrated workflows to automatically detect, analyze, contain, and remediate security threats without requiring manual intervention. This approach integrates with security tools such as Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems, endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions, and Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) platforms to execute immediate response actions when anomalies or malicious activities are identified.

The primary goal of automated incident response is to dramatically reduce the mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR) to security incidents, thereby minimizing the potential impact of data breaches and system compromises. By automating repetitive tasks, this process frees security operations center (SOC) personnel to focus on complex threats, enhances operational efficiency, improves overall security posture, and ensures consistent, rapid defense against evolving cyber risks.