Implementing SOAR Automation with Phantom

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• SOC teams need to automate repetitive triage and enrichment tasks for high-volume alerts
• Manual response times exceed SLA requirements and automation can reduce MTTR
• Multiple security tools (SIEM, EDR, firewall, TIP) need orchestrated response actions
• Playbook standardization is required to ensure consistent analyst response across shifts

Do not use for fully autonomous containment without human approval gates — always include analyst decision points for high-impact actions like account disabling or host isolation.

Prerequisites

• Splunk SOAR (Phantom) 6.x+ deployed with web interface access
• App connectors configured: VirusTotal, CrowdStrike, ServiceNow, Active Directory, Splunk ES
• Splunk ES integration for ingesting notable events as SOAR events
• API credentials for each integrated tool stored in SOAR asset configuration
• Python knowledge for custom playbook actions

Workflow

Step 1: Configure Asset Connections

Set up integrations with security tools via SOAR Apps:

VirusTotal Asset Configuration:

{
  "app": "VirusTotal v3",
  "asset_name": "virustotal_prod",
  "configuration": {
    "api_key": "YOUR_VT_API_KEY",
    "rate_limit": true,
    "max_requests_per_minute": 4
  },
  "product_vendor": "VirusTotal",
  "product_name": "VirusTotal"
}

CrowdStrike Falcon Asset:

{
  "app": "CrowdStrike Falcon",
  "asset_name": "crowdstrike_prod",
  "configuration": {
    "client_id": "CS_CLIENT_ID",
    "client_secret": "CS_CLIENT_SECRET",
    "base_url": "https://api.crowdstrike.com"
  }
}

Active Directory Asset:

{
  "app": "Active Directory",
  "asset_name": "ad_prod",
  "configuration": {
    "server": "dc01.company.com",
    "username": "soar_service@company.com",
    "password": "SERVICE_ACCOUNT_PASSWORD",
    "ssl": true
  }
}

Step 2: Build Phishing Triage Playbook

Create an automated phishing response playbook in Python (Phantom playbook format):

"""
Phishing Triage Automation Playbook
Trigger: New phishing email reported via Splunk ES notable or email ingestion
"""

import phantom.rules as phantom
import json

def on_start(container):
    # Extract artifacts (URLs, file hashes, sender) from the container
    artifacts = phantom.get_artifacts(container_id=container["id"])

    for artifact in artifacts:
        artifact_type = artifact.get("cef", {}).get("type", "")

        if artifact_type == "url":
            phantom.act("url reputation", targets=artifact,
                        assets=["virustotal_prod"],
                        callback=url_reputation_callback,
                        name="url_reputation")

        elif artifact_type == "hash":
            phantom.act("file reputation", targets=artifact,
                        assets=["virustotal_prod"],
                        callback=hash_reputation_callback,
                        name="file_reputation")

        elif artifact_type == "ip":
            phantom.act("ip reputation", targets=artifact,
                        assets=["virustotal_prod"],
                        callback=ip_reputation_callback,
                        name="ip_reputation")

def url_reputation_callback(action, success, container, results, handle):
    if not success:
        phantom.comment(container, "URL reputation check failed")
        return

    for result in results:
        data = result.get("data", [{}])[0]
        malicious_count = data.get("summary", {}).get("malicious", 0)
        total_engines = data.get("summary", {}).get("total_engines", 0)

        if malicious_count > 5:
            # High confidence malicious — auto-block and escalate
            phantom.act("block url", targets=result,
                        assets=["palo_alto_prod"],
                        name="block_malicious_url")

            phantom.set_severity(container, "high")
            phantom.set_status(container, "open")
            phantom.comment(container,
                f"URL flagged by {malicious_count}/{total_engines} engines. "
                f"Blocked on firewall. Escalating to Tier 2.")

            # Create ServiceNow ticket
            phantom.act("create ticket", targets=container,
                        assets=["servicenow_prod"],
                        parameters=[{
                            "short_description": f"Phishing - Malicious URL detected",
                            "urgency": "2",

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