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Introduction
The GovWare conference brings together thousands of cybersecurity minds, but behind the scenes, Cisco’s Security Operations Centre carries the heavy responsibility of protecting the event’s digital backbone. This year, the SOC didn’t just watch network traffic, it transformed a simple detection idea into a fully automated incident-response engine powered by Splunk ES and SOAR. What began as a manual alert from plain-text credentials became a blueprint for modern defensive orchestration.
Summary of the Original
Protecting the Digital Arena
The Cisco SOC at GovWare focused on three core goals: securing the conference network, educating stakeholders on emerging risks, and pushing continuous innovation inside the SOC environment.
A Past Idea That Sparked a Bigger Vision
Building from their earlier work at Cisco Live San Diego 2025, contributors Austin Pham and Tony Iacobelli created a dashboard that detected attendees transmitting plain-text credentials. Their Python script automatically emailed warnings, encouraging users to visit the SOC for guidance, preventing potential data breaches or unauthorized access.
Turning A Simple Concept Into Automated Defense
Inspired by their earlier dashboard, the GovWare SOC used one of its searches to build a new detection in Splunk ES. By pairing Splunk ES with Splunk SOAR, they converted what used to be manual remediation into an automated, end-to-end response pipeline.
The Upgrade That Unlocked New Possibilities
Splunk ES was upgraded from version 8.1 to 8.2.3, enabling new ES API features and smoother integration with SOAR. This upgrade set the stage for flexible automation and granular incident management.
Standing on the Shoulders of Complex Ingenuity
Austin and Tony’s original search was intricate but became a foundation for further innovation. With basic Splunk knowledge, contributors could adjust fields, build accurate findings, and create the right entity and risk_object attributes needed for automated playbooks downstream.
Visualizing the Detection
Inside Splunk ES, the detection populated findings with the necessary fields for analytics and automation, forming the backbone of the response workflow.
The Playbook: Two Blocks, Maximum Impact
The SOAR playbook consisted of two major blocks. The first used Splunk’s built-in internal SMTP action to email the affected user. The second block updated the ES finding via an ES API call, switching its disposition to “Benign Positive – Suspicious But Expected” and closing the case automatically.
Automation Rules Bring It All Together
Using ES 8.x’s new Automation Rule feature, the SOC tied the detection directly to the SOAR playbook. After activation, the entire process ran automatically, requiring only minimal SOC oversight.
The Result: Time Reclaimed, Risks Reduced
The automation freed Tier 1 and Tier 2 analysts from repetitive manual tasks, improving response times and allowing them to focus on more complex investigations.
GovWare’s Place in the Cybersecurity World
GovWare continues to serve as Asia’s central hub for cybersecurity insight, collaboration, policy shaping, and technological advancement. It empowers the cyber ecosystem through shared learning, innovation, and trusted community partnerships.
What Undercode Say:
Automation As The New Cybersecurity Currency
Modern SOCs are no longer measured merely by detection capability. The true benchmark is the ability to respond at scale. Cisco’s approach demonstrates how even a simple risk—clear-text passwords—can become the foundation of a responsive, scalable defense model. Automation is not optional in high-traffic environments like GovWare, it is essential.
Plain-Text Credentials: A Surprisingly Persistent Threat
Despite decades of warnings, plain-text passwords still appear in network traffic, especially in conference environments where attendees connect quickly and sometimes carelessly. Automating these detections is not just helpful, it addresses one of the most common real-world vulnerabilities.
Splunk ES + SOAR: A Real-World Case Study in Synergy
The pairing of Splunk Enterprise Security with Splunk SOAR creates a unified security brain capable of thinking, reacting, and documenting at machine speed. Instead of drowning analysts in repetitive triage, Cisco turned one detection into a full automated pipeline that exemplifies what a modern SOC should achieve.
Operational Excellence Through Simplicity
What makes this innovation impressive is its simplicity. Instead of building a massive, multi-layered workflow, Cisco used two key playbook actions and a single automation rule. This shows that effective orchestration does not need complexity, only clarity.
Risk Object Fields: The Quiet Powerhouse
Identifying the right fields—especially entity/risk_object—may sound trivial, but these attributes act as the connective tissue between Splunk ES findings and SOAR actions. They turn raw data into actionable intelligence, enabling targeted responses that scale.
Analyst Time Is the Most Valuable Resource
Tier 1 analysts often face alert fatigue. By eliminating manual tasks, Cisco effectively increased their investigative bandwidth. This is the true promise of automation: it elevates people by removing the noise.
A Blueprint for Conferences Worldwide
Large events, from DefCon to RSA, face similar risks. Cisco’s GovWare workflow could serve as a template for other organizations seeking practical, impactful automations that don’t require massive engineering.
The Importance of Visibility in a Temporary Network
Conference networks are temporary, chaotic, and full of unknown devices. Having real-time visibility and automated response protects not only the infrastructure but also attendee trust.
The Frankenstein Metaphor: Innovation Through Iteration
The article references having “Frankenstein in our veins,” meaning innovation is often born from stitching together existing parts. This is how cybersecurity evolves: not through sudden giant leaps, but through refined versions of proven tools.
Why Education Still Matters
One of SOC’s goals is educating partners and attendees. Automation helped reduce operational load, but the email warnings still maintained a crucial human touchpoint. Technology addresses the threat, education prevents its recurrence.
Fact Checker Results
The original solution used Splunk ES 8.2.3 and Splunk SOAR. ✅
Clear-text password detection was automated through a two-block playbook. ✅
The SOC still required analyst review despite automation. ✅
Prediction
Automation Will Become the Standard Defense 🛡️🤖
The next wave of SOC evolution will rely on adaptive playbooks that update themselves, machine-learning-driven prioritization, and real-time remediation pipelines. Events like GovWare will increasingly deploy autonomous systems that not only detect threats but remediate them before human analysts even open their dashboards. Cyber defense will shift from reactive triage to proactive digital immunity.
🕵️📝✔️Let’s dive deep and fact‑check.
References:
Reported By: blogs.cisco.com
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