Built-in App Editor for SOAR Platforms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current IT and security operations applications lack an efficient process for developing, testing, and publishing custom apps, leading to errors and inefficiencies due to manual packaging and installation, which hinders effective security and operational response in complex computing environments.
Innovation Solution
A built-in app editor within the IT and security operations application enables users to create, modify, and test apps directly, providing real-time updates, debugging capabilities, and the ability to attach device or service relationships for testing, thereby streamlining the app development process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual packaging and installation is used for custom apps, then flexibility in app development is maintained, but development efficiency and error rate worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables developers to self-package and self-install custom apps directly within the SOAR platform through the app editor, eliminating the need for manual external packaging. The built-in packaging mechanism automatically generates installable packages from code, configurations, and dependencies, while the installation system automatically deploys them to the appropriate environment, thereby improving both efficiency and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical process of packaging (creating ZIP files, managing versions) and installation (copying files, configuring paths) is replaced by automated software-based mechanisms. The system uses code-based package generation, automatic dependency resolution, and programmatic installation scripts to substitute manual operations, reducing errors and improving consistency.
2Loss of time
If manual packaging and installation is used for custom apps, then system complexity is kept low, but development time and errors increase
Solution Approach 1:
The app editor merges multiple previously separate functions into a single integrated environment: code editing, configuration management, dependency resolution, package generation, installation, and execution testing all occur within one unified platform. This consolidation eliminates the need to switch between multiple tools and manual processes, reducing development time despite the inherent complexity of the integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The app editor provides universal functionality for developing, testing, packaging, installing, and managing custom apps of various types (Python, Node.js, shell scripts) within a single platform. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate development environments, packaging tools, and installation systems, thereby reducing overall development cycle time.
3Reliability
If apps are tested manually before publishing, then integration issues can be detected, but response time to security incidents worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary testing and validation of app integration reliability automatically during the development and publishing process, before the app is deployed to production. The app editor includes built-in testing capabilities that verify app functionality, dependency connections, and integration with other SOAR components, ensuring reliability is established in advance rather than through manual post-deployment testing.
Solution Approach 2:
The app testing and validation process occurs continuously throughout the development lifecycle within the app editor, rather than as a discrete final step. Developers can test apps in real-time as they code, and the system continuously validates integration points, allowing rapid iteration and immediate feedback that maintains both reliability and speed.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are described for providing a built-in “app” editor for an information technology (IT) and security operations application that enables users to create, modify, and test operation of apps under development within the editor. Some IT and security operations applications enable users to extend the applications by adding connectivity to third party technologies to run custom actions. For example, a user might create a custom app to enable an IT and security operations application to connect to an external service providing information about malicious Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, to connect to a relevant cloud provider service, or to interact with a firewall or other type of computing device used in a user's computing environment. Given the broad set of technologies that can be orchestrated by an IT and security operations application, apps broadly enable users to add custom functionality to interface with virtually any technology of interest.