Technology
Automated Threat Response & Identity Hardening
Adaptive Defense Framework for Operations
Duration
6 months
Team
4 specialists
Locations
USA
Scope
Identity Protection & Automated Incident Response
Project Overview
Spherium Inc. partnered with a technology company to strengthen its security operations and identity management processes through automation.
The engagement aimed to detect and respond to identity-based threats in real time while minimizing manual intervention and improving operational efficiency.
The solution integrated Microsoft Sentinel, Defender XDR, and identity protection capabilities to automate incident triage, remediation, and access control enforcement—resulting in faster response times and reduced exposure to lateral movement.
Challenge
The company’s security operations team faced delayed response times due to manual triage of identity alerts and privileged access misuse.
Traditional SOC workflows lacked integration between identity protection tools and threat detection systems, leading to alert fatigue and inconsistent remediation.
The client needed a unified, automated response framework to reduce human error and strengthen resilience against identity compromise.
Technologies Implemented
Microsoft Sentinel & Defender XDR
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
Privileged Identity Management (PIM)
Conditional Access Session Controls
Automated Playbooks (Logic Apps)
Solution Architecture
Phase 1: Assessment & Integration Design
Performed a detailed analysis of existing SOC and identity protection workflows.
Mapped alert sources and incident categories, then defined automation opportunities for high-frequency identity and access alerts.
Phase 2: Implementation
Integrated Microsoft Sentinel with Defender XDR and Entra ID Identity Protection.
Developed automated playbooks for incident enrichment, user risk evaluation, and remediation—covering scenarios like credential leaks, anomalous sign-ins, and suspicious privilege escalations.
Configured Conditional Access session controls and enforced PIM-based approval workflows for privileged roles.
Phase 3: Operational Optimization
Deployed behavior-based analytics for continuous policy tuning and alert suppression.
Trained the SOC team to manage and extend automation workflows through Microsoft Sentinel’s orchestration capabilities.
Results & Impact
Automated Remediation Coverage
70%
of high-severity incidents handled automatically
Incident Response Time
5 minutes
Reduced from 30 minutes to under 5 minutes