What is our primary use case?
My usual use cases for Torq involved more than 70 customers. We were an MSSP back then, and there were all sizes of customers with different industry verticals. Since our company was a Microsoft shop, we had a lot of Microsoft solutions integrating with Torq. We had an in-house Security Operations Center that worked 24/7. Torq was utilized in an MSSP model wherein we had different client workspaces, a pro-arc, and a parent workspace. From alert ingestion, incident investigation, triage investigation, to response, we were using Torq. We also built a lot of workflows within Torq that handled malware analysis, email phishing analysis, and identity access management analysis, such as alerts from identity and access management. Additionally, we developed a vulnerability prioritization solution for our clients, which went to market, and many clients appreciated this solution as it provided significant insights into vulnerabilities relevant for them, driven by threat intelligence.
My experience with Torq's Identiq AI regarding increasing alert handling capacity for our SecOps staff involves using Socrates, the AI orchestrator in Torq. Unfortunately, when I was working with Torq, I did not get hands-on experience with their Identiq AI capabilities because it was not available at that time. However, I utilized Socrates orchestrators within the platform that did help reduce some of the workload for our SOC analysts, but it was very premature back then. They later introduced a lot of features after we started implementing, which really helped. It is effective in handling alerts as long as you provide summarized data; otherwise, it could blow out of context and hallucinate.
When I used Torq, it was indeed in the early stages of AI capabilities. Only a few customers were allowed to use it, and we were among them. It functioned well as long as we summarized the data properly. If you input garbage, you would get garbage out. Thus, we had to do significant fine-tuning regarding what data context we provided to the AI orchestrator to get meaningful results from a case or alert. There are features allowing us to dump plain JSON logs into case management, but that would not help much because the data context would be too large. They also have a certain token size limit, meaning we would only get meaningful results if we stayed within that limit. Hence, context is crucial, and they can improve on developing tools to enrich case data, providing meaningful context to the AI orchestrator.
In terms of Torq's unified platform approach to AI SOC automation and case management compared to managing multiple point solutions across my security stack, I find it case-centric. They have many triggers that execute workflows based on specific changes in the cases. Each time there is a change an analyst makes in case management, it triggers a workflow. It is a case-centric platform, and when discussing a unified view, it is essentially about integrating various security solutions using API and some authentication, bringing in the data and allowing the workflows to do the work. Now, every time we need to use Torq, whether for reporting or workflow execution, we have to go through a case; otherwise, it is more isolated, requiring some interactive tasks to manage the inputs and execute the workflow.
I have used Torq to automate triage, investigation, and remediation actions across multiple attack surfaces, including endpoint, identity, cloud, and IT. They provide good connector actions for various remediations like isolating or quarantining devices or blocking IPs. As long as the third-party API supports those actions, Torq can effectively deliver these connector actions. In cases where Torq lacks connector actions, there are HTTP steps and actions we can configure to hit the API endpoint and perform response actions.
Torq is deployed only in the cloud in our organization, whereas Swimlane offers flexibility for customers to choose between on-premises or cloud deployments. We are using Azure as our specific cloud platform.
What is most valuable?
What I liked the most about Torq is the actual workflow builder. It is really great because they offer a lot of features and convenience features that are useful for any automation engineer. We can drag and drop and copy-paste. It does not provide much flexibility compared to Swimlane, but it does offer a very convenient user interface that can speed up the workflow building process.
In terms of Torq's unified platform approach to AI SOC automation and case management compared to managing multiple point solutions across my security stack, I find it case-centric. They have many triggers that execute workflows based on specific changes in the cases. Each time there is a change an analyst makes in case management, it triggers a workflow. It is a case-centric platform, and when discussing a unified view, it is essentially about integrating various security solutions using API and some authentication, bringing in the data and allowing the workflows to do the work.
I have used Torq to automate triage, investigation, and remediation actions across multiple attack surfaces, including endpoint, identity, cloud, and IT. They provide good connector actions for various remediations like isolating or quarantining devices or blocking IPs. As long as the third-party API supports those actions, Torq can effectively deliver these connector actions. In cases where Torq lacks connector actions, there are HTTP steps and actions we can configure to hit the API endpoint and perform response actions.
What needs improvement?
Although the reporting within Torq is not that great, we did ask for many features regarding reporting in Torq, but due to some platform constraints, they could not make the whole dataset available for us to be used in reporting. Except for that, we used some basic reporting.
When I used Torq, it was indeed in the early stages of AI capabilities. Only a few customers were allowed to use it, and we were among them. It functioned well as long as we summarized the data properly. If you input garbage, you would get garbage out. Thus, we had to do significant fine-tuning regarding what data context we provided to the AI orchestrator to get meaningful results.
In terms of Torq's unified platform approach to AI SOC automation and case management compared to managing multiple point solutions across my security stack, I find it case-centric. The unified view in case management is good since it provides clarity, although there are limitations regarding how many items in case management can be modified at once. Bulk operations are very limited, potentially due to their back-end database or data retrieval processes that can be improved.
Regarding improvements for Torq, when we were onboarded, there were aspects we were uncertain about, such as the number of cases that could be generated, what data we could bring in, how many clients we could onboard, and similar concerns. Initially, we also lacked clarity about the number of playbooks or workflows we could build. Different triggers like system triggers, case-based triggers, and others can be employed without restrictions, but when it comes to on-demand and scheduled jobs, there is a limitation based on the subscription and pricing tier that notably caps the number of workflows we can create. No bulk editing across cases was one issue, along with limited filtering related to single grouping constraints. Additionally, the out-of-the-box case templates provided require substantial modifications before they become usable. There is also a feature in the cases for notes that cannot be searched. They are only visible through the UI, which is another area for improvement.
The workflow and execution-based charges seem misleading as this was not discussed initially. I am not sure if new customers are made aware of this. It seems that workflows revolving around cases hinder functionality outside of case management, as we have many use cases needing on-demand triggers and schedules for functions like reporting or polling devices. Creating additional workflows to achieve basic functionalities raises costs significantly, which disadvantages customers. While they facilitate optimization and scaling, the support received tends to be very basic. Improvements can be made in that area as well.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Torq for over a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Torq is generally really stable and reliable, maintaining an uptime of almost 99.9%. This is a significant improvement compared to D3 Security, which we used previously. There were minor intermittent issues we faced where the platform was not reachable, and certain UI features became unresponsive, but these problems were resolved fairly quickly, within about 10 to 15 minutes. Such downtime did not greatly impact operations because the back-end workflows were functioning correctly, allowing ingestion and API actions to remain unaffected.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Regarding the scalability of Torq, it is good. It is not very poor, but conditions apply. If a very large workflow processes excessive data, the browser can sometimes crash.
We did address this issue with the Torq team when they suggested modularizing our workflows to handle this better. They recommended breaking down larger workflows into smaller components. However, their support or advice was not available when we were architecting the entire solution for our security operations center. Despite numerous review meetings, the guidance was absent at that time, and only after we started encountering slowness and crashes did they suggest the modularization approach. We made significant efforts to modularize as best as we could, but even so, some slowness persisted. If the workflow handles less data and remains small, it operates well. However, with a lot of incoming data managed within a single workflow, it can crash and become slow.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate their technical support and customer service as an eight, perhaps seven or eight.
Their response time is quite quick. Any tickets raised in the portal receive prompt follow-up. However, they often request access to the platform to perform necessary actions, and I typically grant this access by default. Having worked with them for over a year, I am well-acquainted with their procedures, yet there are instances where they ask again for access, which can delay resolution. When it comes to requests for new features, they often place our needs on a pipeline to evaluate demand across customers. Although I understand their development procedures, I believe if a feature is deemed critical by a customer, they should establish a timeline for potential delivery rather than simply putting it on a list without a timeline.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before Torq, specific challenges in my SOC involved using another platform called D3 Security, which claimed to be a cloud-based solution, but it was essentially running on a VM in the cloud. Every time they performed an update, push, or maintenance, the system would be down for hours or a certain time period. We saw downtimes up to an hour with that platform previously. Although the situation may be different now, what I experienced in 2022 and 2023 made it clear that scheduled maintenance, updates, and upgrades required downtime, which was not seamless. We had a high-performance security operations center working 24/7, so we needed a platform that would provide better uptime, not behave like a legacy solution. Torq addressed this. Updates were seamless, and while there were issues and downtimes, they were not as severe as with the previous solution due to Torq's different architecture and update handling. The serverless nature of Torq provided options for updating actions or steps in workflows on the screen, allowing us to decide whether to upgrade to the newest version or stick with the current one, empowering us with flexibility and decision-making freedom to test before upgrading, which was not the case with D3 Security.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Torq is pretty straightforward. It is not complex, and I find it relatively easy, although a learning curve exists, which is not too challenging.
What was our ROI?
I think it takes around three months to realize value with Torq. Implementation alone takes about one month. They have an excellent support and customer success team that assists significantly during this time. It took roughly one month to complete the end-to-end implementation, and to stabilize everything, we faced a lot of errors since we configured most of it, which required about two months for stabilization. Overall, I believe you need around four to five months to see a return on investment.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before Torq, I was using D3 Security, which had a legacy architecture with standalone servers in the cloud. This setup truly hindered our ability to work seamlessly within our security operations center, where we needed nearly 24/7 uptime. Although they promised a certain SLA, they did not meet our expectations, leading us to seek a more modernized solution like Torq, Tines, or Swimlane.
We did evaluate other options, conducting proof of concepts with Torq, Tines, and Swimlane, but we ultimately proceeded with Torq.
What other advice do I have?
These abilities compare to other tools I looked at as being quite standard. It is not something exceptional, as I mentioned. The overall performance depends significantly on how one builds the workflow since it is a SOAR platform. The customer bears the majority of the workload in developing workflows and playbooks to customize according to their needs. In a typical SOC scenario, we would want confirmation that an alert is a definite true positive before taking specific actions based on approvals. Torq provides end-to-end features allowing us to determine if it is a true positive. Additionally, there are communication connectors to notify our clients, "Hey, this looks fishy. We want to block this user." We can send a link within that communication, and once they click, we receive a response back confirming it is approved. There is also an escalation procedure built within the platform to assign cases to different tier analysts, and based on that, they can take response actions. Overall, I believe it is a convenient setup, yet ultimately, it is up to the customers to build it as they see fit. I would rate Torq overall at around an eight, based on all aspects I have worked with.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure