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Security Center:Agentic SOC (formerly CTDR)

Last Updated:Mar 31, 2026

Agentic SOC is a cloud-native Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) platform. It centralizes log collection and threat analysis across multicloud and multi-account environments, applies built-in detection rules and AI models to identify threats automatically, and orchestrates automated response through playbooks — eliminating the data silos, slow threat discovery, and manual response bottlenecks common in traditional security operations.

Use cases

Unified multicloud log management

Challenge: Security logs scattered across multicloud and hybrid cloud environments arrive in inconsistent formats, creating data silos. Without a unified view, tracing cross-cloud attacks and running centralized audits requires significant manual effort.

How Agentic SOC helps:

  • Unified log ingestion: Ingests heterogeneous logs from multicloud, third-party, and on-premises environments into a single data lake. Supports connectors for services such as Amazon S3 and Apache Kafka.

  • Intelligent parsing and normalization: Uses a flexible parsing engine with field mapping to transform unstructured raw logs into a unified, standardized data model in real time.

  • Global analysis and tracing: Runs unified threat detection, cross-cloud attack tracing, and compliance auditing on top of the normalized data.

Web intrusion investigation

Challenge: After a web application is compromised, attackers typically chain multiple vulnerabilities together. Manually correlating logs from WAF, host security, and network traffic to reconstruct the attack sequence is time-consuming and error-prone.

How Agentic SOC helps:

  1. Automated detection and correlation: Agentic SOC collects and analyzes Web Application Firewall (WAF) logs and host security logs. When it detects activities such as WebShell uploads and abnormal process executions, it automatically correlates individual alerts into a single, comprehensive Web Intrusion incident.

  2. Attack path reconstruction: The incident detail page displays the complete attack timeline — from initial web access and vulnerability exploitation through WebShell writes, reverse shell execution, and malicious command execution.

  3. Automated response: Run the Block Source IP via Cloud Firewall playbook to automatically instruct Cloud Firewall to block the attacker's source IP at the network edge.

Cryptomining malware remediation

Challenge: Cryptomining malware consumes significant compute resources, driving up cloud costs and degrading performance for legitimate workloads. The manual remediation process — locating the process, terminating the file, blocking mining pool connections, and patching the entry point — is slow and error-prone.

How Agentic SOC helps:

  1. Precise detection: Agentic SOC combines host security logs, VPC flow logs, and built-in threat intelligence to identify cryptomining processes such as xmrig and anomalous network connections to mining pools, generating a Cryptomining Activity incident.

  2. AI-assisted analysis: The AI Assistant analyzes the incident and recommends response actions based on historical cases and best practices — for example, "terminate the malicious process and block the mining pool IP."

  3. Automated response: Select Use Recommended Response Policy to run a playbook that terminates the malicious process and quarantines the cryptomining file.

How it works

Agentic SOC follows a four-stage workflow from raw log collection to automated response:

  1. Log collection and parsing: Collects raw logs from cloud products, third-party devices, and business applications.

  2. Alert generation: Identifies potential threats from large log volumes using built-in detection rules, or ingests native alerts directly from third-party products.

  3. Incident aggregation and handling: Correlates multiple alerts describing the same attack into a single incident using configurable correlation rules and graph computing models.

  4. Response orchestration: Triggers playbooks automatically based on predefined conditions, or manually. Playbooks invoke component actions to generate response policies and dispatch response tasks for automated remediation.

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Key concepts

ConceptDefinitionLearn more
EntityA core object involved in an alert or incident — such as an IP address, domain name, file hash, process, host, container, cloud resource ID (for example, an ECS instance ID), or user account. Entities form the foundation for correlating alerts and reconstructing an attack path.
IncidentA high-fidelity security event created by correlating multiple related alerts from various data sources, using built-in rules and graph computing models. Agentic SOC aggregates alerts into a single incident and automatically reconstructs the attack timeline.
Response policySpecifies the handling action for an entity in a given scenario. Each response action performed on an entity generates a unique policy.
Response taskAn individual, executable job generated from a response policy and targeted at a specific scope. Each response policy for an entity is broken down into one or more response tasks based on the application scope.
Response orchestrationThe process of organizing and managing security response actions through automated workflows (playbooks). Response orchestration automatically runs a series of operations based on predefined logic to handle incidents.
PlaybookA predefined, automated security workflow consisting of triggers, conditions, actions, and endpoints. Supports drag-and-drop graphical editing, letting you customize response logic for specific incident types such as cryptomining or ransomware.
ComponentAn interface that connects to and operates external systems or services. Components are the building blocks that execute specific actions within a playbook.
Resource instanceThe specific service instance that an action targets — for example, a Cloud Firewall instance.
ActionA specific capability executed by a component. A single component may contain multiple actions. For example, an endpoint management component might include actions such as disable account, isolate network, and send notification.
AgentAn intelligent entity that perceives its environment, makes decisions, and takes actions autonomously. Agentic SOC uses a hierarchical multi-Agent collaborative architecture where a Team Leader coordinates specialized Agent teams responsible for threat detection, incident investigation, impact assessment, and user interaction.Security Operations Agent details

AI Agent architecture

The Agentic SOC Agent architecture deeply integrates Alibaba Cloud's cloud-native security data domain infrastructure. Built on large security language models, it delivers an end-to-end AI Agent security expert team that automatically senses threats, performs deep reasoning, runs collaborative investigations, and closes the loop quickly.

Three-layer architecture

LayerComponentsResponsibilities
Cloud-Native Engine layerSimple Log Service (SLS), Flink/timed SQL detection engine, Igraph graph computing, Large Language Model (LLM) Qwen, SOAR orchestration engineFoundational data storage, computing, and AI capabilities
Agent Management PlatformBuilt on AgentRunManages Agent lifecycles, task scheduling, memory, and tool-calling orchestration
Agent Intelligence layerTeam Leader plus multiple specialized Agent teamsAutonomous reasoning and decision-making for security operations tasks

Each Agent operates on the ReAct reasoning framework: perceive the environment → reason and analyze → plan actions → execute → observe results. This cycle repeats until the task is complete.

Team Leader and specialized Agent teams

The architecture uses a hierarchical multi-Agent collaborative model:

  • Team Leader: Built on the Qwen series of models, the Team Leader is the central dispatch node responsible for global scheduling, task decomposition, and complex decision-making.

  • Specialized Agent teams: Each team executes tasks independently in its domain and collaborates with the others.

TeamResponsibilitiesCore agents
Threat DetectionPerforms deep analysis on large volumes of multi-source, heterogeneous data to identify known and unknown threatsProcess Chain Analysis Agent, Network Behavior Analysis Agent, File Behavior Analysis Agent, Persistence Detection Agent
Incident InvestigationAutonomously completes incident investigations based on the ReAct framework to reconstruct attack paths and timelinesAttack Path Reconstruction Agent, IOC Extraction Agent, Action Validation Agent, Response Agent
Impact AssessmentAssesses the scope and risk level of security incidentsLateral Movement Investigation Agent, Risk Time Window Inspection Agent, Risk Correlation Analysis Agent
User InteractionInteracts with security operations personnel to provide consultation and analytical supportInvestigation Deepening Trigger Agent, Inspection Task Setting Agent, Security Consultation (RAG) Agent
Agent support varies by Agentic SOC edition. For details about version differences and billing, see Differences between Agentic SOC Basic Edition and Security Operations Agent.

Benefits

Agentic SOC integrates an AI Agent engine into the core of security operations, enabling a smart auto-pilot mode that scales from human-machine collaboration to fully automated response.

  • High-fidelity detection with a 99.94% alert reduction rate Combines global threat intelligence, graph computing, and cloud-native log analysis to accurately identify new, unknown, and highly evasive threats from large alert volumes. Average detection time for security incidents is reduced to minutes.

  • Automated response in seconds with 95% remediation coverage Provides one-click response policies and out-of-the-box automated playbooks that are customizable and ready to use without manual configuration. Coordinates with security products and infrastructure to deliver fully automated analysis and response. The Security Operations Agent — a premium intelligent service powered by the Agentic AI engine — deeply integrates with Alibaba Cloud's native security data and infrastructure. It uses autonomous perception, reasoning, and execution to independently analyze security incidents and accelerate response.

  • Full attack picture reconstruction with AI-assisted decision-making Uses graph computing and a security large language model to automatically trace and reconstruct the complete attack path and timeline. The built-in AI Assistant summarizes incidents and provides precise response recommendations.

  • Unified global view with a 90% cross-asset incident discovery rate Unifies collection and processing of log data from across clouds, accounts, and products, reducing the complexity of hybrid cloud security operations. Centralized management and auditing provide global security insights and simplify compliance efforts.

Security operations efficiency

Mean Time To Detect (MTTD), Mean Time To Acknowledge (MTTA), and Mean Time To Respond (MTTR) are standard metrics for measuring security operations efficiency. The following data is based on statistics from real users.

Efficiency overview

MetricTraditional methodsAgentic SOCEfficiency gain
MTTD (Detection)Hours5 minutesFrom hours to minutes
MTTA (Acknowledgment)Days35 minutesFrom days to minutes
MTTR (Response)Days / Weeks90 minutesFrom weeks/days to 90 minutes

Metric details

  • MTTD (Mean Time To Detect) The average time from when an attack occurs to when the system first detects it. Agentic SOC reduces threat detection from hours to 5 minutes, shrinking attacker dwell time and creating a critical window for rapid response.

  • MTTA (Mean Time To Acknowledge) The average time from when an incident is detected to when the security team confirms it as a true threat. Agentic SOC automatically investigates and traces threats after detection, reducing manual analysis from days to 35 minutes.

  • MTTR (Mean Time To Respond) The average time from when a threat is confirmed to when the system is fully remediated and restored. Agentic SOC uses automated, predefined playbooks to execute critical actions from confirmation to response in seconds, reducing overall response time from days to 90 minutes — freeing security teams from repetitive tasks to focus on deeper threat analysis.

Agent processing efficiency

MetricDescription
Autonomous investigation and analysis rate: 81%AI Agents independently complete Level 1 and Level 2 incident analysis — validated against full alert data with zero human intervention
Alert correlation and aggregate event convergence rate: 99.94%Processes tens of thousands to millions of alerts weekly, converging them into hundreds of security events
Incident traceability report generation: 100x fasterGenerates full attack chain reports in minutes — compared to hours for manual analysis
Log onboarding and standardization efficiency: 90%Uses semantic recognition to automatically parse and map logs from heterogeneous data sources to a unified security model, and generates SPL with one click

Supported products and logs

Agentic SOC natively supports logs from vendors including Alibaba Cloud, Huawei Cloud, Tencent Cloud, Fortinet, Chaitin, and Sangfor. It also supports data ingestion from custom products.

For details about default ingestion policies, data sources, and standardization rules, go to the Agentic SOC console.
VendorProductLog type
Alibaba CloudSecurity CenterNetwork defense alert logs, cloud platform configuration check logs, baseline logs, security alert logs, vulnerability logs, Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) alert logs, and cloud security posture management logs; account snapshot logs, network snapshot logs, and process snapshot logs; host logon failure logs, DNS request logs, logon trail logs, process startup logs, network connection logs, and brute-force attack logs
Web Application Firewall (WAF)WAF full logs, blocked logs, blocked and observed logs, anti-crawler full logs, API security event alert logs, API risk logs, and WAF alert logs
Cloud FirewallCloud Firewall alert logs, Cloud Firewall traffic logs, NDR HTTP logs, NDR DNS logs, and NDR event alert logs
Anti-DDoSAnti-DDoS Pro and Anti-DDoS Premium full logs
BastionhostBastionhost logs
CDNCDN flow logs
Edge Security Acceleration (ESA)DCDN user access logs and DCDN WAF blocked logs
API GatewayAPI Gateway logs
Container Service for Kubernetes (ACK)Kubernetes audit logs
PolarDBPolarDB-X 1.0 SQL audit logs and PolarDB-X 2.0 SQL audit logs
ApsaraDB for MongoDBMongoDB audit logs
ApsaraDB RDSRDS SQL audit logs
Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)VPC flow logs
Elastic IP Address (EIP)Elastic IP Address logs
Server Load Balancer (SLB)ALB access logs and CLB access logs
Object Storage Service (OSS)OSS access logs
ActionTrailActionTrail event logs
CloudConfigConfiguration audit logs
File Storage NASNAS NFS operational logs
AI GuardrailsAlibaba Cloud AI Security Guardrail logs
Tencent CloudWeb Application FirewallTencent Cloud Web Application Firewall alert logs
Cloud FirewallTencent Cloud Firewall alert logs
Huawei CloudWeb Application FirewallHuawei Cloud Web Application Firewall alert logs
Cloud FirewallHuawei Cloud Firewall alert logs
AzureWindows Defender for EndpointEndpoint alert logs
Azure Active DirectoryAzure Active Directory audit logs and Azure Active Directory logon audit logs
ActivityAudit logs
SQL DatabaseSQL Server audit logs
AWSCloudTrailCloudTrail logs
RedshiftRedshift audit logs
GuardDutyGuardDuty finding alert logs
PostgreSQL on Amazon RDSPostgreSQL event logs
VolcengineSecurity CenterHIDS alert logs
FortinetFortinet FirewallFortinet Firewall alert logs, Fortinet Firewall flow logs, and Fortinet audit logs
ChaitinChaitin WAFChaitin WAF alert logs and Chaitin WAF flow logs
MicrosoftEndpoint event logsWindows security event logs
SangforSangfor Endpoint Secure aES (EDR)Endpoint detection and response alert logs
Hillstone NetworksHillstone Networks FirewallHillstone Networks Firewall alert logs
TophantTophant Full-Traffic Security Computing and Analysis PlatformTophant Full-Traffic Security Computing and Analysis Platform product alert logs
SkyGuardDLPDLP alert logs
ThreatbookOneSECOneSEC alert logs
CiscoCisco Firepower FirewallFirewall alert logs
Palo AltoNext-Generation FirewallFirewall alert logs
Cortex XDRPalo Alto Cortex alert logs and endpoint alert logs
PanoramaPanorama product logs
Ege CloudPolarisLayer 4 internal network access logs and data audit logs
Custom vendorCustom productFirewall alert logs, firewall traffic logs, Web Application Firewall (WAF) alert logs, and WAF traffic logs

Version upgrade

  • Accounts that activate Agentic SOC on or after April 3, 2025 are provisioned on the latest architecture.

  • Agentic SOC 2.0 is built on log normalization capabilities and reuses Simple Log Service (SLS) capabilities to simplify data ingestion from third-party clouds and on-premises security products.

  • For a comparison of the main differences between versions, see Differences between Agentic SOC 2.0 and 1.0.

FAQ

How does Agentic SOC differ from a traditional SIEM?

Agentic SOC is built for cloud-native environments, with three core differences from traditional SIEMs:

  • Cloud-native integration: Integrates with Alibaba Cloud and other major cloud providers. It understands cloud assets, configurations, and topology to deliver context-aware threat analysis across your entire cloud environment.

  • Built-in SOAR: Includes an integrated SOAR engine. Agentic SOC not only detects threats but also uses playbooks to orchestrate automated remediation across cloud products and infrastructure, closing the loop from detection to response.

  • AI-driven analysis: Uses built-in graph computing and a security large language model to automatically aggregate alerts into security incidents and reconstruct attack timelines, improving the detection efficiency of advanced threats.

  • Out-of-the-box scenarios: Provides ready-to-use detection rules and response playbooks for common cloud attack scenarios such as cryptomining, ransomware, and web intrusion — no configuration required to get started.

What's next