Your EDR lights up at 2:14 AM: “Ryuk variant detected – encryption in progress.” You have 60 seconds before 10,000 files turn into ransom notes. In 2024, the average ransomware dwell time was 11 days—but the containment window is under one hour (IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2025). One wrong move, and recovery costs skyrocket past $1.8 million.

This isn’t theory. These are five field-tested, SOC-approved playbooks that isolate, assess, and neutralize ransomware in under 60 seconds to first action. No fluff, no 300-page runbooks—just executable steps that work whether you’re a Fortune 500 MSSP or a lean IT team.

And the engine powering all of this? SOAR—Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response. What is SOAR? It’s the automation layer that turns static playbooks into instant, one-click execution, slashing mean-time-to-contain (MTTC) from hours to seconds. Let’s go.

The 60-Second Golden Rule

Every second counts. Here’s the universal flow every playbook follows:

• Second 0–15: Detect – EDR/XDR alert auto-enriches with threat intel (VT, MISP, internal IOCs).
• Second 16–30: Isolate – Endpoint offline, user locked, network micro-segmented.
• Second 31–45: Assess – Blast radius, variant ID, C2 active?
• Second 46–60: Act – Kill process, block C2, snapshot for forensics.

What is SOAR in this flow? It’s the conductor. One trigger → parallel API calls → zero human delay.

5 Battle-Tested 60-Second Playbooks

Playbook 1: Endpoint Lockdown (EDR-Centric)

Trigger: CrowdStrike Falcon flags ransom:win32/ryuk on WS-LAP-003.

Actions (SOAR auto-executes):

1. Quarantine host via Falcon API (/devices/entities/devices/v1).
2. Disable local accounts except service via PowerShell (Disable-LocalUser).
3. Push emergency GPO: Block SMB outbound (Set-NetFirewallRule).

Verification: Host status = contained in CMDB within 20 seconds.

Recovery Path: Auto-queue Intune golden image restore.

Real-world result: Contained Ryuk in 18 seconds during a live incident. Manual process? 7 minutes. What is SOAR here? Pre-approved API tokens = instant execution.

Playbook 2: Network Airgap (NAC + Firewall)

Trigger: Palo Alto WildFire detonates ransomware sample from phishing email.

Actions:

1. Move host to quarantine VLAN via Cisco ISE API.
2. Block C2 IPs using dynamic block list (AbuseIPDB + PAN-OS).
3. Alert NOC via PagerDuty webhook with host IP and hash.

Verification: show arp on core switch confirms no neighbor pings.

Recovery: Forensic image pulled via isolated USB boot (SOAR triggers script).

Edge: SOAR commits PAN-OS config in under 10 seconds—no CLI login required.

Playbook 3: Cloud Workload Snapshot (AWS/Azure)

Trigger: Microsoft Defender for Cloud detects EBS volume encryption anomaly.

Actions:

1. Create immutable snapshot of EC2 instance and EBS volume.
2. Detach IAM role from instance (detach-role-policy).
3. Tag resource ransomware-quarantine-do-not-delete.

Verification: Snapshot ARN logged in ServiceNow ticket.

Recovery: SOAR deploys clean AMI from snapshot + CloudFormation rollback.

Bonus: What is SOAR? It runs Terraform modules in parallel—new clean stack live in 4 minutes.

Playbook 4: Active Directory Containment

Trigger: BloodHound flags suspicious Kerberos TGS requests from service account.

Actions:

1. Disable account via Okta SCIM sync (or Set-ADUser -Enabled $false).
2. Reset KRBTGT password twice (SOAR runs Invoke-KrbtgtReset).
3. Force GPUpdate domain-wide (gpupdate /force via PSEXEC).

Verification: repadmin /replsummary shows 0 replication errors.

Recovery: Tier-0 admin audit auto-launched in TheHive.

Manual = 30+ minutes. With SOAR = 45 seconds. What is SOAR? It prevents Golden Ticket attacks before coffee brews.

Playbook 5: Phishing + Payload Combo

Trigger: Proofpoint TAP detects click on malicious link → drops Cobalt Strike beacon.

Actions:

1. Revoke all O365 sessions via Microsoft Graph API.
2. Block domain in DNS RPZ (Response Policy Zone).
3. Scan mailbox for exfil using M365 DLP + auto-quarantine.

Verification: User sees “Your session has been terminated” banner on login.

Recovery: Re-image via Intune autopilot; SOAR pushes clean profile.

Pro move: SOAR correlates email click + endpoint beacon in one playbook—no swivel-chair investigation. For more information visit Webavior.

Build Your Own 60-Second Playbook (Template)

Want to roll your own? Use this no-code template in any SOAR platform (Cortex XSOAR, Splunk SOAR, Shuffle):

1. Trigger: IOC match (hash, URL, YARA rule).
2. Enrich: Query VirusTotal, Hybrid-Analysis, internal MISP.
3. Contain:
   • Endpoint → quarantine
   • Network → block-ip
   • Cloud → snapshot (Run in parallel)
4. Notify: Slack/Teams + auto-ticket in ServiceNow.
5. Verify: Poll API every 5 sec until status=contained.

What is SOAR? It’s the no-code glue that makes this template run without writing a single script.

3 Tools to Shave Seconds Off Your Response

1. TheHive + MISP – Auto-case creation from SIEM alert → one-click playbook launch.
2. Shuffle.so – Free, open-source SOAR. Drag-drop 60-second flows. Perfect for SMBs.
3. ChatOps – Type /contain 10.10.5.32 in Slack → SOAR executes full playbook.

Quick FAQ

Can SMBs really respond in 60 seconds?

Yes. Shuffle + open-source playbooks + API keys = enterprise-grade speed on a startup budget.

What’s the ROI of SOAR?

Gartner says 400%. MTTC drops from 1+ hour to under 60 seconds. One prevented breach pays for a year.

Do I need a full SOC?

No. What is SOAR? It is your SOC when staffed thin.

Your Turn: Contain Faster

Download the 60-Second Ransomware Playbook Pack (PDF + JSON import for Cortex XSOAR, Splunk SOAR, or Shuffle):

[👉 Free Download – No Email Required]

Includes:

• 5 ready-to-import playbooks
• API token setup guide
• Verification checklist
• Recovery rollback scripts

Start your free SOAR trial → import → test containment on a lab VM in under 5 minutes.

Comment below: What’s your fastest MTTC? Let’s build the ultimate ransomware kill chain together.

Because in 2025, 60 seconds is the new zero.