Abstract: An automated framework provides security monitoring and analysis in a network by autonomously detecting actual and potential threats to the network. In response to detection of a threat, the framework instantiates a Situation to provide directed monitoring of the threat. The Situation invokes specific skills based on the state of the Situation to monitor network traffic for activity specific to the threat that instantiated the Situation. As data is collected, additional skills may be invoked based on the additional data to collect new data, and previously invoked skills may be terminated depending on the additional data to avoid collecting information that is no-longer relevant.