A new survey reveals that 62% of the alerts received by Security Operations Center (SOC) teams are ignored, highlighting the persistent challenge of alert fatigue within the cybersecurity sector. Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) have been proposed as potential solutions to this issue. According to Vectra AI, an AI-driven Extended Detection and Response (XDR) provider, the survey indicates a pressing challenge in SOCs today.
SOC technicians reported that 54% of their security tools actually increase workload instead of reducing it. Additionally, 50% of SOC practitioners feel their tools are more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to identifying real attacks, and 60% believe many of their tools are acquired merely to satisfy compliance requirements. On average, SOC teams deal with 3,832 alerts per day, 62% of which are ignored.
Businesses are struggling with the complexities of modern cybersecurity, using an average of 90 security tools. A study of 700 security teams by Red Canary found that 87 percent of organizations had experienced security incidents they couldn’t detect and neutralize, leading to data compromise, outages, fines, audit failures, and reputational damage. Additionally, 73 percent of security leaders believe their attack surface has widened by 77 percent in the past two years.
AI alleviates SOC alert fatigue
Brian Beyer, CEO and Co-founder of Red Canary, commented on the unprecedented scale of modern risks. “For too long, companies have tried to tackle this escalating problem by throwing more money, tools, and people at it,” he said.
“With technology advancing at breakneck speed for both defenders and adversaries, cybersecurity teams are drowning, unable to keep up. It’s time for a new approach—one that involves strategic partnership and expert detection engineering to truly alleviate the burden and build defenses that actually work.”
In response to these challenges, AI is emerging as a beacon of hope. The survey found that 89% of respondents plan to increase their use of AI-powered tools within the next year to replace outdated threat detection systems.
Moreover, 85% noted a rise in their AI investments over the past year, with 67% positively assessing AI’s impact on their threat identification and management capabilities. AI not only assists in reducing workloads but also alleviates burnout, which 75% and 73% of respondents, respectively, experienced less of in the past year due to AI implementation. Mark Wojtasiak, Vectra AI’s vice president of research and strategy, pointed out that the current tools often create more work rather than simplify processes due to a lack of integrated attack signals.
As AI continues to evolve and integrate into cybersecurity strategies, the hope is that it will provide the much-needed efficiency and accuracy that current tools lack, enabling professionals to stay ahead of the ever-growing threat landscape.
