Clearly, ChatGPT has recently put artificial intelligence in everyone’s attention. But AI in mainstream business applications has been around for decades. In cybersecurity, AI can be used for data augmentation and attack simulation. It can also detect anomalies in network traffic and user behavior to enhance overall threat detection and response.
According to a recent report, one area where AI has made significant progress is in threat alert triage efforts. In fact, with AI assistance, alert triage timelines can be cut in half or more. And this means a lot to the hardworking cyber professional who spends nearly a third of his time chasing incidents that aren’t real threats. AI-powered solutions can also help retain hard-to-find cybersecurity talent.
SOC team overwhelmed
It’s no secret that security professionals are some of the hardest workers in the tech industry. Today’s security operations center (SOC) teams must protect an ever-expanding attack surface that spans across hybrid cloud environments. The sheer size and complexity of terrain makes it increasingly difficult to keep up with increases in attack speed and volume. Labor-intensive alert investigation and response processes consume scarce resources. Cumbersome manual data evaluation between disconnected data, tools and interfaces wastes time. Additionally, there is a lot of cyber noise out there that can hinder your security efforts.
In fact, according to a recent study, SOC professionals say they spend nearly a third of their time investigating and verifying incidents that aren’t real threats. More than 80% of those surveyed said manually investigating threats slows down overall threat response time. Thirty-eight percent also said that manual research would be “extremely” time consuming. On the other hand, nearly half (46%) of those surveyed said their average time to detect and respond to security incidents has increased over the past two years.
As a result, more time is spent on low priority and false positive alerts. Meanwhile, incident response times are increasing. result? Poor threat detection and weak attack resistance. This is why his exhausted SOC team leaders are increasingly adopting his AI-based solutions.
AI-powered cybersecurity solutions
AI-powered capabilities have been shown to significantly improve the speed and accuracy of SOC operations. For example, a recent report found that AI enabled IBM Managed Security Services to automate more than 70% of alert closures and reduce alert triage timelines by an average of 55% within a year of implementation.
AI-powered alert triage automatically prioritizes or closes alerts based on AI-driven risk analysis. This type of triage uses AI models trained on previous analyst response patterns, along with external threat intelligence and broader contextual insights from various detection toolsets.
“As attack surfaces expand and attack schedules shrink, speed and efficiency are critical to the success of resource-constrained security teams,” said Mary O’Brien, IBM Security General Manager. increase. “IBM is focused on a unique and modern user experience that incorporates sophisticated AI and automation to maximize security analyst productivity and accelerate response at each stage of the attack chain. We designed the new QRadar Suite for
AI continues to gain momentum
In another Benchmark Insights study, executives reported that AI is widely deployed in security operations, with 93% already deploying or considering deploying it. Leaders in security AI adoption also cite improvements in key cost-effectiveness measures. For example, by combining AI and automation, Top Performer increased his return on security investment (ROSI) by more than 40% and reduced data breach costs by at least 18%. These savings helped free up funds for reinvestment in other cybersecurity needs.
AI security solutions help reduce alert fatigue for SOC analysts by improving model accuracy and recall through machine learning. This means that we can distinguish between real security threats (true positives) and ordinary events (false positives and true negatives).
AI can also leverage contextual data insights to enhance event analysis. It also supports analyst examination and investigative activities. AI helps her improve her signal-to-noise ratio so analysts can focus on threats that pose the greatest risk.
AI can help retain talent
AI enhances security governance and compliance by facilitating more efficient triage, escalation, review, and remediation procedures. AI also reduces analyst fatigue by automating time-consuming manual tasks. This helps analysts improve their ability to make better informed decisions. So SOC teams can work faster and with fewer mistakes. By routing massive volumes of events through AI-enabled automation solutions, leaders can make the most of skilled human analysts and their hard-to-find skills.
The result is a more satisfying work environment. Instead of wasting time on repetitive, dead-end tasks (false positives), your team can focus on making a real difference. This challenging environment also helps retain hard-to-find security talent. Who wants to tackle mundane chores that have no real-world value? Instead, people want to tackle real problems that lead to tangible positive results.
Beyond AI-enhanced triage
Threat triage is just one area where AI can improve processes and make SOC work more rewarding. For example, IBM’s QRadar Suite has dozens of mature AI and automation capabilities refined over time using real-world users and data. It also includes innovations developed in collaboration with IBM Research and the open source security community. Beyond faster and more effective threat triage, AI-based benefits include:
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Automated Threat Research: Identify high-priority incidents and automatically initiate investigations by gathering artifacts and evidence through data mining across your environment. The system then generates incident timelines and attack graphs based on the MITER ATT&CK framework and recommends remediation actions.
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Accelerate Threat Hunting: Empower threat hunters to find indicators of attacks and compromises across your environment with an open-source threat hunting language and federated search capabilities. All this without moving the data from its original source.
While ChatGPT put AI in the spotlight, security teams have long recognized the benefits of AI-assisted security. And there are results to prove it.
