A recent article in The Hacker News discussed the emergence of SOC 3.0—the latest iteration of the modern SOC (Security Operations Center). The SOC of the future will use sophisticated AI tools to detect and respond to threats at scale. Whether you use SOC as a service or run your own SOC internally, it’s essential to understand these developments and leverage them at your organization.
Here’s how AI is changing the SOC forever—and how you can take advantage of these developments.
What is SOC 3.0?
The Hacker News article defines SOC 3.0 this way:
“An AI-augmented environment that finally lets analysts do more with less and shifts security operations from a reactive posture to a proactive force.”
This is a great definition. As the article explains, the operations of SOC 1.0 were entirely manual. Because every process required correlation and analysis by experienced technicians, no process was scalable. The more threats that arose, the more manual work the SOC team had to do.
SOC 2.0 is where most SOCs are today. This iteration of SOC is partly automated. SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) tools offer efficiency that we couldn’t get in SOC 1.0. Detection and response software is more sophisticated than ever, coming with prebuilt rules and processes.
But SOC 2.0 isn’t perfect. Ultimately, human experts are still doing the hard work of analyzing complexity and making decisions. This means SOC 2.0 is still basically reactive, not proactive.
SOC 3.0 will change the fundamental nature of SOC operations, creating several benefits.
Benefits of SOC 3.0 and the AI approach
1. Instant, automated anomaly detection
Modern AI SOC tools are so sophisticated that they can analyze network behavior in real time to spot anomalous patterns. This is a huge advantage for SOC teams who are inundated with cybersecurity data 24/7. With AI finding the signal in the noise, teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time on next-level problem solving.
2. Greater precision in threat detection
A threat detection tool isn’t much good if it misses many threats—or if it creates a lot of false positives. Modern AI tools are so powerful that they excel at spotting real threats while maintaining low rates of false positives. This is a huge benefit for busy SOC teams.
3. Proactive vigilance
By nature, SOC operations have always been reactive. You spot suspicious activity, and you respond. AI moves the game into another realm. The right tools can detect potential threats before they become active, allowing organizations to move from a reactive approach to a proactive one.
4. 24/7/365 monitoring
It’s expensive to staff a SOC for 24/7/365 vigilance. You need Tier 1 and Tier 2 analysts on hand at all times. While AI doesn’t remove the need for a continuous human presence, it does provide that first line of defense that never sleeps.
5. Automated incident response
AI tools can handle mundane tasks like data collection, incident analysis, and triage, ensuring that the right data always bubbles up to the top for human consumption. This is a huge efficiency gain for the modern SOC, and it also provides more rock-solid triage processes.
6. Contextual data enhancement
AI can provide human analysts with contextual data that would be difficult to pull together manually. This gives analysts greater visibility into a scenario so they can make informed decisions.
7. Human experts can focus on more complex tasks
AI excels at routine analysis, response, and triage. This frees up your SOC experts to focus on more complex problems that require human insight. Offloading routine processes to AI allows modern SOC teams to do more with less.
8. Reduced cost of operations
The right AI SOC tools can empower smaller teams to punch above their weight. This reduces the cost of running a robust SOC, making it easier to calculate cybersecurity ROSI.
How do you transition to SOC 3.0?
If you have your own in-house SOC, you’ll want to put together a strategic plan that identifies where you want to go (and how you’ll get there). You’ll want to account for new tools, implementation and training, and any adjustments to staffing. You may also want to integrate this plan into your overall AI business strategy.
For organizations that don’t have their own SOC but rather use a SOCaaS provider, the high-level question becomes even simpler: Is your SOC partner keeping up with the most modern AI tools for SOC?
Here are some specific questions to ask.
- Does your SOC team use AI tools today? If so, which tools? What benefits are they providing?
- If your SOC team doesn’t use AI tools today, what’s the plan? How are they going to get from here to there?
- How much time is your SOC team spending on routine manual tasks that could be automated?
Finding the right AI toolset in a SOC provider
Here at Corsica Technologies, we continuously evaluate our SOC toolset and review new offerings as they come onto the market. Our goal is to identify and implement the right tools for our clients, ensuring that they get the power of AI for cybersecurity while keeping things efficient and effective.
For cybersecurity reasons, we don’t share our toolset publicly. But many of our software solutions include robust AI capabilities that empower our SOC team to protect our clients. We’re committed to using the most powerful tools on the market to maintain 24/7/365 security. If your SOC provider leaves something to be desired, or if you don’t have a SOC partner, get in touch with us today. Let’s take the next step on your cybersecurity journey.
Ready to leverage the power of AI in SOC?
Reach out to schedule a consultation with our cybersecurity specialists.
