The impact of current and emerging threats on the day-to-day lives of SecOps teams

More than half of IT and cybersecurity professionals noted ransomware or zero-day attacks as the biggest threats to their organization, according to a Deep Instinct survey.

The report highlights current and emerging threats, the impact these have on the day-to-day lives of SecOps professionals, and how automation will play a significant role moving forward.

Ransomware cementing its status as a global concern

From the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack to critical infrastructure like the MTA breach, ransomware has cemented its status as a global concern. According to 64 percent of respondents, this is because humans are unable to keep up with the exponential cadence of cybersecurity threats.

This reality is compounded by the fact that respondents state they spend about 10 hours a week assessing false positive alerts, and 69 percent of respondents agreed that low staff morale could result from alert fatigue due to the overwhelming volume of false positives. And 80 percent of respondents say time not absorbed there is spent addressing time-consuming security patches and updates to ensure solutions remain effective.

“Recent major events have placed a heightened priority on security, but these threats have long deserved the attention they’re just now getting on a global level. As we work to implement a stronger layer of defense, it will be just as important to protect the hard-working employees that sit in the SOC as it is to secure the business,” said Guy Caspi, CEO of Deep Instinct.

“The results of this report shed light on the exhausting challenges that today’s security operations teams face on a daily basis. Recognizing the need for a new approach, we set out to provide the relief that teams desperately need.”

Emerging threats challenging SecOps teams

Through the lens of SecOps teams on the front lines, this report explores strategic threats, overarching priorities and day-to-day challenges that often go unheard. To that end, other key findings from US respondents look at the rise in ransomware attacks, as well as other prevalent threats and factors impacting SecOps teams’ ability to prevent attacks:

• 66 percent of respondents say that SolarWinds has led to the hiring of more internal IT/cybersecurity professionals, with over half saying it also prompted more questions at the board and executive level about cybersecurity measures
• More than 60 percent of companies are considering automated, AI-based solutions following the Microsoft attacks
• 62 percent of respondents agreed that threats in their company could get missed due to the overwhelming volume of false positives
• 83 percent of respondents agreed in some way that cybersecurity professionals deserve better from their anti-virus and endpoint detection and response solutions.

Deep learning offers a new path forward

Organizations across industries are in need of reliable, automated, and timely protection that prevents damage from being done, and saves organizations valuable time and money. According to 86 percent of respondents, the tools driven by data science (AI/Machine Learning/Deep Learning) will make a significant impact in preventing unknown threats and reducing false positives.

Taking it a step further, nearly 3/4 of respondents agree that automation of cybersecurity is the only way their company can address cyber threats.