Organizations’ zero-trust policies and identity-centric programs ensure that user identities and login credentials are vigorously protected with IAM policies and security tools like MFA or IP restrictions. However, the situation is very different regarding non-human identities (NHI) like API keys, OAuth apps, service accounts, and secrets. Lack of visibility, monitoring, and governance of this permissive access is everywhere, and attackers have figured it out.

2023 went down in history as the worst year for phishing attacks on record, with nearly 35 million attempted business email compromise (BEC) attacks detected and investigated, according to the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Cyber Signals report. Unfortunately, phishing analysis is one of the most time-consuming tasks for the SOC. Responding to a phishing incident requires careful examination.

The security operations center, or SOC, is the backbone of modern security operations. By centralizing security monitoring, detection, and response, SOCs help organizations manage security risks more efficiently and effectively. But simply setting up a SOC doesn’t guarantee optimal security workflows. To get the very most from your SOC, you must automate its operations as much as possible.

The following is adapted from a conversation between Torq and Robbie Jakob-Whitworth, Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at Next DLP. Next DLP is a leading provider of insider risk and data protection solutions. Read on to learn how Robbie has used Torq Hyperautomation to automate alerts and reduce alert fatigue within his organization.

Cyberthreats are escalating and SOC budgets are tightening. It’s a recipe for disaster, that is, unless you take advantage of new technologies that keep both in check. The fact is, businesses are now spending nearly a third of their cybersecurity budget towards running an in-house SOC, averaging out to $2.86 million per year, according to Ponemon.

Today’s SOC analysts are drowning in myriad notifications. They’re trying to parse what’s real, what matters, and what’s a genuine threat to the organization. This exhausting daily routine is significantly contributing to job dissatisfaction and the high turnover rate in SecOps teams. But there’s a major new innovation that solves it: AI-driven hyperautomation.