70% Of SOC Teams Emotionally Overwhelmed by Security Alert Volume

Trend Micro study reveals the human cost of underpowered Security Operations Centers

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 2 June 2021 – (;),
a global
cybersecurity leader, today released results from a new study that
reveals SOC and IT security teams are suffering from high levels of stress
outside of the working day—with alert overload a prime culprit.

These finding
are corroborated by a recent Forrester[1]
study, which found that “security teams are heavily understaffed when it comes
to incident response, even as they face more attacks. Security operations
centers (SOCs) need a more-effective method of detection and response; thus,
XDR takes a dramatically different approach to other tools on the market
today.”

Outside of
work, the high volumes of alerts leave many SOC managers unable to switch off
or relax, and irritable with friends and family. Inside work, they cause
individuals to turn off alerts (43% do so occasionally or frequently), walk
away from their computer (43%), hope another team member will step in (50%), or
ignore what is coming in entirely (40%).

“We’re used to
cybersecurity being described in terms of people, process and technology”, said
Dr. Victoria Baines, Cybersecurity Researcher and Author. “All too often,
though, people are portrayed as a vulnerability rather than an asset, and
technical defenses are prioritised over human resilience. It’s high time we
renewed our investment in our human security assets. That means looking after
our colleagues and teams, and ensuring they have tools that allow them to focus
on what humans do best.”

With a staggering 74% of respondents already dealing with
a breach or expecting one within the year, and the estimated average cost per
breach USD$235,000,
the consequences of such actions could be disastrous.

“SOC team members play a crucial role on the cyber
frontline, managing and responding to threat alerts to keep their organizations
safe from potentially catastrophic breaches. But as this research shows, that
pressure sometimes comes at an enormous personal cost,” said Bharat Mistry,
technical director for Trend Micro. “To avoid losing their best people to
burnout, organizations must look to more sophisticated threat detection and
response platforms that can intelligently correlate and prioritize alerts. This
will not only improve overall protection but also enhance analyst productivity
and job satisfaction levels.”

Trend Micro
Vision One is the company’s answer to the struggles of SOC teams. Prioritized,
correlated alerts using data from the entire IT environment help teams spend
their time more wisely. Fewer alerts and stronger intelligence allow teams to
regain balance in their work life and ease the emotional toll of security.

To find out more, please read the report.

Research methodology

The study is based on interviews with 2,303 IT security
decision makers in 21 countries. This includes leaders who run SOC teams (85%)
and those who manage SecOps from within their IT security team (15%). All
respondents came from 250+ employee companies.