Page 53 - Cyber Defense eMagazine for July 2020

In 2020, SOCs Are Understaffed Yet Overconfident in

Ability to Detect Cyberthreats

Exabeam’s ‘2020 State of the SOC Report’ offers peer-to-peer SOC comparisons

By Steve Moore, chief security strategist, and Samantha Humphries, senior product marketing
manager, Exabeam

Security operations centers (SOCs) are on the frontlines in protecting businesses and government
agencies against cyberthreats and attacks. Therefore, whether the organization has an in-house or
outsourced SOC, it’s critical to gauge the effectiveness, given the importance it plays in the overall
cybersecurity posture.

Exabeam’s 2020 State of the SOC Report allows organizations to compare their SOCs to those of their
peers around the globe and determine common pitfalls, priorities and ways to improve technology,
staffing, employee happiness and more. Highlights include:

This report is the Exabeam’s third annual comprehensive survey of cybersecurity professionals who
manage and operate SOCs. Respondents include CISOs, CIOs, frontline security analysts, and security
managers from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, and Australia. The report covers a wide range of
topics including basic SOC operations, hiring and staffing, operational processes, technology and finance
and budget.

Key findings include that SOC leaders and analysts are confident in their ability to detect common security
threats but do not agree on the threats. In addition, SOC leaders and frontline analysts do not agree on
the most common threats facing the organization. SOC leaders believe that phishing and supply chain
vulnerabilities are more important issues, while analysts see DDoS attacks and ransomware as greater
threats.

Cyber Defense eMagazine –July 2020 Edition 53
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