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.

SecOps teams face an unyielding barrage of security signals raised by various systems and tools. It’s estimated that 56% of large companies receive 1,000 or more alerts per day. SOC analysts are expected to wade through these alerts and determine which ones are important, which are low priority, and which are imperative. According to IDC, 83% of cybersecurity employees say they’re struggling to cope with the overwhelming alert volume.

Cyber threats are constantly evolving and becoming increasingly sophisticated, and organizations are continuously searching for ways to fortify their cybersecurity defenses. One approach that has gained significant traction is hyperautomation. Hyperautomation, which automates once-manual security workflows and processes, enhances cybersecurity posture, streamlines security operations, and effectively mitigates risks.

Is SIEM lock-in preventing the transformational impact of Torq Hyperautomation? Due to cost and scale challenges, endpoint activity, cloud telemetry, and network flows are often missing from detection and security automation. For security teams that keep these and other large datasets outside their SIEM, Anvilogic has teamed up with Torq to take SOC automation to the next level.

One of the key questions we get is “how do I get started with hyperautomation?” It can seem slightly overwhelming if you haven’t automated in the past, or you’re used to attempting to automate using legacy SOAR solutions. If you’re wondering where to get started with hyperautomation, look no further. We caught up with Security Automation Leader Filip Stojkovski, who put together a handy blueprint on how and where to start your journey to hyperautomation.

Security teams using legacy SOAR platforms often face struggles with scattered information, limited collaboration tools, and inflexible response playbooks. Managing knowledge, automating tasks, and communication can be complex and resource consuming. Let’s see how integrating Torq, Notion, and Slack address these challenges to improve and streamline security processes.