Is AI replacing Security Analysts? Should we find new careers?
Embed SecurityThe integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into security teams, commonly security operations centers (SOCs), has sparked both excitement and apprehension within the security industry. I’ve had countless conversations in the last 24 months asking if AI advancements will automate analysts out of a job, leading to a SOC filled with nothing more than big screen TVs and empty chairs.
soc.replace(‘Security Analyst’, ‘AI SOC Analyst’)
While it’s true that AI is revolutionizing security operations, the reality is far more nuanced and quite frankly optimistic for us, the human analysts. Rather than replacing security analysts, AI is reshaping our workflows and finally offloading many operational tasks – a decade long promise which is now becoming a reality. In our view, these advancements allow us to focus on more complex and rewarding tasks, rather than simply kicking up our feet in a recliner because there’s nothing left to do. Here’s how we see it at Embed Security:
AI takes on the security tedium
AI is tackling several security challenges. Challenges like dynamically identifying the best next steps or summarizing findings into a security report. AI’s ability to process, analyze and quickly interpret massive amounts of data provides a new level of insight afforded by automated security systems. Threat triage and response times are being dramatically reduced, enabling organizations to improve alert coverage, response times, and free teams to be more proactive than reactive.
For example, AI can identify patterns in large volumes of collected and contextualized data that may be invisible to the human eye. At Embed, we’re leveraging machine learning models trained on how analysts think, explore, and respond. Our AI systems can then quickly identify the alerts most likely to be malicious or benign. This gives security analysts cycles to redirect to other valuable security challenges that are difficult for AI to solve.
Agentic Security opens new doors
Agentic security, or the ability for AI agents to act autonomously within cybersecurity contexts, introduces a new level of flexibility to SOC workflows, like removing the need for manual playbook creation. The AI Agents are capable of dynamically adapting to new threats, automating routine tasks, and even coordinating across multiple systems. This adaptability reduces the operational burden on security teams, again freeing them to focus on higher-value activities.
One of AI’s most immediate benefits is its ability to automate many “Tier 1” and “Tier 2” tasks. These include:
- Alert Triage: Categorize false positives (Security Noise Cancellation™) and prioritize real threats
- Incident Investigation: Gather context and draw conclusions from logs, endpoint data, network traffic, etc
- Recommendations: Automatically contextualize next steps to address common issues
By offloading these repetitive and often mundane tasks to AI, we, the SOC analysts, can spend less time “putting out fires” and more time addressing complex, strategic challenges that require human ingenuity.
Trust in AI will be a cornerstone of its adoption. This requires more than accurate investigations, this means being transparent. Sharing how decisions are made allows security analysts to inspect the AI reasoning and prevents re-doing work already completed by the AI system.
Human ingenuity remains irreplaceable
Despite its impressive capabilities, AI is not a replacement for human creativity, intuition, and critical thinking. Cyber attackers are constantly evolving, often employing tactics that defy conventional patterns or exploit socio-political nuances – areas where human insight is indispensable. AI solutions may also fall prey to certain adversarial attack techniques, which humans are less susceptible to.
SOC analysts bring contextual understanding, strategic foresight, and collaborative problem-solving to the table. These skills are crucial for tasks like:
- Interpreting ambiguous or incomplete data
- Designing proactive defense strategies
- Creative threat hunting techniques and novel detection strategies
However, not every alert investigation requires this type of creativity. AI can handle the lower complexity tasks while leaving the analysts to address the more complex work. In this way, AI is a force multiplier, helping organizations to scale their operations and reduce risk.
The future of SOC workflows is augmented by AI
In our opinion, as AI continues to evolve, the role of security analysts will shift rather than disappear. Analysts will transition from being overwhelmed by routine tasks to becoming strategic operators who focus on high-impact work. The “boring” tasks will be increasingly automated, leaving room for the “fun” work—solving puzzles, thwarting attackers, and working in ambiguity.
Far from an empty SOC, the future we envision is one where AI and security analysts work together seamlessly, enhancing each other’s strengths. AI will handle the heavy lifting, but security analysts will remain at the helm, driving security operations forward with ingenuity and expertise.
Tomorrow, AI will not replace security analysts—it’s here to empower us.