Vectra AI has released a new research report identifying that 97 percent of analysts are worried they will miss security events, with 71 percent admitting their organization may have been compromised and they don’t know about it yet.
This study details how analysts are being overwhelmed, as they receive 4,484 alerts on average per day, but can’t cope with 67 percent of them. This is pushing analysts out the door, as two thirds (67 percent) of SecOps (Security Operations) analysts are considering or actively leaving their jobs.
The survey of over 2,000 IT security analysts found the size of their organization’s attack surface (63 percent), and the number of security tools (70 percent) and alerts (66 percent) they manage, has significantly increased in the past three years. This is creating a ‘spiral of more’ which threatens to overwhelm their ability to respond quickly to alerts and manage breaches; and is causing analysts to consider leaving their jobs.
Other key findings from the research include:
- 39 percent say there’s so much noise, it’s only a matter of time until they miss something.
- 39 percent agree the security tools they work with increase their workload rather than reduce it.
- 41 percent agree that security vendors flood analysts with pointless alerts because they are afraid of not flagging a breach.
- The most common reason analysts gave for leaving or considering leaving their role was spending too much time sifting through poor quality alerts (39 percent). Other reasons given included constant stress (35 percent), burnout (34 percent), and feeling ‘mind-numbingly bored’ (32 percent).
Report methodology
This report is based on a study commissioned by Vectra AI and carried out by Sapio Research. Sapio surveyed 2,000 IT security analysts working at organizations with more than 1,000 employees across the US (200), UK (200), France (200), Germany (200), Italy (200), Spain (200), Sweden (200), the Netherlands (200), Australia and New Zealand (200), and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (200).
