The IT Nerd

Enterprise Security Operations Centers (SOCs) are succumbing to an overwhelming flood of data, research from Binalyze has found. The leader in automated investigation and response’s report shows SOCs receive on average 2,047 alerts a day. But 300, or 15%, of these are ignored due to a lack of resources, despite being potential threats.  

Beyond alerts, SOCs face more information than ever before. Even AI tools designed to help, for instance by identifying threats, can end up providing more and more data instead of real insight:

• 91% of CISOs say their organizations suffer from information overload, with 77% missing warnings and vulnerabilities as a result.
• Overall, 37% (172 of 462) of the vulnerabilities enterprises face go undiscovered, costing an average of $5.1 million a year in damages and rectification.
• SOCs are suffering: 56% are paranoid they’ll miss an alert signifying a major breach. And despite all the tools at their disposal, 60% don’t have confidence in their decision making.

SOC leaders know a change is needed. 81% say the only way to prevent alert fatigue is hunting down and dealing with threats earlier. But doing so demands SOCs break out of current constraints.

The simple fact is that traditional threat hunting, performed correctly, costs. In time, resources, and skills. Threat hunting and intelligence take 27% of security budgets, but almost two thirds of SOCs still focus almost entirely on alerts and triage – wasting that investment. 

Security budgets are stretched too far. 76% of CISOs want to invest more in threat intelligence but have too many other demands. Only 34% of SOCs have all the resources and skilled people they need to operate effectively. And a higher budget is no guarantee. 42% of CISOs have the resources to hire more skilled analysts but can’t because skills are in such high demand.

To overcome this, SOCs need a way to reduce the data burden. And turn too much information into truthful, contextual insights.

A word on regulation:

Binalyze’s report also investigated SOC leaders’ attitudes to regulation, and whether it helps or hinders operations. It found:

• It doesn’t protect the right things: 72% say “regulation is more focused on protecting organizational reputations than on protecting people.”
• It doesn’t guarantee information sharing: 57% of organizations have suffered a breach thanks to a vulnerability another organization had already suffered and reported.
• It can waste time: 63%: SOCs are under pressure to be always-prepared for audits that wouldn’t help improve or future-proof security, and leaders “waste” 10% of their time, or at least 4 hours a week, proving compliance.
• It can incentivize poor decisions. 74% of CISOs have had security projects refused because they “weren’t deemed necessary” to meet compliance.

To read the full report visit https://binalyze.ai/2026-state-of-soc-report/