Can technology help bridge the gap in cybersecurity skills?

Supply of skilled IT professionals seems to be struggling to keep up with demand. Headlines about this may have caught your attention in recent times. The lack of skilled IT security personnel leads to increases in the number of successful cyberattacks. And as cyberattacks become more prevalent, we need more skilled IT security personnel on guard.

Without debating whether the scarcity of skilled IT security personnel has resulted in increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks in recent years or vice versa, the fact remains: Organizations are more vulnerable than ever before. Because of this, all eyes are on security operations centers (SOCs).

Let's look at why this is a major concern and how the right security tools and technology can help SOC teams improve their threat detection and response.

Why is the shortage of skilled workers a huge concern now?

According to the CyberEdge 2022 CDR report, the biggest impediment to creating strong cyberdefenses has been a shortage of skilled personnel. The shortage of skilled security professionals has been among the top security concerns worldwide for many years. But recently, it has topped the list.

In the last two years, cloud adoption, remote work, and sophisticated high-profile attacks have increased the responsibilities of SOC teams. In many networks, there are now more endpoints, numerous cloud accounts, and unmanaged devices.

The recent cyberattacks on Ukraine during the war have further exacerbated cyber risks, forcing enterprises worldwide to realize the importance of defending their networks. In fact, a recent alert from the CISA has urged all organizations in the US to increase their cyber vigilance as there are indications of possible state-sponsored attacks on nations supporting Ukraine.

In such a climate, organizations are encouraging their cybersecurity professionals to manage their network security. Organizations are spending exorbitantly on hiring and retaining talent, leaving small and midsized businesses to face the heat. SOC teams with limited resources are growing weary from having to keep the network secure around the clock.

Leveraging technology to help

Taking a closer look at the cybersecurity skill shortage by role, the 2022 CDR report notes that the security analyst or incident responder role has a 33% skills shortage. On a daily basis, security analysts receive a huge number of alerts from the network that involve many repetitive steps to investigate and remediate. Effectively using the right security tools can help a small yet dedicated team work more efficiently.

For instance, ManageEngine Log360, a comprehensive SIEM solution, has built-in security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) capabilities.

Threat detection and incident response are critical functions of a SOC, and here's how Log360 makes it easy for analysts:

• Threat hunting: Log360 is always on the lookout for threats in a network. The anomaly detection module can track user behavior and detect suspicious activities that would otherwise require hours of the analyst's time to spot.
• Threat enrichment: SOAR capabilities can automatically gather IoCs from external threat intelligence platforms, perform advanced threat analytics, and assign reputation scores based on severity, supporting the investigation process. It helps the analyst make informed decisions with more context on the threat.
• Remediation: Custom workflows and playbooks can be assigned to perform response actions automatically according to the scenario at hand. Such automated remediation actions include escalation via integration with a ticketing tool or service desk, SMS or email alerts, firewall actions, disabling users or devices, shutting down a server, etc.

SOAR, like any other automation tool, isn't a silver bullet for filling the gap in human capabilities, but it can help you fortify your SOC.