In a universe of digital threats that swell minute by minute, staying ahead of the game isn’t a choice; it’s a must. AI, machine learning, and automation work together to protect our digital world, but how?
And as they continue to become more and more essential for our digital safety, what will Security Operation Centres look like a couple years from now at the peak of the Digital Age? Let’s explore these trends together and see what’s coming next in cybersecurity!
The Evolution Driven by Technology
The future of SOCs will be moulded by the increasingly rapid growth of tech and modernisation. With the uprising of AI and machine learning, we anticipate SOCs to be reshaped significantly in how they will work.
These technological advances do not only automate systems to work on their own but also predict. After that, they shift defenses as threats arise. Envision a security operation centre whereby AI determines trends, troubles and swiftly tackles suspicious behavior.
The Internet: Adapting to the Expanding Cyber Threat Landscape
As IoT devices and 5G networks grow there may be a lot more opportunities for hackers to sneak back doors. SOCs will have little choice but to expand; more security monitoring devices to track additional pieces of tech.
The Integration of Internet Security and Privacy
SOCs will have to ensure a balance of preventative data management and be cautious with private protection necessities. Much more will have to be done with encrypted data by developing advanced procedures; with stricter practicing guidelines.
With growing privacy concerns among end users and more rules. SOCs will have to develop other privacy enhancing technologies (PETs). They’ll also expand data minimalizations and by providing controlled anonymity. But, SOCs will have to work in compliance with regulations for example GDPR and CCPA. .
Cryptocurrency and Beyond: Blockchain’s Role in SOC Strategies
The decentralized concept of blockchain creates a worthwhile medium to advance against certain security modernization innovations. As it sets up a secure and clear course of action, it will also be convenient for information sharing.
This is more than just in cryptocurrency. It is a highly technology resistant environment whereby you could trade information at an unprecedented value of security at both ends of the chain whilst being siloed in different environments.
SOC in Gaming AI and Machine Learning
With a growing platform comes a growing target and a growing need for gamers’ security to be even further protected. Predicting the future, the long term future looks like using technology to predict, manage and to try prevent any issues that will eventuate.
As gaming does become more blockchain and virtual reality enabled, expect SOCs to look more into mitigating the risks and threats associated with these environments. Therein lies the next challenge for platforms and games.
By having a proactive tech strategy in place, not only can the loss be minimized on revenue that occurs from downtimes.
There are already platforms which are out there allowing companies even direct competitors, to share cyber-threat information. It doesn’t end there; governmental, international organizations and institutional collaboration are important too.
Collaboration and Shared Intelligence
The future for SOCs will definitely be a collaborative one; cybersecurity is not a battleground for one. But as the battlefield gets more digital, we need more resources, more support, and more ‘downtime’ to plan ahead.
A SOC’s collaboration needs span different dimensions. Inwardly, they require tight coordination with the IR team, NOC, DevOps, etc. Externally, they have to work with MSSP, threat intelligence providers, CAR/CSIR.
To manage they have to engage with CISO, senior management, compliance officers etc. They also have to interact with HR for insider threats, legal, privacy teams for regulations and compliance. PR in case of incident communication, training, other security functions, and law enforcement for criminal investigation and regulations.
The Human Element
As much as we want it to not to be, human presence is still important in SOCs. While technology grows, skilled humans are essential. After all, as defenses grow stronger, as do the threats.
Skilled humans do the manual job that hardware and software cannot do. They monitor, train, learn, and develop to further spot and reduce risks and threats. Even in the foreseeable future, skilled humans still seem to be an essential part of the SOC landscape.
A Future with SOC Technology
There are still challenges today in SOCs, but those challenges are far outweighed by the benefits.
With foreseeable new technologies, and a taste of freedom & privacy, SOCs can grow strong in the digital sphere.
