In recent times, the number of cyberattacks on businesses has increased drastically. One must have heard about the recent high-profile cyberattacks like Quanta and Colonial Pipeline. A large corporation might have the resources to get back on its feet after a cyberattack. However, a small business might not continue operations due to the impact of a cyberattack. Therefore, cybersecurity is a must for organizations looking to improve service availability. Did you know that over 90% of cyberattacks happen due to human errors? Cyber attackers look for employee mistakes and exploit them to hack the system. To prevent these cyberattacks, corporations have increasingly invested in AIOps (Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations). Read on to understand the role of AIOps-enabled SecOps for proactive cyber defense.

What exactly is SecOps in cyber defence?

Before we move to AIOps-enabled cybersecurity, it is essential to understand the definition of SecOps (Security Operations). When IT security meets the operations department, it is termed SecOps. Often, the security and operations teams within an organisation have different priorities. As a result, they fail to work together to enhance the overall security of the organisation. The operations team might integrate tools and technology within the organisation to fulfil different needs. On the other hand, security teams might want cybersecurity systems to boost service availability. Often, security and operations teams have different procedures, intentions, and processes.

SecOps attempts to bring the IT security and operations team together. The observability of the IT infrastructure increases significantly when the IT security and operations teams join hands. The vulnerabilities of the IT infrastructure can be easily determined with SecOps. Both teams will share valuable resources and information to solve security issues quickly. Together they will make extra efforts to maintain the service reliability of the organisation. Here’s what happens when IT security and operations teams join hands:

• IT security is not an afterthought for organisations. Security must be focused on from the start of application/software development. When IT security and operations teams merge, the security of applications and software systems is ensured while they are being developed.

• An organisation will have greater visibility into the vulnerabilities of the infrastructure with SecOps. Enhanced observability will allow security teams to move towards proactive cyber defence.

• When IT security and operations teams collaborate, the technology for cyber defence is merged. There will be a single security point for the entire IT infrastructure of the organisation. There is no need to depend on multiple security portfolios simultaneously.

• IT operations related to cyber defence become streamlined with SecOps. Fewer compliance failures result in high service availability of security systems connected to the IT infrastructure. SecOps also enhances patch deployment and reduces downtime.

SecOps challenges for organisations

One might think everyone would be using SecOps due to its benefits. However, setting up the SecOps department within an organization is not as easy as it might seem. Do you know that only 15% of organizations seek the suggestions of security teams for every project? The rest might call security teams only for some important or high-value projects. With the increasing sophistication of cyberattacks, founding SecOps has become more complex than ever. Here are some challenges that prevent organizations from founding SecOps in 2023:

• Compared to the previous decade, the number of security alerts has increased for enterprises. Nowadays, security systems are generating tons of alerts in quick succession. IT teams are finding it hard to categorize the alerts. They are finding it hard to identify those alerts from the pool that might jeopardize the entire organization’s security. Such security alerts must be addressed first by the security teams.

• The sophistication of cyberattacks has drastically increased over the years. In 2023, cyber attackers are leading AI attacks on enterprises. Such complicated attacks cannot be detected with outdated security solutions. When attackers are using AI to their advantage, enterprises should also utilize the power of AI for security.

• The size of IT infrastructures has increased, and they require continuous monitoring. Back in the day, security teams only had to focus on a few software systems and network devices. They could monitor the endpoints continuously due to less manual effort. In 2023, some organizations are using thousands of systems and network devices. How many security teams will the enterprise deploy to monitor every element of the IT infrastructure? Nonstop monitoring of the IT infrastructure is the biggest challenge for SecOps.

• Most security tools are reactive; they tell what to do after an incident has happened. Do you know that more than 70% of the companies that experienced a security breach believe it could have been avoided with a simple configuration or patch? How will the enterprises know about a configuration ahead of time? For the same rationale, AIOps based analytics platforms are used by enterprises for enhanced SecOps.

How AIOps-enabled SecOps is the right solution?

AIOps-based tools can allow security and operations teams to reduce the manual monitoring burden. Security teams do not have to keep monitoring the performance of software systems at all times. An AIOps-led cybersecurity solution will keep a track of system performances. It continuously monitors every element of the IT infrastructure without any manual interference. An AIOps based analytics platform keeps an eye on the normal behaviour of software systems. Any abnormality is reported in real-time to the security teams.

An AIOps-led solution will separate the high-impact alerts for the security teams. Since security teams will resolve the high-impact alerts first, the IT infrastructure will never experience downtime. Small incidents that won’t impact the service availability can be fixed later. AIOps-led solutions use predictive analytics to forecast security concerns. In this era of sophisticated cyberattacks, proactive defence is the right choice for IT security and operations teams.

Organisations do not have to provide security and operations teams with multiple tools. AIOps will help build a single security portfolio used by everyone within the organisation. SecOps teams can gain visibility into the entire IT infrastructure from a single point. It will significantly reduce the security budget for the organisation in the long run. Rely on AIOps-enabled SecOps for proactive cyber defence in 2023!