Winning Combination

AI can process vast quantities of data with speed and precision, alerting you to a cybersecurity threat in seconds.

It can also detect unusual patterns that might otherwise slip through the cracks, generate insights on evolving threats like deep fakes, and expedite containment. It can even move from reactive to predictive, identifying and neutralizing threats before they materialize.

But that’s not enough. While AI excels at repetitive, data-intensive tasks, human oversight is still needed for the nuances of cybersecurity.

Going beyond technology

That’s why leading solutions for managed detection and response (MDR) are powered by AI and automations, leveraging 24/7 human expertise.

In this subscription-based model for continuous monitoring, leading managed services providers combine AI, machine learning, and data analytics with security analysts, proactive threat hunters, engineers and incident responders. Working together, they quickly identify, contain and respond to cyber threats.

These professionals bring critical discernment to matters such as:

Contextualizing AI-generated findings and validating their relevance within the security infrastructure
Navigating the subtleties of forensic analysis
Coordinating incident response
Analyzing potential false positives in AI alerting

Indeed, some security operations centers have unified their many monitoring tools into a single pane of glass for centralized visibility, but this dashboard can still become very noisy, generating a million alerts a day. In managed services, skilled cyber analysts work with sophisticated AI to filter and prioritize threat notifications.

Force multiplier

AI-enabled managed services can greatly extend the capacity of a security operations center. It’s no wonder that cybersecurity is one of the top areas of managed services adoption:

Source: KPMG and HFS Research Managed Services Outlook Survey

Deep domain knowledge

In addition to technical skills, today’s cyber professionals must excel in adaptability, critical thinking, communication, and understanding an organization’s business functions and processes.

Leading MDR providers have invested heavily in these capabilities, and another is regulatory compliance. For example, companies in financial services face an onslaught of multiregional regulations, from the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) in Europe to increased oversight by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in the US. Cyber professionals are skilled at checking the decision-making processes of AI models, ensuring they adhere to government requirements.

Tandem Approach

Advanced technologies of course are imperative for the operations of the future, but the most successful cybersecurity programs have people and AI working in harmony. In fact, in the KPMG and HFS Research Managed Services Outlook Survey, executives say the three most critical attributes of a managed service are domain expertise, industry expertise, and strategic collaboration toward enterprise outcomes.

In MDR, those outcomes include the protection of critical assets, the inspiring of customer and regulator trust, and the ability to grow despite evolving cyber risks.

To pursue these kinds of ambitions, seek a managed services model that combines AI with critical human judgment.