ThreatQuotient：安全自動(dòng)化應(yīng)用態(tài)勢

2023

STATEOF

CYBERSECURITY

AUTOMATION

ADOPTION

INTRODUCTION

ThisisthethirdeditionofThreatQuotient’sannualsurveyofseniorcybersecurityprofessionals,exploringthetopicofcybersecurityautomationadoption.Seven

hundredandfiftyseniorexecutivesintheUK,US,andAustraliasharedtheirviewsontheprogresstheyaremakingtowardadoptingcybersecurityautomation,itskeyusecases,andthechallengestheyface.Inadditiontoidentifyingtrendsovertime,thisyear’sstudyexploreswiderissuessuchasthecriticalfeaturescybersecurity

CONTENTS

2Introduction

2Methodology

3Foreword

5HighLevelFindings

8

RegionalVariations

10VerticalSnapshot

13RoleBased

Comparisons

15Recommendations

17Question

Responses

professionalswanttoseeinautomationsolutions,thetopicofwellbeingamongcybersecurityteams,andhowitcanbeimproved.

ReadthisreporttounderstandhowCISOsandseniorcybersecurityprofessionalsarehandlingtheincorporationofcybersecurityautomationintotheirstrategiestoprotectthecomplex,extendedenterprise–andtheiranalystteams–fromthepressuresofescalatingcyberthreats.

METHODOLOGY

Leadingsecurityoperationsplatforminnovator,ThreatQuotient,commissioneda

survey,undertakenbyindependentresearchorganization,OpinionMatters,inJune2023.SevenhundredandfiftyseniorcybersecurityprofessionalsintheUK,USAandAustraliafromcompaniesemploying2,000+peoplefromfiveindustriestookpart,

including:CentralGovernment,Defense,CriticalNationalInfrastructure–EnergyandUtilities,Retail,andtheFinancialServicesSector.

2

FOREWORD

Thepressureoncybersecurityteamsshowsnosignsofabating.Whiletheglobal

healthcrisisisbehindus,thepast18monthshavebroughtaworldwideeconomicuncertaintyandgeopoliticaltensionatalevelnotseenfordecades.Theresultingenergycrisis,supplychainimpacts,andeffectsonemploymentaresending

shockwavesthroughoutthephysicalanddigitalworld,and–whereverthereis

disruption–cybercriminalsandnation-stateactorsarealwaysonhandtocapitalizeonthesituation.Rightnow,theyareleveragingnewtools,suchasautomation

andgenerativeartificialintelligence(AI),tomakeattacksmoresophisticatedanddeceptive.Asthevolumeandvarietyofcyberthreatsincreaseexponentially,and

skilledcybersecurityworkersremaininshortsupply,seniorcybersecurityleadersfacearelentlessresourcechallenge:howtoprotecttheorganizationinanenvironment

wherebudgetsandpersonnelareunderpressure.

Overthethreeyearsthatwehaveundertakenthissurvey,wehavetrackedthe

adoptionofcybersecurityautomationasasolutiontothisproblem.Our2023StateofCybersecurityAutomationAdoptionresearchfindsthatorganizationsareleaningonautomationtohandleagrowingpercentageofcybersecurityusecaseswiththegoalofincreasingefficiency,respondingtoregulationandcompliancerequirements,andincreasingproductivity.Overall,theyconsiderautomationtobeimportantintheir

organization,andtheyarecontinuingtocommitbudgettoautomationprograms–

eventhoughtheyarehavingtocutbackinotherareastodoso.However,ourstudyalsoshowsthattheproblemshighlightedinpreviousyearsremain–infact,they

havegrown.Everyrespondentsaidtheyhadexperienceddifficultiesofsomekind

whenimplementingcybersecurityautomation.Theserangefromalackoftrustintheoutcomesofautomatedprocesses,slowadoptionbyusers,baddecisionsresultingfromautomation,andalackofskillamongusers.

Thereisundoubtedlyadegreeofdisenchantmentaroundautomationevidentin

thisyear’sstudy,withasensethatithasn’tyetdeliveredonitspromise.Thismirrorsthefindingsofotherindustrywatchersandreflectsthefactthatthemarketisstill

relativelyimmature.Usersarestillworkingtofindtheirfeetandimplementthe

solutionsthatwillsolvetheirchallengesanddelivertherightkindofROI.Atthesametime,vendorsarecontinuingtoinnovateandadvancetheirsolutionsfrombotha

technicalandusabilityperspective,sotheycanachievetheirpotential.

3

ROIisfirmlycenteredonemployeewellbeing

Lastyear,respondentsweredividedonthebestwaytodeterminecybersecurity

automationROI,butthisyearstrongconsensushasemerged.61.5%saythatROIismeasuredbyhowwelltheyaremanagingtheteamintermsofemployeesatisfactionandretention.Lessthanhalfthatfigure(29%)sayROIisdeterminedbyhowwellthesolutionisperforminginsecurityterms.

Thispointstoasignalshiftinwhatorganizationsviewasthe“point”ofinvestingin

cybersecurityautomation–theprimemotivationistoimprovetheexperienceof

employees.Byallowingautomationtoshouldertheburdenoflowervalue,repetitiveactivities,andreleaseanalystsformoreinterestingandfulfillingwork,companiescanimproveemployeesatisfactionandreducechurn.Thestudyfoundthathighteam

61.5%saythatROIismeasuredbyhowwell

theyare

managingtheteamintermsofemployee

satisfactionandretention.

memberchurnrateswereamongthetopthreechallengesfacingrespondentsin

centralgovernmentandcriticalnationalinfrastructureorganizations.ItwasalsothebiggestissuefacingAustralianrespondentsandthoseinaCISOrole.

ThisfindingonROIhasimportantimplicationsforautomationsolutionvendors,

too.Typically,vendorsdesignsolutionsontheassumptionthatbuyersarelookingforconventionalROIbasedonsecurity,accuracy,efficiency,andproductivitygains.However,thisfindingshowsthatnon-traditional,human-focusedmeasuresare

equally,andsometimesmore,important.WithROImeasuredonthebasisofteamsatisfactionandretention,vendorsneedtoincorporatethehumanbenefitsoftheirsolutionintoproductdesignandmessaging.Thereareseveraldevelopmentson

thehorizonthatshouldrespondtothisneed,includingtheadvancementsofAIandgreaterrolloutoflowandno-codesolutions.Byimprovingusabilityandmaking

automationmoreaccessibleforawidercohortofworkers,itshoulddelivermoreusersatisfactionwhilesimultaneouslyachievingtheaccuracyandefficiencyitwasoriginallydesignedfor.

HereatThreatQuotient,weknowthatdata-drivenautomationcanplayakeyroleinhelpingorganizationsdealwiththetechnicalandhumanchallengesofcybersecurity.Ourrecommendationswillassistorganizationsinavoidingthepitfallsandreapingtherewardsofeffectivecybersecurityautomation.

Wehopethatyoufindthisreportinterestingandvaluable.

4

HIGHLEVELFINDINGS

100%

Haveexperiencedproblemswhen

tryingtoautomatecybersecurity

99.9%

Haveincreased

budgetsfor

cybersecurity

automation

75%

SayITcybersecurityautomationis

importanttotheirorganization

61.5%

MeasureROIonthebasisofhowwelltheyare

managingtheteamandemployeesatisfaction/retention

Theimportanceofcybersecurityautomationrisesoverall–buttherearesignsofdisenchantmentinsomeregions

Three-quartersofthecybersecurityprofessionalssurveyedsaidthatcybersecurity

automationisimportanttotheirorganization,withalmostone-third(32%)sayingitisveryimportant.RespondentsfromtheUSandAustraliashoweda17.5%and14%increase

respectivelyinthepercentageofrespondentsratingcybersecurityautomationimportant,upat82.5%and82%,comparedtolastyear.

IntheUK,however,therehasbeenadecreaseof9%,with61%sayingitisimportantto

theirbusinessthisyear.Thisdrophasbeenledbyfinancialservices,defense,andcentralgovernmentrespondents.UKrespondentsweremorelikelythanthoseintheUSand

Australiatosaythattheyhadexperiencedbaddecisionsandslowuseradoptionresulting

5

fromtheirattemptstoimplementcybersecurityautomationandthatit“causesmore

problemsthanitsolves”.Thishasgeneratedalevelofdissatisfactionthatreflectsthe

maturityoftheUKmarket–earlierautomationsolutionshaveprovedtobecomplexandhardtouse,whichwouldcertainlytranslateintoslowadoption.

Automationisbeingmorewidelyusedacrossallusecases

Comparedtolastyear,ahigherpercentageofrespondentsareautomatingkeyareasoftheircybersecurityprogram.Themostnotableincreaseisinalerttriage–anareawhereThreatQuotientresearchidentifiedanopportunitylastyear–where30%arenowusingautomationcomparedtoonly18%in2022.Overall,respondentsarearound5%morelikelytobeautomatingprocessesacrosstherangeofcybersecurityactivitiesthantheywerelastyear.

Interestingly,vulnerabilitymanagementandprioritizationarenowakeyusecaseamong37%ofUSorganizations,anditisalsomoreprevalentamongcompanieslargerthan

10,000employees(42.5%)andthoseinthecriticalnationalinfrastructuresector(37%).Inourexperience,thesearetypicallymorematureorganizationswhenitcomesto

automation,indicatingthatwemayseevulnerabilitymanagementriseuptheagendainother,lessmature,organizationsinfuture.

Greateradoptionissurfacinggreaterchallengesandalackoftrustiskeyamongthem

Theresultisunanimous:implementingcybersecurityautomationisneverproblem-

free.Themoreorganizationsuseautomation,themorechallengestheyareuncovering.Everyonetakingpartintheresearchsaidtheyhadencounteredproblems,withthemostcommontroublingareabeingalackoftrustintheoutcomesdeliveredbyautomated

processes–anissuefor31%.Closebehindis“slowuseradoption”–whichisnot

surprisingifusersdon’ttrustwhattheyareseeing.“Baddecisions”,suchasincorrectlyblockingsuspicious-lookingdomainnamesthatareactuallybenign,orblockinganemailtotheCEOthatturnsouttobegenuine,andlackofskillsmakeupthetopfourissues.

Incombination,theseissuespointtoanenvironmentwheretherealityofdeploying

automationsolutionsisn’tmatchingexpectations.Asvendorsbuildnewfeaturesand

functionalityintotools,thereisadistinctneedtofocusonusabilityandtransparency,soteamscanbuildconfidenceandreapthebenefitsofautomation.

Finance,regulatoryconcerns,andteamchurnarethetopthree

cybersecurityteamchallenges

Wewantedtogetabroaderperspectiveontheissuescybersecurityleadersarefacing

amongtheirteamsandherewefoundevidencethatthemacroeconomicpictureis

havinganimpact.Almostaquarterofrespondents(24%)said“insufficientbudget”wasintheirtopthreebiggestchallenges,reflectingtheeconomicpressuresfacingbusinesses.Thesamepercentage(24%)pointedto“growingcompliancerequirements”asregulatorsincreasinglyintroducemandatorycybersecurityresilienceandrecoveryrequirements

intodraftlegislationandregulations.

6

Highteammemberchurnratewastiedatthirdamongtherespondents’concerns,

indicatingthatthegeneraldisruptionintheemploymentmarketthatfollowedthe

pandemicisaffectingcybersecurityteamsjustasmuchasotherjobroles.Employee

churncausesproblemsasdepartingteammemberstakevaluableskillsandcompany-specificexpertiseawaywiththem,whicharehardtoreplaceinthecurrentemploymentenvironment.Notably,CISOsratehighteammemberchurnastheirmostpressingissue–andtheyarealsomostlikelytosaythatincreasingheadcountwouldhavethebiggesteffectoncybersecurityanalystwellbeing.

Budgetscontinuetorise,buteconomicpressuresarebeingfelt

Allbutonerespondentreportedthattheirbudgetforcybersecurityautomationhas

increased,ariseto99.9%from98.5%lastyear.However,comparedtolastyear,budgetisfarlesslikelytobenetnewallocations–only18.5%hadanetnewbudgetthisyear

comparedto34%thathaditlastyear.Instead,budgetisbeingallocatedfromoutside

thesecurityteamorfromothertools.There’saslightdropinbudgetbeingreallocated

fromheadcountcomparedtolastyear,whichmayshowthatbusinessesarestilltryingtobolstertheirsecurityteamnumbers.

Thelevelofconsensusacrosscountriesandindustriesonthebudgettopicwasincrediblystrong.Economicheadwindsarebeingfelteverywhere,forcingbusinessestobecreativeabouthowandwhattheyfund.Thegoodnewsisthatcybersecurityautomationclearlyholdsacriticalpositionwithinthestrategiesofthesebusinesses,totheextentthattheyarepreparedtocutotherbudgetstoensurecontinuedinvestment.

Multipledatasourceintegration,training,andautomatedreportingtoolstopthewishlist

Whenselectingcybersecurityautomationsolutions,organizationsprimarilywantthe

facilitytointegratewithmultipledatasources–andasthenumberandformatofsourcesgrows,thiswillsurelybecomemoreimportantasteamsseektomakesenseofincreasingvolumesofdata.Nextonthelististraining–essentialasteamsseektogrowtheirskills–andautomatedreporting.CISOsarekeenontheavailabilityoftraining,rankingthisa

longwayaheadofotherissues.

Smartertools,moreflexibility,andhigherheadcountwouldhavethebiggestpositiveimpactonwell-being

Asreportedearlier,ourrespondentsarenowclearonhowtheymeasureROI,with61.5%sayingitcomesdowntohowwelltheyaremanagingtheteamintermsofemployee

satisfactionandretention.Knowingthatmanycybersecurityleadersarestrugglingwithemployeewellbeingandburnout,wewantedtolearnwhattheyfeltwouldhavethe

biggestimpactonwellbeingandemployeeretention.

7

Topofthelistwassmartertoolsthatwillsimplifywork(31%),whilegreaterflexibilityover

workinghoursandlocationfollowedclosebehind,atthesamerateasincreasingteamheadcount(both28%).Thisindicatesthatcybersecurityprofessionalsseetechnology

andhumanfactorsasequallyimportantinimprovingemployeeexperience.The

pandemiccreatednewexpectationsaroundworkflexibilitythatemployeesareunwillingtorelinquish,whilenewerindustryentrantsaredigitalnomadswithhighexpectationsaroundflexiblework.Leadersarealsobeginningtoseethepotentialofinnovations

inareassuchasAIandlow-orno-codetobuildsmartertoolsthatmakeworkmorefulfilling.TheseareareasthatThreatQuotientwillcontinuetodrawoninthefuture.

REGIONALVARIATIONS

Onceagain,wesurveyedequalnumbersofcybersecurityprofessionalsintheUS,UK,andAustraliatolearnhowtheirexperienceofcybersecurityautomationischanging.

RespondentsfromtheUSandAustraliaaremorelikelytosaycybersecurityautomationisimportanttotheircompanythantheywereayearago,with82.5%and82%respectivelysayingitisimportant.USrespondentsarethemostenthusiastic–46%sayitisvery

importanttotheirbusinesscomparedwith26%ofAustralianrespondentswhosay

itisveryimportant.RespondentsintheUKcontinuedtobecomelesspositiveabout

cybersecurityautomation,withthepercentagesayingitisimportanthavingfallento

61%,adropfrom70%ayearagoand77%twoyearsago.Thisfallhasbeendrivenbyfinancialservicesanddefenserespondents,registeringadropof28and26percentagepointsrespectively.Afifth(21%)ofUKrespondentssaycybersecurityautomationisnotimportanttotheirorganization.

Driversandusecasesforcybersecurityautomationvary

TheUSandAustraliaseeefficiency-howwelltheyuseresourcessuchastime,

moneyandskilltogetthejobdone-asthetopdriverforautomation(48%and39%

respectively).IntheUKhigherproductivity-theamountofworkthatindividualsand

teamscangetthroughinagivenamountoftime-isthemainbenefitsought(36%).Thisisconsistentwithlastyear’sfindings.

Theregionsvaryonwhichkeyusecasestheyareautomating.IntheUS,theproportionofrespondentsautomatingvulnerabilitymanagementhasleaptby13percentagepoints.IntheUKandAustralia,thedominantusecaseisphishinganalysis,withthreatintelligencemanagementinsecondplaceintheUKandalerttriagetakingsecondspotinAustralia.

AlerttriagealsotooksecondplaceintheUS,followedbyincidentresponse.Ingeneral,USrespondentsshowedagreaterlikelihoodofautomatingusecasesofallkinds.

Everycountryreportedproblemsimplementingcybersecurityautomation.Thetop

issueintheUKis“baddecisions”resultingfromautomatedprocesses-suchasblockingdomainnamesthatlooksuspiciousbutareinfactbenign,orblockinganemailtothe

8

CEOthatturnsouttobegenuine.Thisproblemwasreportedby36%ofUKrespondents.Itwasfollowedbyslowuseradoption(35.5%)andlackoftrustinoutcomes(31.5%).ForUSrespondents,theirchallengeslayinalackoftrustinoutcomes(32.5%andaparticularproblemforUSdefenserespondents),withalackofskillandbaddecisionsalsocausingdifficulties.InAustralia,lackoftrustinoutcomesisalsothetopissue,withAustralian

financialservicesthemostskepticalinthisarea.SlowuseradoptionandalackofskillsarealsokeybarriersforAustralianrespondents.

Regulatoryandcompliancechallengesareacommonproblem

Intermsofthetopthreebroaderchallengesfacingcybersecurityteams,themainareaofagreementwasaroundgrowingregulatory/compliancerequirements,whichfeaturedinthetopthreeforallcountries.USrespondentsaremostconcernedaboutinsufficientbudget(26.6%),whilehighteammemberchurnrate(25.2%)isthenumberoneconcerninAustralia.

Choosingfromarangeofstatementstheonethatbestmatchedtheirorganization’s

currentviewofcybersecurityautomation,USrespondentsweremostlikelytosayitis

“alreadycentraltotheircybersecuritystrategy”,whileAustralianrespondentssay,“itwillbecomemoreimportantastheygetbetteratexpandingit”.UKrespondentsare,perhapsunsurprisingly,themostlikelytosaythat“itiscausingmoreproblemsthanitsolves”.

Theglobaleconomicpictureisaffectingbudgetsinallregions

Onthetopicofbudget,therewasverylittlevariationbetweenthecountries,

demonstratingtheglobalnatureoftheeconomicuncertaintywe’reexperiencing.Allcountriesaredivertingbudgetfromotherareastobolsterautomationprograms;onlyaround18.5%weregettingnetnewbudget.

Thecountriesagreeonthemostimportantfeatureofcybersecurityautomationtools:theabilitytointegratemultipledatasources.TheUKistheonlycountrytofeaturelowtotalcostofownership(TCO)initstopthreefeatures,perhapsindicatingthatUKbusinessesarebeginningtoworkmoreonoptimizingsolutionsnow,astheirimplementation

cyclematures.Theavailabilityoftrainingisinthetopthreeforallcountries,andUS

respondentsarealsolookingforvisualizationtools,whileAustralianrespondentswantautomatedreporting.

RespondentsfromallregionsconcuronusinghowwelltheyaremanagingtheteamintermsofsatisfactionandretentionasthemainmetricformeasuringROI.TheUKislesslikelythanotherregionstobeassessingROIintermsofhowwellthejobisbeingdone(23%usethiscomparedwith33%intheUSand30%inAustralia).

Intermsofwhatwouldmakethebiggestdifferencetothreatintelligenceanalyst

wellbeing,theregionsvariedacrossthethreeareasofpeople,processandtechnology.Australianrespondentswantmorepeople,UKrespondentswantmoretraining(process),andUSrespondentswantsmartertechnology.

9

ThreatQuotientTake:

Theintensifyingregulatory/complianceenvironment,inconjunctionwithchallengingeconomic

conditions,arethetwocommonfactorsaffectingallthreecountriessurveyed.Beyondthis,theregionsdifferonthetopusecasesandthefactorsthatwouldmakethebiggestdifferencetowellbeing.ThereisalsoadecidedvariationbetweentheUKandotherregionsontheimportanceofcybersecurity

automationandsatisfactionwithit,particularlyamongUKdefenseandfinancialservicesrespondents.Thereasonsforthisarenotimmediatelyclearandoutsidethescopeofthisreport,butitwillbe

interestingtoseehowsentimentchangesinthenexteditionofthestudy.

VERTICALSECTORSNAPSHOT

Ingeneral,therehasbeenariseintheimportancethatindustriesplaceoncybersecurityautomation.Theonlyexceptionisthefinancialservicessector,wherethepercentage

ratingitimportanthasdroppedfrom75%to69%.

20222023

CentralGovernment

71%

75%

Defense

67%

73%

CriticalNationalInfrastructure-EnergyandUtilities

71%

82%

Retail

FinancialServices

55%

75%

77%

69%

ThreatQuotientTake:

Thefinancialservicessectoristypicallymorematurethanothersectorsontheroadtocybersecurity

automation,havingbeenanearlyadopter.Assuch,itencounteredthechallengeswehavedocumentedoverthetimewe’vebeenconductingthissurveyatanearlierstagethanthoseinothersectors.Nowitisstrivingtomitigatethemandoptimizeautomationdeployments.Otherindustries,earlierintheadoptioncycle,arebenefitingfromadvancesinautomationsolutionssomayfindtheyhaveaneasierjourney.

10

Industriesagreethatefficiencyisthemaindriverforadopting

cybersecurityautomation,butvaryonthekeyusecases

There’sconsensusacrossthedifferentsectorsonthemaindriverforadoptingmore

cybersecurityautomation:efficiencyistheprimarygoal.Theonlyoutlieriscritical

nationalinfrastructure,whereproductivitytopsthelist.Buttheroutetoachieving

theseefficiencyandproductivitygainsvariesintermsofthemostcommonusecases

forautomationineachsector.Forcentralgovernmentrespondents,thetopusecase

isphishinganalysis(35%),whilefordefenserespondents,incidentresponseandthreat

intelligencemanagementtieat34%.Criticalnationalinfrastructurerespondentsaremostlikelytobeusingitforvulnerabilitymanagement/prioritization(37%),whileinfinancial

servicesalerttriageisthemostpopularapplication.Intheretailsectoritisnotsurprisingthatpasswordresetisthetopusecase(32%).

Whenanalyzingtheproblemsexperiencedbyverticalsector,wefindthatslowuser

adoptionisthemainissueinfinancialservicesandcriticalnationalinfrastructure.

However,fordefenseandretailrespondents,themainissueislackoftrustinoutcomes.Incentralgovernmentbaddecisionsandalackofskillareequallychallenging.

Thetopthreechallengesforcybersecurityteamsvarybetweenverticals

Central

Government

Defense

Critical

National

Infrastructure

Retail

Financial

Services

1

2

3

Highteammemberchurnrate

Threatenvironmentis

escalatingfasterthan

ourdetection/defense

capability

Cybersecuritytool

sprawliscausing

inefficiencies=

Insufficientbudget

Lackoftime

Insufficientbudget

Growing

regulatory/compliancerequirements

Highteam

memberchurn

rate

Lackoftime

Alertfatigue

(toomanyalerts

foranalysts

tohandle

effectively)

Growing

regulatory/compliancerequirements

Alertfatigue(too

manyalertsfor

analyststohandle

effectively)

Lackofskills

=insufficient

budget

Growing

regulatory/

compliance

requirements

Insufficientbudget

Threat

environmentis

escalatingfaster

thanourdetection/

defensecapability

Highteammemberchurnrateisparticularlytroublingincentralgovernmentandcriticalnationalinfrastructureorganizations,especiallygiventhelengthyvettingprocessesandindustry-specificknowledgerequiredinthesesectors.Thefactthatretailandfinancial

servicescompaniesrankregulatoryandcompliancedemandsastheirbiggestchallengereflectsthefast-growingswatheofprivacyandsecurityregulationsthatthesesectorsaresubjectto.

11

Financialservicesanddefenseorganizationsarestrugglingwithautomation

Whenlookingathowsectorsviewcybersecurityautomation,thefinancialservices

storycontinuestoplayout.Oneinfiverespondentsinthissectorsaycybersecurity

automationiscreatingmoreproblemsthanitissolving,andthoseinthedefensesectorshareasimilarview.Thesearebothlikelytobefurtherintheirautomationjourney

andstrugglingmorewithchallengesandtryingtooptimizetheirdeployments.Central

governmentrespondentsaremostlikelytosayitwillgetmorefundamentaltotheir

approachastheygetbetteratexpandingitsuse.Criticalnationalinfrastructureandretailrespondentsarepositiveandplanningtorolloutmoreautomationinthecomingyear.

Thereisstrongconsensusacrosssectorsonthequestionofbudget,withthemajoritydivertingbudgetfromotherteamsandtoolsinordertopursueautomation.

Intermsofthefeaturesthey’relookingtoacquireviacybersecurityautomationsolutions,thefacilitytointegratemultipledatasourcesisthetoprequirementformost.However,forcriticalnationalinfrastructurerespondentstheavailabilityoftrainingtopsthelist,andforfinancialserviceslowtotalcostofownershipisthemainrequirement–againshowinghowthissectorisintheoptimizationphaseofdeployment.

SectorsagreethatteamsatisfactionandretentionarethebestwaytomeasureROI,butthereisvariationwhenconsideringthebestwaytomakeapositiveimpactonwellbeing:

CriticalNational

Infrastructure

Topchoiceforbiggestimpactonwellbeing

Investmentinsmartertoolsto simplifywork

Greater

flexibilityover

workinghours/

location

Consolidationof

existingtoolsto

simplifywork

Increasing

headcountAND

moreeffective

cybersecurity

automation

Moretechnicaltraining

sotheybecomemore

skilledatusingthetools

wehave

Central

Government

FinancialServices

Defense

Retail

ThreatQuotientTake:

Thevariationsbetweendifferentverticalsectorssuggestthatitisimportantthatbothvendorsandbuyersunderstandwherethebusinessisonitscybersecurityautomationmaturityjourneybeforeembarkingonthenextphase.Conductingamaturityassessmentwillallowbothpartiestodesignmoreeffectivesolutionsthataccuratelyaddressprevailingchallengesandbuildanachievableroadmapformoresuccessful

automationinfuture.Thefocusmustbeonpartnershipoverthelongterm,ratherthanattempting“fitandforget”stylesolutionsthatcanultimatelyleadtomorepainfurtherdowntheline.Cyberthreatsevolveallthetime,andsomustautomation.

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ROLE-BASEDCOMPARISONS

Wesurveyedvariousrole-holderswithinthecybersecurityprofessionalcohort,includingCISOs,HeadsofCyberThreatIntelligence,HeadsofSOC,HeadsofIncidentResponse,

HeadsofITSecuritySoluti