As cybersecurity threats continue to evolve, organizations are increasingly turning to AI SOC (Artificial Intelligence Security Operations Center) solutions to enhance their defense strategies.
However, with the growing number of vendors and products on the market, evaluating and selecting the right AI SOC solution can be a daunting task.
Based on hands-on experience and industry insights, three key criteria are crucial when comparing AI SOCs: escalation rate, accuracy, and average investigation time.
In this blog, we’ll break down these metrics, explain why they matter, and share Intezer’s 2024 benchmark data that demonstrates the true potential of AI SOC technology.
1. Escalation Rate: Measuring Workload Reduction
The escalation rate refers to the percentage of alerts that the AI SOC routes back to your team for further analysis or action. This metric is a direct reflection of the solution’s ability to reduce your team’s workload by filtering out noise and tackling the less critical alerts autonomously.
Why It Matters
A low escalation rate indicates that the AI SOC is effectively handling the bulk of the alerts. This enables human analysts to focus on high-priority and complex incidents. However, the rate shouldn’t be so low that it misses genuine threats. Achieving the right balance is imperative.
Intezer’s Performance
In our 2024 benchmark, Intezer’s AI SOC demonstrated an impressive 3.81% escalation rate. This illustrates its ability to significantly offload repetitive tasks, while ensuring critical threats are escalated appropriately.
2. Accuracy: Trusting AI to Make the Right Decisions
The accuracy of an AI SOC is vital for building confidence in its ability to triage alerts effectively. Accuracy can be broken down into two components:
- True Positive (TP) Accuracy: The ability to correctly identify real threats.
- False Positive (FP) Accuracy: The ability to correctly dismiss benign alerts as non-threatening.
Why It Matters
High accuracy ensures your security team isn’t burdened with irrelevant alerts and legitimate threats aren’t overlooked. An inaccurate system not only wastes time but also erodes trust in the technology, making it harder for organizations to rely on AI.
Intezer’s Performance
Intezer’s AI SOC achieved 97.7% FP accuracy and 93.45% TP accuracy, setting a high standard for reliability.
3. Average Investigation Time: Accelerating Incident Response
Average investigation time measures how long it takes the AI SOC to analyze an alert and make a decision—either dismissing it as benign or escalating it as a potential threat. This metric is particularly important for real incidents, where every second counts in limiting damage and lessening risks.
Why It Matters
Faster investigation times mean quicker containment and response, reducing the potential impact of cyber threats. For critical incidents, even small improvements in response time can mean the difference between effective mitigation and a major breach.
Intezer’s Performance
Our AI SOC had an average investigation time of 2 minutes 21 seconds, with a median time of just 15 seconds. This speed highlights the potential of AI to dramatically enhance the efficiency of security operations.
Proving the AI SOC’s Potential
The performance benchmarks achieved by Intezer’s AI SOC demonstrate that autonomous alert triage is no longer a distant vision—it’s a reality. These results reflect the maturity of AI-driven solutions in tackling some of the most pressing challenges in cybersecurity: alert fatigue, resource shortages, and delayed responses.
However, this is just the beginning. While the current performance metrics are encouraging, there’s still much work to be done to further refine AI SOC capabilities and address the ever-growing sophistication of cyber threats.
The Future of AI-Powered Security Operations
The cybersecurity industry is at a tipping point. With the growing skills gap and rising alert volumes, solutions like AI SOCs are no longer optional. By evaluating solutions based on escalation rate, accuracy, and average investigation time, organizations can select tools that truly deliver on the promise of autonomous SOC technology.
At Intezer, we’re committed to advancing the field of AI-driven security operations. Our AI SOC solution not only achieves remarkable performance metrics but also empowers organizations to tackle resource challenges head-on, freeing human analysts to focus on what matters most.
Ready to see the difference an AI SOC can make? Contact us today to learn more and request a demo.
Itai Tevet
