The Truth About AI in the SOC: From Alert Fatigue to Detection Engineering

Cloud Security Podcast

"The next five years are gonna be wild." That's the verdict from Forrester Principal Analyst Allie Mellen on the state of Security Operations. This episode dives into the "massive reset" that is transforming the SOC, driven by the rise of generative AI and a revolution in data management.

Allie explains why the traditional L1, L2, L3 SOC model, long considered a "rite of passage" that leads to burnout is being replaced by a more agile and effective Detection Engineering structure. As a self-proclaimed "AI skeptic," she cuts through the marketing hype to reveal what's real and what's not, arguing that while we are "not really at the point of agentic" AI, the real value lies in specialized triage and investigation agents.

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If you are interested in AI Cybersecurity, you can check out our sister podcast -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ AI Security Podcast

Questions asked:

(00:00) Introduction(02:35) Who is Allie Mellen?(03:15) What is Security Operations in 2025? The SIEM & XDR Shakeup(06:20) The Rise of Security Data Lakes & Data Pipeline Tools(09:20) A "Great Reset" is Coming for the SOC(10:30) Why the L1/L2/L3 Model is a Burnout Machine(13:25) The Future is Detection Engineering: An "Infinite Loop of Improvement"(17:10) Using AI Hallucinations as a Feature for New Detections(18:30) AI in the SOC: Separating Hype from Reality(22:30) What is "Agentic AI" (and Are We There Yet?)(26:20) "No One Knows How to Secure AI": The Detection & Response Challenge(28:10) The Critical Role of Observability Data for AI Security(31:30) Are SOC Teams Actually Using AI Today?(34:30) How to Build a SOC Team in the AI Era: Uplift & Upskill(39:20) The 3 Things to Look for When Buying Security AI Tools(41:40) Final Questions: Reading, Cooking, and Sushi

Resources:

You can read Allie's blogs here