It’s no secret that AI has already contributed to layoffs, with bosses at tech giants IBM and Klarna admitting that the technology had allowed them to axe thousands of jobs. But while fears around AI-driven cutbacks continue to grow, new research finds that those in cyber functions might avoid the worst of the fallout. 

Cybersecurity firm Abnormal AI’s latest report, Human-Centered AI: Redefining the Modern SOC, reveals that despite 75% of security leaders agreeing autonomous security operations centres (SOCs) will soon become the norm, 96% have no plans to reduce headcount due to AI.

Instead, they’re planning to reallocate talent to higher-value activities like incident response (45%), threat hunting and advanced investigation (42%), implementing proactive security measures (41%), and conducting security training or mentorship for junior analysts (40%).

In fact, rather than losing staff, Abnormal found that more than half (57%) of security leaders see a need to create new roles within the SOC for AI management, though the remaining 43% believe AI’s progression demands a complete rethinking of the overall structure and staffing of security teams.

“While neither security leaders nor analysts plan or expect a strategy of headcount reduction because of this evolution, there is broad agreement that organisational disruption is likely, and that SOC evolution is going to require significant changes to how analysts work,” says the report.

But rather than heralding the swinging of the axe, these structural changes could present better balance for security teams.  

More than a third (36%) of security leaders cite the lessening of manual workloads for their analysts as a priority over the next two years, especially in threat detection, intelligence analysis and incident response, which currently stand as the most manually intensive processes that SOCs undertake.

Automation could even bring promotion, with 44% of leaders saying that AI will help in their plans for transitioning Tier 1 analysts into Tier 2 and 3 roles, but at the same time half (50%) said AI will also reduce the training burden, like shadowing and hands-on experience, for new SOC hires, freeing up more time for seasoned pros.   

These priorities mirror those of the analysts themselves. Abnormal’s report found that reducing manual task loads (49%) is considered the main benefit of AI by security techs. According to Abnormal’s study, manual processes are perhaps the biggest bane for SOC analysts, causing them to spend too much time on repetitive tasks (44%), increasing their chances of burnout (35%), and slowing their response times (31%).

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SOC analysts see AI as the silver bullet, an efficiency tool that has improved their accuracy (63%), increased their focus on strategic decision making (60%), given them fewer attacks to remediate (33%) and reduced their alert fatigue (32%).

It’s unsurprising, then, that 75% of the almost 500 cybersecurity pros and SOC analysts Abnormal polled reported using AI at least weekly to support their tasks, with 79% saying it could directly improve their job satisfaction.

“AI’s promise of automation and simplification resonates strongly in the SOC, particularly with analysts who are typically stretched thin,” says the report.

“Analysts are busier than ever before, and the daily grind has an impact on their productivity, effectiveness, and overall well-being. It should be no surprise, therefore, that AI use is already prevalent among SOC analysts.”