How to reduce alert overload in defence SOCs

Analysts face a relentless flood of notifications with the majority turning out to be false positives. Studies show that 71% of security operations center (SOC) personnel¹ experience burnout and report feeling overwhelmed by alert volume. One of the top frustrations among analysts is that they’re spending too much time handling false positives and performing manual work. 

Most concerning of all, a 2024 survey² shows a staggering 62% of alerts are entirely ignored, and accuracy drops by 40% after extended shifts. So, not only is this an efficiency problem but also a security vulnerability with very human roots, creating exactly the gaps that sophisticated threats exploit.

Fortunately, smarter detection strategies combined with advanced automation and AI-driven security tools are reducing both noise and risk. Many organisations are already seeing major improvements. A recent report analysing customer feedback showed that organisations using Elastic Security reduced daily alert volumes from over 1,000 to just eight actionable discoveries with false positives cut by an average of 75%. That’s not just noise reduction; it’s a transformation in analyst focus and SOC efficiency. One key driver behind this shift is AI-powered tooling, such as Elastic’s Attack Discovery. It can cut false alerts by identifying actual attacks rather than individual anomalies.

Security teams don't need more alerts. They need to make a strategic change in the way they operate. The path to meaningful, actionable intelligence isn’t about adding more tools, more training, or more shifts — which, of course, results in more costs. Rather, it’s about understanding the strategic changes that defence teams are already implementing to reduce alert overload and risk exposure and enhance security operations.

To investigate threats efficiently, analysts need a holistic view to see how different events relate across the environment. However, with data fragmented across endpoints, firewalls, and identity systems, achieving that unified view is a persistent challenge.

Elastic’s Attack Discovery actively identifies the relationships between alerts, revealing attack patterns that might otherwise remain hidden in the flood of data. Powering it all are sophisticated search capabilities combined with large language models that work with the actual security data, not generic security assumptions. This enables automated detection of known threats through correlation rules while linking related events to provide richer context and faster, more accurate investigations. Each discovery highlights a potential attack by connecting related alerts showing which users and hosts are involved, how the activity maps to the MITRE ATT&CK® framework, and possible threat actors. Elastic Attack Discovery connects seemingly unrelated alerts into clear, coherent attack chains. Rather than dealing with isolated warnings about unusual network traffic, suspicious processes or credential use, analysts can immediately view the full context of an attack.

The knowledge base enriches alerts with context from past incidents, attack patterns, and correlations across the environment, helping analysts see the full picture and respond to threats with clarity and precision.

It also supports long-term forensic data retention, enabling the correlation of events over time, which is crucial for maintaining security and compliance in the defence industry.

High alert volumes wear down your team. By making strategic changes to how alerts are managed, teams can move from reactive responses to more thoughtful, proactive actions. Removing the need to respond manually to every spike in telemetry, teams have more room to think smarter, develop advanced detection strategies, or pursue threat-hunting projects that were previously out of reach.

Learn how your defence security teams can accelerate efficiency, reduce fatigue, and streamline operations with AI-powered automation. Join our webinar Smarter Security: How AI Is Transforming Threat Detection and Analyst Workflows — the first part of our four-part webinar series that spotlights practical ways AI is reshaping defence SOC operations.

Sources:

1. Tines, “Report: Voice of the SOC Analyst,” 2022.

2. MSSP Alert and CyberRisk Alliance, “MSSP Market News: Survey Shows 62% of SOC Alerts are Ignored,” 2024.

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