Today, the average enterprise security operations center (SOC) is crushed under the burden of an estimated 200,000 pieces of security event data per day, according to IBM research. However, only a tiny percentage of those events require immediate action. Because alerts lack context, security teams must treat each equally. That means the average enterprise wastes more than 20,000 hours per year on malware containment alone, according to a Ponemon Institute report.

On top of that, the cybersecurity industry remains fragmented, creating integration problems, orphaned products and training overhead for an industry that already faces a shortage of skilled worked — a gap that’s estimated to reach 1.5 million professionals by 2020.

Introducing IBM’s Cognitive Security Operations Center With Watson for Cyber Security

IBM’s Cognitive Security Operations Center (SOC), powered by Watson for Cyber Security, enhances analysts’ ability to fill gaps in intelligence and act with speed and accuracy. It finds connections between obscure data points that humans can’t see on their own and enables enterprises to more quickly and confidently tackle cyberthreats. Built on the IBM Security Operations and Response architecture, it integrates advanced cognitive technologies with leading security analytics solutions to understand and respond to sophisticated threats across cloud, networks, endpoints and users.

Watson for Cyber Security shines a light on data that was previous dark to organizational defenses and uncovers new insights, patterns and security context. Think about the more than 100,000 documented software vulnerabilities in the IBM X-Force Exchange database, as well as the 10,000 security research papers and 700,000 security blogs published each year. Now security analysts can quickly interpret this unstructured data — created by humans, for humans — and integrate it with structured data from countless sources and locations.

Cognitive security uses intelligent technologies such as machine learning and natural language processing to mimic the way the human brain functions. It gets stronger over time, learning with each interaction and getting better at proactively stopping threats. In fact, a recent survey revealed a threefold increase in the percentage of companies implementing cognitive-enabled security solutions in the next two to three years.

The Power of IBM QRadar Advisor and IBM BigFix Detect

The centerpiece of IBM’s new Cognitive SOC is QRadar Advisor with Watson. It combines IBM QRadar, the industry’s leading security analytics platform, with the cognitive capabilities of Watson for Cyber Security to automatically investigate and qualify security incidents. It augments security analysts’ expertise by uncovering hidden threats and automating insights. Security analysts, armed with this collective knowledge and instinct, can respond to threats with unprecedented speed and accuracy.

Another key component of the Cognitive SOC is IBM BigFix Detect. This is an endpoint detection and response (EDR) solution that extends cognitive processing to the points in the network where cyberattacks typically begin. BigFix Detect pinpoints malicious behavior and delivers targeted remediation to the compromised endpoints within minutes, cutting off attacks before they have a chance to spread.

When tied to IBM Resilient’s incident response dynamic playbooks, clients can quickly and accurately automate and orchestrate threat response across the entire organization. The IBM Cognitive SOC also brings together other technologies from IBM Security, including i2 for cyberthreat hunting and the IBM X-Force Exchange.

Step Up to the Cognitive Security Era

Security threats far exceed the capacity of even the most skilled security professionals. Security analysts need a trusted advisor that can provide key insights and intelligence so they can make better, more informed and more accurate decisions with confidence. The power of Watson and cognitive computing embodied in the IBM Cognitive SOC brings you the future of security, today.