Red Canary has released its annual Security Operations Trends Report, providing insights into the critical challenges facing cybersecurity teams in 2025. Partnering with independent research company Coleman Parkes, Red Canary surveyed 550 security leaders from the US, UK, New Zealand, Australia, and the Nordics.
The survey shows that security operations center (SOC) teams continue to struggle with securing cloud environments, identities, and AI technologies amid evolving threats, which is amplifying the risk and business impact of cyberattacks.
AI is no longer an emerging technology – it’s already integral to security operations. In fact, 85% of security leaders say the real risk is being overwhelmed by the many missed threats that will get through if they don’t automate more. However, security leaders are also very aware of AI-enabled risks, citing the rise of AI-generated attacks that haven’t been seen before as their top concern.
Further findings in this area include:
AI fears are exaggerated, but risks are real: 78% of security leaders say talk of AI releasing a tidal wave of novel attacks is fearmongering, but 43% have already experienced an incident relating to their own AI tools.
AI is already at work: top AI use cases in security operations today include detection analytics (65%), intrusion detection (59%), and SIEM management (54%).
Caution for the future: 75% of security leaders worry that while AI helps security teams work faster, it could ultimately reduce their ability to solve problems independently.
“AI is already transforming how security teams operate,” said Brian Beyer, co-founder of Red Canary. “SOC teams are under immense pressure, and AI is giving security analysts the ability to cut through noise and respond to threats faster. AI works best as a force multiplier, augmenting human judgment rather than replacing it. The organizations that lean into this shift now will not only ease the strain on security analysts, but put themselves in the best position to anticipate emerging threats and stay ahead of disruption in an increasingly unpredictable environment.”
