Security Teams Are Ready To Become More Preemptive. What’s Holding Them Back?

Security teams are increasingly ambitious and ready to adopt more proactive security measures, but practical challenges are hindering their progress. A survey conducted at Rapid7's Global Security Summit highlighted that while the direction is clear – moving towards more connected, resilient, and preemptive security operations – most organizations are still in the early stages of this transformation.

The survey found that security operations are becoming more collaborative, with 57% of respondents utilizing a hybrid model combining internal teams with Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services. This approach acknowledges the need for both in-house expertise and external support to manage complex, expanding environments that span cloud, identity, endpoints, and applications.

Despite this collaboration, a significant challenge remains in integrating security tools. Two-thirds of respondents indicated that their security capabilities are only partially integrated. This fragmentation leads to increased manual work for analysts, requiring them to switch between systems, manually correlate data, and make decisions with incomplete information, ultimately slowing down response times.

Furthermore, only 10% of organizations describe themselves as "highly proactive" in threat prediction and prevention. This indicates a widespread struggle to balance immediate reactive tasks with the long-term effort required to build a truly preemptive security posture. Consequently, 59% of respondents expressed only moderate confidence in their organization's ability to prevent attacks before they occur.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a major focus, with 52% of organizations in the early stages of exploring its use in security operations. While AI holds promise for improving efficiency, accelerating triage, and managing alert volumes, concerns about its security and transparency are prevalent. 57% cited securing AI usage as a top concern, and 44% pointed to a lack of transparency or trust.

The primary obstacles preventing a shift to preemptive security are practical. Limited staff and expertise were cited by 54% of respondents as the biggest barrier, as teams are already stretched thin managing daily operations. A lack of comprehensive visibility across the entire environment was also a significant issue for 31% of respondents, making it difficult to prioritize risks effectively.

Looking ahead, 41% of respondents identified preemptive security as a top priority for security leadership. Other key areas include improving resilience, strengthening incident response, reducing complexity, and enhancing risk visibility.

In conclusion, security professionals are eager to embrace more proactive, integrated, and AI-enhanced security operations. However, achieving this requires overcoming limitations in resources, improving tool integration and visibility, and building trust in new technologies like AI.