Five Ways to Appreciate Your SecOps Team This Valentine's Day

Love is in the air this Valentine’s Day, so why not use this ‘hallmark holiday’ as an opportunity to show your appreciation to the hard working humans of the Security Operations Center?

Here’s a list of ways to show appreciation for your SOC team:

Acknowledge a Job Well Done

This may sound like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to forget. Working in the SOC is a stressful job and a simple “good job” or “thank you” can go a long way.

According to the Voice of the SOC report 69% of SOC Analysts say their team is understaffed and a staggering 71% are experiencing some level of burnout at work. (Source: Tines, 2023)

While praise may not fix staffing issues or entirely prevent burnout there are many benefits. It does contribute to a healthier culture and helps employees feel supported and more fulfilled at work.

Create a Forum for Feedback

In a role where challenges are constantly surfacing, it’s easy to get stuck on a hamster wheel of repeating manual tasks. Co-Founder and CEO at Emanate Security, Mike Van Order, emphasizes the value of providing feedback as a SOC team. In his LinkedIn newsletter SecOps Efficiency: Feedback Loops for Continuous Improvement, Mike stresses that, “In many detection and response operations, as soon as an issue is marked as closed, fixed, or remediated, we move on.” He goes on to say that not voicing concerns can leave your business unaware of potential risks.

By creating a forum where analysts can bring their concerns and priorities to everyone’s attention, you’ll create greater efficiency for your SOC. By sourcing more information from your SOC team, you’ll be more likely to increase analyst retention, and improve critical KPIs like MTTD and MTTR over time.

Improve Analyst Efficiency Using AI and Automation

When investing in your security stack, it’s vital to select tools that ease the workload and automate tedious tasks to help prevent analyst burnout. In fact, 66% of those surveyed in Tine’s Voice of the SOC report in 2023, said they believe that at least 50% of their tasks could be automated. (Source: Tines, 2023)

When SOC employees spend too much time on repetitive tasks, not only are they more susceptible to burnout, their talent is under utilized.

By incorporating tools that use AI and automation, your analysts will be able to focus more on proactive threat hunting to advance their skills and improve your security posture.

Outline a Career Progression Path for SOC Analysts

Analyst attrition is a major pain point for many SOC leaders. It’s vital to create an environment that keeps top performing employees happy and fulfilled in their roles.

The 2023 SANS SOC Survey found that the best way to retain SOC employees is providing opportunities for career progression.

(Source: SANS, 2023)

Archie Jackson, Global Head of IT & Cybersecurity at Incedo, reinforces that in order to meet the growing demand for cybersecurity talent, organizations need to focus on education and awareness, 'up-skilling' existing talent and promoting diversity and inclusion. You can find free resources and guides in Archie's LinkedIn Newsletter How to Succeed in CyberSecurity Career Path.

Send a Custom Valentine’s Day Card

Scroll down to see a selection of valentine's day cards sourced from the cybersecurity community… Download your favorite cards and share with the special cybersecurity professionals in your life. (Or, your significant other, kids, dog, cats, we don’t judge).

You can print out these cards or share them on social media.

It’s a gift made by "cyber nerds" for "cyber nerds"… Enjoy!

Click on individual images to download specific cards or click "Download All" below to save the entire arsenal of cards.