When a SOC analyst closes an alert, one question lingers: Did we actually catch everything?
In our recent survey of SOC managers, over 70% admitted they often or always worry about persistent threats after alerts are closed.
After closing an alert, analysts should verify three things:
- Lateral movement: Were other systems compromised?
- Data exfiltration: Was sensitive data stolen?
- Persistence: Can the attacker get back in?
But SOC teams face three obstacles that make thorough investigations nearly impossible:
SOC Investigation Obstacles
1. Telemetry Overload
To look for the above three items, analysts need to review 50k+ events in the EDR. It’s overwhelming, especially for Jr Analysts.
99.9% of the EDR telemetry is boring. It’s hard to find the 0.1% that is relevant using manual techniques.
2. EDR Evasion
Every threat actor has a preferred EDR evasion technique. They disable agents, operate in memory, or use living-off-the-land tactics that don’t trigger alerts.
If an analyst relies solely on EDR telemetry, they’re investigating with incomplete data. Critical evidence may simply not exist in the EDR logs.
3. Time Constraints
Many SOCs have time constraints per alert to make sure the backlog does not get too large.
This forces analysts to close investigations before fully exploring lateral movement or data exfiltration. Given another 15 minutes, they might have found something—but the queue doesn’t wait.
The Solution: Investigation Platforms
SOC managers who’ve solved this problem use investigation platforms that:
- Build on top of their detection tools
- Collect additional data (in case of evasion)
- Automatically score artifacts to surface suspicious activity
- Guide analysts with recommended next steps
This ensures junior analysts don’t miss critical evidence, provides a second opinion when EDR has gaps, and dramatically speeds up investigations.
How Cyber Triage Helps
Cyber Triage imports your EDR telemetry and deploys its own collector for a complete picture. It automatically scores artifacts and shows what’s bad, suspicious, or safe.
SOC teams using Cyber Triage close alerts faster and with more confidence.
