Staffing Is Top SOC Challenge Even as AI Proliferates, Says SANS

The 2026 SANS SOC Survey of security operations practitioners and leaders highlights staffing and retention as top SOC challenges, divergent perceptions between practitioners and executives, widespread but uneven adoption of AI/ML tools in SOC workflows, and gaps in maturity such as limited use of CTI for budgeting and incomplete OT/IoT monitoring. The report recommends structured deployment and measurement of vendor AI tools before pursuing customization or in-house builds and warns that ungoverned AI use and current SOC metrics can create operational risk and obscure business impact.