2026 State of Threat Detection

Is cyberattack resilience improving, or falling further behind?

Drawing on three years of research and insights from thousands of SOC analysts, engineers, leaders, and CISOs, the 2026 State of Threat Detection and Response examines what’s changed, what hasn’t, and why. It explains why fewer alerts haven’t translated into greater resilience, how fragmented visibility and siloed signals hinder defenders, and how AI is reshaping the modern SOC.

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Key highlights

• Fragmented visibility remains a major gap: Only 6 in 10 defenders say they have “full” or “almost full” visibility across core environments.  
• Siloed threat signals compound SOC complexity: 69% of defenders use more than 10 detection and response tools, and 39% rely on over 20.  
• AI is helping, but prioritization still lags: 67% say AI-powered tools have improved threat identification and response, yet 44% still feel they’re losing the battle to prioritize real attacks.
• Alert volume is down, detection latency remains a challenge: 63% of security alerts still go unaddressed, and defenders spend an average of 2.5 hours per day triaging alerts.  

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Methodology

This report is based on a July 2025 study commissioned by Vectra AI and carried out by Sapio Research. The study was conducted among 1,450 individuals involved in IT security with their organizations or who influence decisions on IT security, working in organizations with at least 1,000 employees and based in North America (500), Europe (750), and APAC (200).

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About Vectra AI

Vectra AI is the cybersecurity AI leader in protecting modern networks from modern attacks. From on-premises data centers to multi-cloud, identity, SaaS, IoT/OT, edge, and AI infrastructure, the Vectra AI Platform empowers security teams with the modern network observability, signal, and actions needed to preemptively reduce attack exposure, proactively contain active attacks in progress, and automate security operations to prove resilience in an always‑on, AI‑powered world. As the leader in Network Detection and Response and with 35 patents in cybersecurity AI, modern enterprises across the world trust Vectra AI to protect their modern network from modern attacks.