Trust and innovation aren’t buzzwords – they’re the backbone of effective cybersecurity in the age of AI.
Since Generative AI’s meteoric rise, security providers have raced to integrate this new technology into their offerings. Yet, disruption isn’t just about scale; it’s about the speed and scope of transformation.
We’ve all experienced the rise of AI from novelty to infrastructural necessity, remapping how businesses defend against threats in real time. But amid this rapid change, the biggest risk is over-reliance on automation rather than meaningful augmentation of human expertise.
While many MDR providers tout AI-driven platforms and detection hype, we stand apart by proving real, measurable protection outcomes and reaffirming the centrality of the human expert.
eSentire’s LLM Study: Trust Meets Innovation
In partnership with Australia’s National Science Agency, CSIRO, we carried out a 10-month collaborative study to truly measure the impact of large language models (LLMs) on our SOC Analysts and their investigative workflows.
CSIRO performed an in-depth, real-world analysis of our deployment of large language models in our Security Operations Centers, reviewing over 3,000 queries from 45 analysts across a 10-month span. Their analysis found that SOC Analysts used AI tools primarily as flexible, on-demand aids for interpreting complex technical data, gathering evidence, and refining investigative communications – rather than for making high-stakes decisions, which remained strictly under analyst control.
The analysis demonstrated that LLMs were becoming routine, context-aware tools for sensemaking and rapid triage, further guiding the design of human-centered, AI-augmented SOC workflows. Our experts were leveraging AI not to replace judgement, but to interpret technical data, conduct evidence-based research, improve reporting, and analyze suspicious code.
Only 4% of queries sought explicit AI recommendations, proving that analysts preferred to retain decision authority and use AI as a flexible cognitive aid.
“LLMs are becoming routine, on-demand competence boosters, not decision-makers; they help interpret telemetry, speed up communications, and allow analysts to focus on higher value tasks, that matter,” notes Dr. Mohan Baruwal Chhetri, Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO.
Atlas AI: Empowering Analysts, Not Replacing Them
Inspired by these findings, we engineered eSentire Atlas AI, a multi-agent, generative AI system, to automate the heavy lifting while keeping our experts at the helm. Atlas AI can conduct full pre-investigations in under 7 minutes, a process that previously took 5+ hours, empowering our analysts to act faster, with higher efficacy. Atlas AI enables our SOC Analysts to deliver:
- 43X investigation acceleration: 5+ hours of work completed in under 7 minutes.
- 99.3% first host isolation rate: Stopping threats before lateral movement.
- 95% alignment with Tier 3 analyst outcomes: Ensuring trust in AI-driven investigations.
- 35% faster intelligence response and 96% analyst retention: AI takes on repetitive work, freeing people for impactful analysis.
We strongly believe the next wave of AI disruption must reinforce – not erode – trust. Atlas AI is designed as a partner for SOC Analysts, enabling faster and more precise threat defense while ensuring that every investigation is reviewed and refined by experts.
This principle of collaborative intelligence reflects the future: resilient security achieved through the fusion of human judgement and proven AI innovation.
CSIRO’s full analysis report can be found here.
To learn how your organization can build cyber resilience and prevent business disruption with eSentire’s Next Level MDR, connect with an eSentire Security Specialist now.
GET STARTEDABOUT THE AUTHOR
Erin McLean Chief Marketing Officer
As Chief Marketing Officer, Erin McLean leads eSentire's global marketing and communications functions including all brand, corporate communications, media relations, analyst relations, and marketing operations. Prior to joining eSentire, Erin led Marketing and Human Resources for global Managed Security Services Provider, Herjavec Group. In 2020, she was named one of the Top 100 Women in Cybersecurity by Cyber Defense Magazine for her commitment to industry thought leadership, and take to market acceleration.