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    • About the Cyber Futurists
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    • When Marketing Fails
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    • Research
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  • Home
  • About the Cyber Futurists
  • Advisory
  • Sponsor Research
  • Speaking
  • Security Pipeline Report
  • CTEM in Europe
  • When Marketing Fails
  • SecOps at the Nexus of AI
  • Research
  • Services

Independent research on AI in security operations

Independent research on AI in security operationsIndependent research on AI in security operationsIndependent research on AI in security operationsIndependent research on AI in security operations

I publish research on AI and security operations, including sponsored papers for security vendors.

Sponsor a paper
Book me to speak
Digital logo with futuristic design and typography.
Title of a 2026 whitepaper on AI and security operations.

Both are being sold as ways to reduce the work involved in triage, investigation and response,

but they do it differently.

This paper compares the two models, the work each takes on,

and the circumstances in which buying one, the other, or both makes sense.

Sponsored by Daylight Security.

Read the paper

Marketing narratives can survive contradiction. Security operations cannot.


Oliver Rochford

Cybersecurity has never lacked confident predictions. AI has made the problem worse.


Oliver Rochford, Cyber Futurists

Who we work with

Recent research

Security Operations at the Nexus of AI

AI SOC tools and AI-enabled MDR services promise many of the same outcomes, but they solve different problems. Sponsored by Daylight Security.

Read the paper

Security Telemetry Pipelines

Security data costs are forcing changes to SIEM architecture. This report examines the emerging security telemetry pipeline market, why organisations are separating collection and transformation from analytics, and what that means for the security stack. Sponsored by Auguria.

Read the report

The 2025 SOCless Operating Model Report

AI analysts change more than Tier 1 triage. They change the economics and structure of the SOC itself. This research examines what a SOCless operating model looks like in practice, where AI agents fit and where people remain essential. Sponsored by Dropzone AI.

Read the report

Hype Check: The State of AI in the SOC

A discussion with Augusto Barros on what AI is actually changing in security operations, where adoption remains limited and which vendor claims deserve more scrutiny. With Prophet Security.

Watch the webinar

Research to cut through a market full of claims

Cybersecurity has never lacked confident predictions. AI has only made the problem worse.

I research emerging security operations technologies from the buyer's side: what problem they solve, how they change the architecture or operating model, where they fit against existing products, and whether the evidence supports the claims being made for them. My current work focuses on AI in the SOC, security data architecture, detection and response, threat and vulnerability management, and the changing economics of security operations.

Browse the research

Sponsored research

Commission a paper on a topic relevant to your customers.

Each project investigates an agreed research question, with conclusions based on the evidence.

Advisory

We help cybersecurity companies with product positioning and competitive analysis. The work addresses specific commercial questions, such as how to explain a product's value to prospective buyers.

Discuss an advisory engagement

Speaking

Talks and webinars on cybersecurity and AI, drawing on our research into security operations.

Enquire about speaking

Curious AI newsletter

AI news with a critical eye

Curious AI Newsletter for techno-realists with a thoughtful robot image.

Commentary on AI developments from Oliver Rochford.

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About Cyber Futurists

Cyber Futurists specialises in cybersecurity research and advisory. Oliver Rochford is a former Gartner Research Director with more than twenty years of industry experience.

Contact

Contact us about commissioning research, advisory work or a speaking engagement.

The Cyber Futurists

62 Victoria street, Glossop, SK13 8HY

Oliver Rochford Ltd. Company number: 14480528

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