.png)
The Evolution of GenAI in Cybersecurity
It's an exciting but also confusing time for cybersecurity operations technologies. Since OpenAI introduced ChatGPT two years ago, Generative AI (GenAI) has revolutionized industries—including cybersecurity. For Security Operations Centers (SOCs), this transformation presents unprecedented opportunities for automation.
Why? GenAI enables software to better read and act on data similar to the way that only humans were able to do previously. This capability is reshaping security automation and driving the emergence of AI-native cybersecurity solutions.
The Maturation of GenAI Applications
GenAI's development spans years of research, but ChatGPT's release on November 30, 2022, marked its mainstream breakthrough. With unprecedented adoption—reaching 100 million users faster than any previous technology platform—GenAI quickly proved its value beyond simple chatbot applications.
Today, security teams benefit from GenAI in two key ways:
1. Traditional Solution Enhancement: Major cybersecurity vendors integrate GenAI to automate processes and create copilot functionalities within their platforms. However, these implementations remain limited to vendor-specific product portfolios. They are not doing a federated search or coordinating actions across different tools.
2. SOAR Platform Evolution: SOAR vendors leverage GenAI for "hyperautomation," facilitating playbook creation and selection. Yet these playbooks still rely on rigid if-then logic, limiting their ability to handle complex investigations requiring human-like reasoning.
The Rise of GenAI-Native Solutions
While GenAI improves existing tools, the true transformation lies in AI-native solutions. Marc Andreessen noted in 2011 that "software was eating the world," but today GenAI is consuming the software industry—fundamentally how software is built and what it can achieve.
From Wrappers to Cognitive Architectures
Initial GenAI applications faced criticism as mere "wrappers" around foundational models. However, as Sequoia Capital explains in a recent blog post, these applications have evolved into sophisticated cognitive architectures, featuring:
- Multiple foundation models with routing mechanisms
- Vector and graph databases for RAG
- Compliance guardrails
- Application logic that mimics the way a human reasons through a workflow
The Cybersecurity AI Revolution
We're witnessing a Cambrian Explosion of GenAI-native solutions in cybersecurity. Similar to the way “cloud-native” described a new wave of companies leveraging cloud infrastructure, “GenAI-native” solutions are built from the ground up with GenAI at their core, maximizing:
- Reasoning capabilities
- Adaptability
- System autonomy
These are not traditional products with GenAI bolted on—they are redefining cybersecurity operations, enabling organizations to solve problems that were previously impossible or too resource-intensive.
Emerging GenAI Cybersecurity Tools
New GenAI-native vendors are creating autonomous systems for previously time-intensive tasks. Key areas include:
Application Security
Vendors like Prime, Nullify, and Ghost Security automate security across the software lifecycle, from design and development to production.
Pentesting
Companies such as Specular, RunSybil, and XBOW transform pentesting from periodic events into continuous security posture assessments.
Alert Investigation
The biggest opportunity—the lowest hanging fruit for agentic AI in the SOC—is Tier 1 alert investigation. Solutions like Dropzone AI lead this market, operating vendor-agnostically with expert analyst-level capabilities. [Gartner recently named Dropzone AI a Cool Vendor for the Modern SOC].
The Future of Security Operations
These solutions don't replace human analysts—they augment them. Humans will still review, manage, and train these solutions but will also be able to focus on strategic initiatives that move the needle for the organization’s security posture:
- Incident response planning
- Policy updates
- Tool deployment optimization
- Threat hunting
- Collaboration with IT and Application teams
Why 2025 Is the Turning Point
2025 marks a critical year for GenAI in cybersecurity. Gartner predicts that by 2028, 70% of AI implementations in threat detection and incident response will utilize multi-agent systems. Tier 1 alert investigation represents the most immediate opportunity. These tasks—routine, time-consuming, but also essential—are perfectly suited for agentic AI systems. Solutions like Dropzone AI already delivering measurable value.
Learn More About SOC Innovation
To explore how Dropzone AI addresses SOC alert overload request a demo today.
