Topic starter
02/08/2026 11:43 am
TL;DR: Security operations still leans on manual or mostly manual core processes in 69% of SOCs, Panther reports, and that leaves detection logic brittle and hard to audit. Detection pipelines need version control, testing, and rollback so rule changes stay observable and repeatable.
Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Panther: “Everything as Code: Bringing Software Engineering Discipline to Security Operations”.
By the numbers:
- 69% of SOCs still rely on manual or mostly manual processes for core functions.
Key questions
Q: Why does detection-as-code improve auditability and operational resilience?
A: Because every change becomes a traceable artifact with commit history, review context, and test evidence.
A: Detection engineering is working when alerts and logs perform consistently across locations, zones, and subsidiaries, and when teams can prove that signals reach the SIEM and incident responders on time.
Q: What breaks when detection rules are edited directly in SIEM consoles?
A: Direct SIEM edits remove version history, weaken review discipline, and make rollback difficult when a rule misbehaves.
Practitioner guidance
- Move detection logic into version control Store detection rules in Git so every change has history, review context, and a reversible commit trail instead of living only in the SIEM UI.
- Require peer review for rule changes Use pull requests and approval workflows for detections that can affect production alerting, especially where the rule change could create false positives or blind spots.
- Add automated tests for detections Validate rules against known benign and malicious event patterns before promotion so syntax errors and logic regressions are caught before they reach production.
Bottom line: Detection-as-code replaces ad hoc SIEM editing with governed, testable change management for threat detection.
Glossary terms: Detection as code, Everything as code, Idempotency, GitOps
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This topic was modified 2 days ago by NHI Mgmt Group
02/08/2026 12:54 pm
Detection-as-code is a governance model, not just a tooling choice. The important shift is that detection logic becomes reviewable, testable, and reversible in the same way software changes are. That closes a long-standing operations gap where security outcomes depend on undocumented GUI edits and individual operator memory. For practitioners, the message is to govern detections as release-managed security artefacts, not ad hoc dashboard settings.
A few things that frame the scale:
- 96% of security operations teams report critical blind spots, most commonly in cloud infrastructure (74%) and identity and access behaviour (67%).
A question worth separating out:
Q: Should SOC teams prioritise version control or automation first for detections?
A: Version control should come first because it establishes traceability and review discipline before automation accelerates change. Once detections are in Git, automated tests and CI/CD can safely build on that foundation. Without source-of-truth control, automation can simply make bad changes happen faster.
👉 Read our full editorial: Detection-as-code is closing the security operations gap