Articles about competitive content from security operations practitioners.
Every MDR deck I've sat through this year implies the SIEM is optional, but it isn't even the same kind of purchase: one is a staffed service, the other a data-and-detection platform. You can consolidate some of it, but only after you know who owns the logs, who owns the detections, and what survives when the provider leaves.
I'm renewing our IR retainer this quarter, and the shortlist my broker sent was a 2024 document with a 2026 date on it. Half the brands on it had been acquired out from under their own names. Here is how I actually sort the field.
Most IR retainer buyers get the first contract wrong. The SLA looks clear, the fund pool looks flexible, and the sizing feels obvious — until an incident lands and the math stops working. Daniel Carter has run a Mandiant retainer through one live breach and two renewal cycles. This is his honest take on what the engagement actually delivers, where the DFIR bench earns its cost, and which two buyer profiles should save the budget for something else.
An operator's take on MDR provider archetypes, response authority, automation depth, and breach warranties in 2026.
Practitioner takes on SOC modernization, detection engineering, threat hunting, and more. No fluff. No product pitches.