Rebooting SecOps: The Intentional SOC & Combined Arms Strategy

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Presented at ChiBrrCon 2026 by

Matt Michalek

The modern SOC is at a breaking point, trapped in a cycle of reactive firefighting and analyst burnout. Join Matt Michalek—a 27-year U.S. Army combat veteran and cybersecurity leader—for a session on transforming security operations using the military "Combined Arms" doctrine. Discover how to move beyond a fragmented "stack of tools" to a state of seamless integration where humans and AI act as a single, cohesive fighting force. Learn to apply the rigor of formalized "Battle Drills" to shift your team from a pinned-down defense to a proactive posture. Whether you're an executive managing the "Deep Battle" or an analyst "grunt" on the front lines, you will leave with a battle-tested roadmap for building a resilient, effective, and human-centric defensive operation. We will explore how to: Apply Military Rigor to Cyber Defense: Utilize formalized "Battle Drills" to move beyond theoretical playbooks and build instinctive, standardized muscle memory for critical incident response.Leverage AI as a Force Multiplier: Move past the hype to implement AI as a "Unit of Action" that automates 80% of mundane triage, slashing engagement times.Operationalize Empathy: Understand why empathy and psychological safety are not just "soft skills" but essential components of cyber readiness and sustainable cyber power.Reclaim Maneuver Space: Reclaim analyst time to focus on uniquely human tasks such as proactive hunting, deep investigation, and long-term defensive strategy.