Security Operations Center (SOC)

What is the security operations center?

A security operations center (SOC) is a facility that houses a security team responsible for monitoring, analyzing, and organizing the security status of products, internal networks, and even physical security in real time. Using a combination of technological solutions and a strong approach to threat analysis and response, an SOC’s objective is to identify, investigate, and respond to cybersecurity issues.

The SOC is staffed with security analysts, engineers, and managers who oversee operations. This is generally an in-house team of information security professionals who monitor an entire organization’s IT infrastructure to detect cyber threats in real time and address them as quickly and effectively as possible. They keep up to date with the latest news regarding exploit and attack vectors and help maintain an organization’s technologies. Always keep in mind that a relaxed SOC is one doomed to fail. For example, when the Log4j critical vulnerability was first announced, a lot of companies paid the price because their SOCs did not update their systems and software in time.

How does an SOC work?

An SOC’s policies and procedures will vary depending on the organization and its requirements. In general, however, a typical SOC will use a combination of technology and human expertise to monitor an organization’s networks and systems for potential security threats.

When a potential threat is detected, the SOC team will typically take the following measures:

1. Identify the nature and scope of the threat.

2. Contain the threat to prevent it from spreading or causing further damage.

3. Investigate the threat to determine its origin and any potential impact.

4. Remediate the threat by removing it and taking steps to prevent it from happening again.

5. Communicate with stakeholders, such as management and other relevant parties, about the threat and its resolution.

In addition to monitoring and responding to threats, an SOC may also be responsible for managing security risks and implementing security controls to help prevent future incidents. This can include conducting regular security assessments, implementing security protocols and standards, and providing training and education to employees to help them recognize and avoid potential threats.

In a typical SOC, there are five teams that work in tandem and rely on each other to ensure that the organization’s network and software products are secure. These teams are:

• Intel and Recon: This team is responsible for keeping up to date with all the latest security updates and incidents.
• Baseline Security: This team routinely performs general vulnerability scans and ensures that compliance policies are followed.
• Monitoring: This team maintains constant vigilance by checking all sorts of log feeds.
• Pentest: This team performs detailed vulnerability testing, either black box or white box, and generates follow-through write-ups for the SQA (or development) team.
• Forensic: This team performs detailed analyses of logs and investigates all sorts of previous attacks to harden security measures.

The SOC then advises the general IT team on how to keep the internal network secure and update hardware and patch software as appropriate. The general user (for example, accountants and designers) and development teams also benefit from the SOC’s efforts, the latter team directly improving the product’s security measures.