Introduction

Think of Cyber Security… What comes to your mind? Probably the hackers hiding in dark spaces and using the black screen with green letters. Yes, the people who are on the offensive side. What about the other? If there are people to attack systems, there should be some superheroes who protect it from them. Yes we are talking about the SOC team here. The people who are on the defensive side and protecting our systems. Let’s explore who they are in this article.

What is a Cyber Security Operations centre(SOC)?

Imagine a high-tech control room buzzing with activity – that’s the Security Operations Centre (SOC). It’s the brain of an organisation’s cybersecurity, responsible for keeping its most valuable things safe, like data, systems, and secret information. This protection happens around the clock, every single day!

They constantly scan the digital landscape for trouble, looking for suspicious activity or weaknesses in the defences. If they find anything, they’re quick to jump into action, stopping threats before they can cause harm.

By continuously patching up security holes and learning about new threats, the SOC makes the organisation’s defences stronger and tougher to break, like building a thicker castle wall! This relentless effort keeps everyone’s information and systems safe and sound.

Functions of a SOC

1. Monitoring and Threat Detection

The primary focus of a SOC is to monitor the entire network for abnormal activities and detect threats at the initial phase. The SOC team monitors various data sources like network traffic, security logs, endpoint data, and threat intelligence feeds. The SOC utilises advanced tools like SIEM, NDR, EDR, and XDR to sift through vast amounts of information and detect anomalies before they evolve into full-blown cyberattacks. This early detection empowers organisations to make informed decisions, minimise potential damage, and implement targeted responses to neutralise threats, ultimately preventing data breaches, financial losses, and reputational harm.

2. Incident Response

When a suspicious activity pops up, the SOC team leaps into action. They carefully examine the incident to understand its size and danger. Then, they act fast to stop the threat from spreading, like plugging a leak in a ship. Next, they clean up the mess, removing any viruses or damaged systems. Finally, they patch up the holes so similar threats can’t get in again, making the system even stronger.

3. Vulnerability Management

The SOC plays a crucial role in identifying and addressing vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by attackers. Here’s how they do it:

3.1. Proactive Scanning: The SOC team regularly employs vulnerability scanning tools to detect weaknesses in the organisation’s systems. These tools meticulously scrutinise applications, networks and devices, uncovering potential entry points for cybercriminals. 

3.2. Threat Intelligence feeds: SOC analysts also stay ahead of threats by subscribing to threat intelligence feeds. These feeds provide up-to-date lists of known vulnerabilities, specifically tailored to the technologies used within the organisation, acting as a guide to prioritise patching efforts.

3.3. Prioritising Risks: Once vulnerabilities are discovered, the SOC doesn’t simply address them in a random order. Instead, they employ a scoring system(eg: CVSS), often visualised as a matrix, to assess the severity of each vulnerability based on factors such as ease of exploitation and potential impact. This prioritisation ensures that the most critical risks are addressed first, effectively allocating resources to protect the most vulnerable areas.

3.4. Collaborative Remediation: The SOC doesn’t work in isolation. Once vulnerabilities are prioritised, they collaborate closely with IT teams to implement security updates, patches, and configuration changes. This teamwork ensures that fixes are deployed swiftly and effectively, strengthening the organisation’s overall defences.

4. Threat Intelligence

The SOC is a huge information consumer, constantly digesting threat intelligence feeds from diverse sources like Cisco TALOS and MITRE CWE. These feeds offer vital intel on emerging threats, attacker tactics, and vulnerabilities specific to the technologies used within the organisation. But the SOC doesn’t stop there. To build a comprehensive picture of the threat landscape, they may even deploy dark web monitoring tools. These tools delve into the murky corners of the internet, uncovering chatter about leaked credentials, targeted attacks, and upcoming exploits. Every single piece of intelligence, no matter how small, is meticulously analysed and cross-referenced by the SOC analysts. This relentless pursuit of knowledge empowers them to stay ahead of attackers and anticipate their moves.

5. Compliance and Reporting

Being trustworthy and responsible within a company is a big part of cybersecurity, and the SOC helps make sure that happens. They act like a team of security checkers, carefully making sure the company’s security practices follow important standards like NIST CSF, HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI-DSS. They don’t just check things off a list; they actively put those safeguards in place and keep them working, building strong digital defences from the ground up.

Reporting is a way for them to share information and pass on knowledge. They create detailed reports to keep everyone in the know about the company’s security status and show that they’re taking care of data responsibly. These reports aren’t just for today; they also serve as valuable records for future teams, helping them learn and improve over time.