What is a SOC and Why Is It Essential for Proactive Threat Detection and Response?

A command center overseeing security issues is at the heart of an organization’s operations. This security operations center (SOC) employs a team of cybersecurity experts, technology, and processes to protect a company from cyber attacks.

But what is a SOC in cybersecurity? Like a gatekeeper, this centralized unit monitors an organization’s networks, servers, and endpoints 24/7, gathers threat intelligence, deals with incidents, minimizes damage, and provides security reports for compliance. In short, the SOC detects, responds, and protects an organization from cyber threats that can curtail business continuity.

Cyberattacks constantly evolve and have become serious threats to businesses, plaguing all sectors. Any organization’s security relies on a strong SOC, meaning business leaders need to prioritize this approach to improve their cybersecurity posture and manage security incidents. Keep reading to learn more.

Core Functions of a Security Operations Center

As it becomes increasingly challenging to keep data safe, a security operation center helps you stay vigilant by detecting, assessing, and managing cyberattacks through data analysis. The SOC team collects data from firewalls, intrusion prevention and detection systems, and SIEM systems. If it detects suspicious activity, it alerts the team, who then responds.

Let’s look at each function in more detail.

Monitoring and Detection

The SOC operates around the clock, utilizing various advanced tools to monitor networks, servers, endpoints, devices, and applications for signs of unusual activity or breaches. It analyzes logs and real-time data from firewalls and SIEM systems. Through SIEM, the SOC gathers data from different sources and analyzes security activities, which expedites detection.

Incident Response

The incident response process begins by identifying a potential threat. Security analysts get alerts and assess the nature and severity of the incident, identifying indicators of compromise to confirm whether the event qualifies as a security incident.

Once they confirm it’s a real threat, they quickly isolate affected systems to prevent further damage. The isolation may involve stopping the intrusion and disconnecting compromised devices from the network.

Analysts use Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) tools to automate repetitive tasks such as alert triaging and incident response. This helps to both reduce response times and ensure the process has no human error. SOAR tools integrate various security tools into a single console, from which security teams manage alerts and incidents without switching between different systems. The centralization reduces the time they spend on manual processes, speeding up response.

The next step is removing the threat, such as malware or unauthorized access, from the environment by applying patches or updates to secure vulnerabilities. Once the threat is neutralized, the analysts restore systems to normal operations using backups to recover lost data while ensuring that the backups have no remnants of the threat.

It doesn’t stop there. The analysts conduct a thorough investigation to understand how the incident occurred, gathering forensic evidence that helps in preventing future incidents.

SOC Team Structure and Roles

As a centralized function in an organization, SOCs have a team structure and different roles. The team must have cyber SOC expertise and collaborate to monitor, detect, analyze, and respond to cybersecurity threats.

Key SOC Roles

These are the critical roles that make up the SOC team:

  • SOC Manager: The SOC manager has a senior position overseeing an organization’s security operations. They’re responsible for evaluating, hiring, training, motivating, and guiding team members. They access incident reports, establish policies and procedures, manage resources and audits, and report to the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).
  • Security Analysts:
    • Tier 1 analysts perform the initial monitoring and triage of alerts identifying potential threats.
    • Tier 2 analysts conduct deeper investigations into incoming threats, analyzing logs and network traffic to determine the severity and impact.
    • Tier 3 analysts are senior SOC cybersecurity experts who engage in threat hunting and severe incident analysis, providing insights for improving security measures.
  • Threat Hunters: Unlike typical SOC analysts who react to alerts, threat hunters actively search for threats that could easily go undetected. They utilize advanced techniques and tools to uncover hidden malware, vulnerabilities, and potential breaches before they can cause harm. They wade through system logs and network traffic, analyzing patterns of behavior to identify deviations, and then share the threat intelligence with stakeholders.
  • Incident Responders: Incident responders are cybersecurity experts who respond to incidents that require investigation and in-depth analysis. They use tools to determine an attack’s scope, cause, and impact. They’re also responsible for mitigating the damage and, when necessary, they may shut down specific systems or applications to contain the threat and protect sensitive data.

The SOC team is a comprehensive group of experts who collaborate to manage a company’s cybersecurity operations. They monitor, detect, analyze, respond to, and investigate incidents in real time to protect an organization’s assets and information from cyber threats.

Collaboration and Reporting

The SOC must collaborate with other departments, including IT, legal, and compliance, to take a unified approach to cybersecurity. This collaboration ensures effective incident management and regulatory adherence.

For example, working with the IT team helps implement security measures and integrate security tools such as security information and event management (SIEM) software. The IT department ensures the SIEM has the right resources to monitor and analyze security events. This includes maintaining servers, networks, and security tools essential for SOC operations.

The legal team reports to risk management about threats, impacts, and what constitutes a data breach. Their role is to inform stakeholders about their legal obligations. The legal team also guides a company in adhering to data protection laws and regulations by providing legal insights on data handling practices and compliance requirements.

The SOC also collaborates with compliance departments to ensure security practices meet industry regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, etc. This partnership helps with the auditing processes and maintains documentation that demonstrates adherence to legal standards. At the end of the day, the SOC reports to the CISO to ensure that cybersecurity strategies align with organizational goals, providing critical insights into threat landscapes, incident management, and security posture.

Benefits of a SOC

A SOC can benefit an organization in many ways, but for most companies, the primary role is protection against costly data breaches. The financial impact of cybercrime is enormous, costing the global economy trillions of dollars in losses annually. Moreover, threats are growing faster than the global economy and can leave a company in limbo. SOCs provide a dedicated team tasked with protecting you in this shifting landscape.

Asset Protection and Business Continuity

When you close your business at the end of the day or during the weekend, cyber attackers don’t clock out. That’s why a SOC operates 24/7, even after business hours, to monitor your organization’s IT infrastructure and ensure no unauthorized access to the system or network. It allows for the early detection of suspicious activities and potential threats and establishes incident response plans for identifying, containing, and mitigating security incidents.

The SOC collaborates with IT to enforce strict access controls and authentication measures so that only authorized personnel can access intellectual, sensitive data, and systems. Even insider threats stand no chance of accessing what they shouldn’t.

In case of a threat, the SOC helps to contain it, eradicate malware or vulnerabilities from the environment, and restore affected systems to normal operations. This step ensures that the same attack cannot recur and lets business operations continue without disruptions.

Regulatory Compliance

Non-compliance with industry regulations can cost your organization in legal consequences and even its reputation. A SOC helps you stay compliant by documenting and regularly reporting on your security posture.

Your SOC prevents data breaches by dealing with threats before they happen. When they do happen, SOC plans to mitigate damage and restore operations are put into effect. It also conducts thorough documentation that details the nature of incidents, response actions taken, and outcomes. This documentation helps with regulatory compliance and provides a record that can be referenced in future audits or investigations.

A SOC’s data privacy plans, through the implementation of data protection measures, ensure sensitive information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, which would cause compliance issues. By working with compliance teams that ensure security policies align with legal requirements, the SOC facilitates a comprehensive approach to maintaining regulatory compliance in an organization.

Cost Savings and Customer Trust

Data breaches are costly to recover from, not just in terms of money but also your organization’s reputation. Customer trust may decrease, which can impact your bottom line.

Through an effective SOC, you demonstrate a strong cybersecurity posture. This enhances customer confidence in your organization’s ability to protect sensitive data, ultimately fostering loyalty and potentially increasing market share. With a well-functioning SOC, you don’t need to hire additional personnel or hardware.

Types of SOCs

Organizations can choose from various models of security operations centers based on their specific needs, resources, and goals. The model you choose may have long-term effects on your cybersecurity posture.

In-House SOCs

If you wish to run your security operations as an organization, you can set up an in-house SOC. It means having a team within your organization to handle all cybersecurity matters with your own technology and security personnel.

This model gives you greater control and customization, allowing you to tailor security measures to your needs. However, it requires significant upfront investment in technology and personnel, who must be cybersecurity experts, as well as ongoing operational costs. 

Virtual SOCs

Virtual Security Operations Centers (vSOCs) operate in the cloud, offering a flexible and scalable solution. They are ideal for smaller organizations seeking cost-effective cybersecurity measures. They eliminate the high costs associated with building and maintaining a traditional on-premise SOC, including expenses related to hardware and staffing. For smaller organizations with limited budgets, vSOCs provide access to advanced security capabilities at a fraction of the cost.

As a business continues growing or facing fluctuating security demands, vSOCs can easily scale resources without the logistical complexities of physical expansion. With AI and machine learning integration, vSOCs can automate security tasks and enhance real-time threat detection capabilities.

Global SOCs

If your organization has a large geographical footprint that requires continuous monitoring, a global SOC (gSOC) is ideal. A gSOC operates across multiple geographic locations, providing round-the-clock coverage by leveraging teams in different time zones. Additionally, it oversees multiple regional SOCs by coordinating their activities and standardizing security protocols. Global SOCs can efficiently manage incidents on a larger scale and offer diverse expertise from different markets.

Co-Managed SOCs

You can partner with a co-managed SOC to get in-depth analysis and expertise. A co-managed SOC is a third-party security platform that combines in-house and managed SOCs. You can maintain your internal security team that collaborates with an external provider to enhance capabilities. This hybrid approach allows for greater flexibility, enabling you to gain external expertise for specific tasks such as 24/7 monitoring or incident response while retaining control over critical functions.

Let your in-house IT team join TekStream SOC for advanced technologies, including Splunk for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and CrowdStrike for endpoint protection, to deliver managed detection and response services.

Best Practices for Setting Up a Security Operations Center

Your SOC team is only as good as the security strategies it implements. The following steps can help you get the most out of your team.

Aligning SOC Operations with Business Goals

For a SOC to be successful, objectives must align with your organization’s goals.

When SOC initiatives are directly linked to business priorities, such as protecting customer data, ensuring compliance, and supporting operational continuity, the SOC demonstrates its value in mitigating risks that could impact the organization’s reputation and bottom line.

Strong executive support that prioritizes cybersecurity fosters a culture of security awareness and encourages collaboration across departments.

Moreover, long-term planning establishes a sustainable SOC. Organizations must anticipate future threats and evolving technologies, which requires adequate budgeting and resource allocation. Sufficient funding makes the SOC successful, enabling the unit to invest in the latest tools, skilled personnel, and ongoing training programs.

Investing in People and Automation

Skilled personnel in a SOC are some of your greatest defenses against threats. Integrating automation enhances efficiency by streamlining repetitive tasks such as alert triaging, data collection, and incident response. By investing in advanced automation tools, organizations can reduce the workload on SOC staff and let them focus on higher-level security tasks that require human expertise and strategic thinking.

Keep your  SOC personnel sharp with continuous training on up-to-date cybersecurity trends and technologies. This investment empowers analysts to leverage automated systems effectively and improves job satisfaction by alleviating the burden of mundane tasks.

Enhance Your Security Operations with TekStream

As cyberattacks escalate and devastate organizations, a well-functioning security operations center is not just a strategic advantage. It cushions you from advanced cyber threats by continuously monitoring your network and systems. The team comprises IT and legal experts who provide your organization with updated technology and guidance to strengthen its cybersecurity posture.

Staying compliant with industry requirements doesn’t have to be challenging, as SOC helps by maintaining rigorous monitoring and reporting practices. Investing in your SOC keeps your data and intellectual assets safe from hackers. No data breach means compliance; hence, there are no legal battles. Your business continuity is uninterrupted, and customers and stakeholders stay happy.

Keep your security more resilient with the help of TekStream’s security experts. Outsourcing security operations to an MDR provider gives you access to advanced threat detection capabilities without the high costs of an in-house security team.

Learn more about our integrated MDR solution and the technologies we use to keep you ahead of threats or contact us to speak with our team!