Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Essentials: What is a Security Operations Center?

Written byKarin Kelley
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Updated onAugust 21, 2024

A solid cybersecurity framework needs to be appropriately planned and managed. It involves numerous processes, technologies, tools, and people working toward protecting an organization from cyber threats. The security operations center (SOC) serves as a broader function for these actions.

Most organizations that take cybersecurity seriously either build an internal SOC or opt for an outsourced SOC. Either way, SOC includes a wide range of cybersecurity roles and responsibilities to prevent, respond to, and manage security incidents. If you aspire to be one of them, this article is for you!

Keep reading as we explore the fundamentals of the security operations department, its tasks, and challenges, as well as the roles of the team members and the skills required to be a part of the security operations center. Stay tuned till the end because we’ll also recommend an industry-ready cybersecurity bootcamp for those interested in learning more about SOC operations and starting a cybersecurity career.

What is a SOC in Cybersecurity?

The SOC or security operations center is also called ISOC, for information security operations center.

A SOC is a team of IT security personnel responsible for managing an organization’s IT infrastructure around the clock. SOC team members may be in-house or outsourced. Their objective is to monitor security incidents and implement action plans as necessary. SOC works towards enhancing the threat detection, threat response, and disaster prevention of an organization’s cybersecurity measures.

Also Read: Cybersecurity Salary Guide: How Much Can You Make in 2024-25?

What Does a Security Operations Center Do?

A SOC deals with everything from planning, implementation, monitoring, and improving an organization’s cybersecurity. Here are the chief tasks of a SOC.

Inventory

A SOC creates and maintains a detailed inventory of IT assets that need security measures, including servers, systems, cloud storage, backup devices, data transmission drives, phones, and tablets. It also lists the software and tools for safeguarding each asset, features, and expiration dates.

Planning

A security operations center plans and schedules regular maintenance of security tools using software upgrades and patches. This task includes managing policies, procedures, allowlists, blocklists, and firewalls and scheduling and ensuring system backups. The SOC is also responsible for creating and implementing the incident response plan and monitoring its efficacy using critical metrics.

Testing

The SOC’s two primary tasks are vulnerability assessments and threat modeling. The team uses the results to plan and perform penetration testing to detect flaws in the system. The SOC team then implements the corrective actions to improve the incident response plan, best practices, and applications as required.

Monitoring and Responding

A SOC works 24/7 to monitor the network for potential threats. It has to be on its toes to detect an anomaly and immediately put the correct response into action. It also has to proactively assess seemingly insignificant data for any recurring signs of anomalies. The core technology is the SIEM, or security information and event management. SIEM collects the monitoring and alert data and analyzes it for potential risk points in real time.

Incident Response

Responding to an incident is a key responsibility of the SOC. Security operation center team members use the incident response plan, isolate the systems, contain the threat, and undertake an investigation. They then neutralize the threat and return the systems to an operational state.

Forensic Investigation and Compliance

The SOC investigates a security incident and uses the results to improve the existing systems. It also ensures compliance with regulations as required after security incidents.

Key Benefits of a Security Operations Center

Here are the top advantages an organization reaps by having an active SOC in cybersecurity.

The risk of unauthorized access and data breaches is lowered due to the proactive threat management and response
Critical data, intellectual property, sensitive systems, and personal information are prioritized in SOC operations
The security incidents are minimized, and their impact on the organization’s network is minimized
The organization’s operations remain protected and proceed uninterrupted due to the SOC’s rapid response capabilities
The organization experiences minimum downtime and quick data and system recovery
SOCs help monitor and maintain regulatory compliance and prevent avoidable penalties by governmental and other authorized bodies
A reduced number of data breaches and zero penalties improve cost savings
SOC can use historical data to analyze the trends and plan for better risk management
The threat can be anticipated and proactively thwarted before it can cause serious damage to the system
The enhanced security of the systems results in greater customer confidence, higher sales, and improved reputation

Also Read: Decoding the Digital Shadows: Exploring Types of Hackers and Their Impact on Cybersecurity

Roles and Responsibilities of a SOC Team Member

A security operations center team member is a quick thinker who can provide creative solutions to problems. If you feel this is up to your alley, here are some roles you can explore.

SOC Analyst

A SOC analyst is an individual who monitors the IT security infrastructure for potential threats using threat intelligence feeds and SIEM. They respond to the threats by aligning with the incident response team. They use SOAR, or Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response for data collection and case management. There are three tiers of SOC analysts.

Tier 1 SOC analysts deal with alert review, triage, and reporting.
Tier 2 SOC analyst works as an incident responder and handles the alerts that are more advanced and beyond the scope of a Tier 1 analyst.
Tier 3 SOC analysts work as threat hunters. They review the alerts, look for signs of potential threats and proactively work on detecting the source of the threat.

SOC Engineer

A SOC engineer is a professional who implements security plans. They design, create, implement, and maintain technical features and controls such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and access control configurations. They are also responsible for regular security audits.

SOC Manager

The SOC manager is responsible for managing the daily SOC operations. They are in charge of budgeting and providing resources. Implementing and monitoring security policies, incident responses, and security system performance for their core tasks.

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

A CISO is a top-management executive in charge of the overall management of the organization’s cybersecurity. They assess, revise, and implement the strategies and operations. They have to identify areas of improvement in the cybersecurity measures and their impact on the users. They can also explore and recommend new tools to enhance the systems in place and advise on the future security goals of the organization.

Top SOC Challenges

Running a great security operations center implies dealing with certain challenges. As a prospective member of a SOC, you must be aware of these issues. Here are some of the chief ones.

A SOC is only as good as its team members. There is a scarcity of proficient individuals who can apply their knowledge to derive creative solutions for the tasks that SOCs must achieve.
Sophisticated technology is available to everyone, including the malicious elements. Hence, cyber threats are increasingly advanced and difficult to trace using traditional techniques.
Every organization deals with a massive amount of data and traffic every day. The security measures installed at the beginning of the operations may not be able to handle the increasing data volume as the organization thrives and expands.
SOC uses automatic alerts to track routine threats. However, if the anomalies detected are not filtered appropriately, their number becomes too huge to be managed properly. Further, some anomalies cannot be tracked or understood due to a lack of sufficient context.
Organizations may procure and install several software tools to provide comprehensive coverage. These software usually work in isolation and cannot integrate to give synergistic protection. Further, they may not have the capabilities to detect complex anomalies.
Some threats may never be anticipated, so endpoint detection programs, signature-based detection software, and firewalls are unable to isolate them.

Also Read: Cybersecurity vs. Data Science: Navigating the Digital Future

Addressing SOC Challenges

While the SOC challenges may seem daunting, there are methods you can use to address them. Let us take a look at these methods.

The talent gap experienced by SOC can be filled by first assessing the needs and skills of the team members. You can organize upskilling courses and cross-train the employees. This way, multiple people are capable of handling a niche task. Further, you can scout for talent from non-traditional educational paths consisting of graduates from specialized bootcamps or courses.
Automation can handle the problem of enormous traffic and data volume. The automation tools can be programmed to collect, assess, segregate, and analyze the information, thus reducing manual intervention.
The challenge posed by sophisticated malicious hackers can be addressed by using software that can be updated as new technology emerges in the market. Such an upgrade will make the software ready to anticipate and detect any anomaly not included in the existing library of threats.

Essential Skills Needed to Work in a SOC in Cybersecurity

SOC team members are usually graduates or postgraduates in computer science and information technology. They may possess certifications such as CompTIA Security+, GCIH, GSEC, GCDA, GMON, GOSI, GCIA, SSCP, or CISSP.

Other skills may be crucial for working in a SOC, depending on their nature. Here are some of them:

Proficient in OSI model, TCP/IP, common networking ports and protocols, traffic flow, system administration, and defense-in-depth
Conversant with email analysis
Experience in shell scripting and programming using Python, Java, shell scripts, etc.
Familiar with MITRE ATT&CK framework, Intelligence Driven Defense, and Cyber Kill Chain methodology
Vulnerability management and remediation techniques
Team player
Excellent written and oral communication skills

Also Read: Cybersecurity vs. Software Engineering

Want to Be a Part of a Security Operations Center?

The SOC is the heart of an organization’s cybersecurity strategy. If an organization has a robust SOC team, stakeholders and end users will be confident about its security policy. Hence, businesses want professionals who are experts in their domain and are also open to learning new concepts to upskill and reskill.

If you wish to progress in your career as a SOC team member, completing an industry-ready cybersecurity program is critical. Our bootcamp provides holistic training in all the fundamentals and applications of cybersecurity you may come across in your work. You will learn about reconnaissance (profiling), business continuity, scanning (enumeration), vulnerability analysis, exploitation (attack), and reporting.

You’ll also get hands-on experience with cybersecurity tools like Wireshark, Metasploit, and Python. You’ll have the opportunity to work on key capstone projects spanning multiple industries under the mentorship of industry experts.