The Security Operations Center (SOC) is a division within any company that checks the operation of information security systems and responds to incidents.
The SOC includes employees of the company who have the necessary skills in the field of information security. The main tools for the division’s work are SIEM (Security Information and Event Management), IRP (Incident Response Platform), SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation and Response) and SGRS (Security Governance, Risk-management and Compliance).
Penetration testing
All these systems help SOC employees analyze and monitor events, respond to threats and false alarms, organize preventive measures, as well as provide reports and automate actions.
Scope of application
SOC Division:
- controls information systems and infrastructure both within the company and outsourced to third parties;
- conducts preventive measures to reduce the risk of leakage of confidential information;
- monitors events online and responds to incidents in a timely manner;
- regularly checks the company’s infrastructure for vulnerabilities, weak areas, and analyzes violations in the field of information security;
- filters false threats or incorrect triggers of information security tools;
- analyzes the incidents that have occurred to prevent similar cases in the future;
- provides reports on the current state of the infrastructure and information protection in the company.
The creation of SOC in an organization also brings economic benefits: the costs of ensuring the information security of the enterprise are reduced, the risks of information theft are reduced.
Integration
There are two ways to integrate SOC into an organization’s current infrastructure: internally or externally.
In the first case, the division is created on its own within the company. A preliminary analysis of the current state is carried out, and the risks to the organization in case of information leakage are assessed. A separate room is provided for the SOC, specialized software and equipment are purchased.
If the organization has no experience in creating such a center, then you should immediately switch to the second option. Otherwise, you can spend resources, but not achieve your goal.
In the second case, the organization creates a SOC using outsourcing. In this case, the monitoring and analysis of events is carried out by employees of an external company that has the necessary certificates and qualifications.
The Security Operations Center is necessary for those organizations that seek to reduce the risk of leakage of confidential information. SOC can be created both with your own resources and with the help of third-party organizations.