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Last Updated on April 14, 2023 by Editor Futurescope
Almost every organization has an IT department and a team of dedicated professionals to help keep things running safely. With the incredibly large number of cyber threats that actively threaten the business world, it’s no wonder keeping attackers at bay is becoming more challenging with each passing year. Fortunately, a security operations center (SOC) can be an effective shield against potential attacks and bad actors. Today, we’ll explore what an SOC is and how it can be a helpful tool to help keep any organization stay ahead of current and emerging cyber threats.
SOC Defined
As an organization or enterprise, your company is often at risk of a data breach or other security threat. A security operations center monitors and manages these threats. In this role, a SOC constantly looks for suspicious network activity or malicious actors trying to breach the company’s cyber security. They also work with other teams, implement policies, and use various tools to address real-time issues. Some SOC functions can be performed and enhanced by powerful software in conjunction with the experts on the team. Though they’re a crucial part of any IT team, they face numerous challenges, including skills shortages, knowledge gaps, and issues with the monitoring/analytical process. Sometimes companies skimp on the budget for their SOC (which they shouldn’t do) or refuse to automate specific processes. Overcoming these challenges is no easy feat, but the correct procedures, software tools, and personnel can make a major impact long-term.
Current and Emerging Threats
One of the larger, more significant challenges in today’s threat landscape is now frequently things change or fluctuate. Whenever a new technology emerges, it usually doesn’t take long for a threat to rear its ugly head. Over the past few years, supply chain attacks have increased, but lately, AI-based attacks are growing. And they’ll only get worse as the technology changes and improves. Phishing and ransomware are still some of the most common threats facing organizations. Insider threats—where someone within the organization who has access to the company’s credentials carries out an attack.
The Internet of Things is incredibly vulnerable. With many organizations having part of their infrastructure situated within the IoT, preventing attacks in this area is critical. Businesses should be able to adapt to potential threats and have a team of SOC professionals on hand to be proactive—and reactive when necessary—about preventing
Tools and Techniques
SOC experts have a wide range of techniques and tools they use every day. From discovered assets to assessing vulnerabilities, some of the best tools available come from machine learning and other AI-based resources. These tools allow professionals to streamline their work and be more efficient overall. Monitoring for threats—whether it’s through using antivirus/malware protection, reverse engineering malware, or analyzing it with dedicated utilities—is accomplished using similar tools and techniques, especially when it comes to assessing threats in real-time. The SOC must also create documentation and training to teach their teams how to keep company assets from being compromised. Monitoring behavior, cloud management and security, and detecting intrusions/attacks all require dedicated tools that any SOC will be able to tackle head-on.
Training and Education
Training and education also play a key role in SOC operations. Cyber threats, malware, and the nature of malicious attacks change often. When hiring and developing a SOC at any organization, it’s vital to ensure the team has proper training and the right knowledge to get the job done effectively. Team members should be familiar with current threats and the overall threat landscape. SOC experts should also have extensive training and knowledge on the following:
- Network security
- Cloud Security
- Incident response
- Vulnerabilities and vulnerability management
- Analytical skills
- Technical skills
- Automation
- Specialized SOC tools
Companies should also offer continuing education to help their teams grow and thrive. The SOC itself can then create and reinforce education/training to help the organization stay safe from breaches, but ultimately
Using a Managed Security Provider
Some companies can benefit from using a managed security operations center as part of their larger SOC. This can increase threat visibility and help a company adapt to regular (or unexpected) changes. It has the side benefit of also ensuring faster cloud app deployment, as you’ll no longer need to slow down app deployments to monitor for security concerns. Moreover, your company can stay on top of the cloud compliance procedures relevant to your industry. Whether you have a large amount of remote workers, offer software-as-a-service, or run an ecommerce business, a managed security operations center is necessary to keep your entire operation safe and secure in an increasingly dangerous world.
