While a Security Operations Centre (SOC) is traditionally defined by the elements of cybersecurity it’s responsible for, it essentially refers to a dedicated information security team that’s hosted within a company or organisation.
Beyond just cybersecurity experts, other professionals making up these highly dynamic teams include those from engineering and security management-related backgrounds, all of whom, ultimately, undertake one, simple mission: To oversee the entirety of security operations in a given organisation.
In our post this week, we dive into everything you need to know about the real heroes behind thousands of businesses around the world.
While a Security Operations Centre can work in collaboration with a company’s own security experts, specifically, incident response teams, they often undertake a bulk of the responsibility when it comes to maintaining secure operations.
SOCs are responsible for monitoring specific elements of a company including databases, websites, networks, and IT systems - to name just a few - and detecting, analysing, responding, and investigating any threats or attacks that may arise against these elements. Incident response, therefore, is a major part of each SOC’s mandate.
It’s important to note that while a Security Operations Centre can guide a company in terms of its security strategy and architecture, its primary goal is the ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and response to cybersecurity incidents. Depending on each service provider, it also leverages advanced types of security analysis.
A good way to start integrating the service and support provided by a SOC is by establishing a well-developed and clearly defined cybersecurity strategy for your organisation.
After consulting and agreeing on, both, enterprise-level goals and those tailored to the work and processes of various team, units, and departments, consider how your cybersecurity infrastructure can meet these needs and these goals.
In this process, ensure that data from your systems and security components are being collected for further analysis and threat detection by your Security Operations Centre.
Ultimately, any company investment comes down to one question: Why is it right for our business?
Make no mistake, a SOC is an investment. While you can find service providers who tailor their SOC offerings to businesses at the SME-level and customise their solutions according to almost any budget, they don’t come cheap.
That being said, SOCs are always worth the investment, specifically if you manage sensitive customer information and maintain complex online operations, websites, and networks.
Beyond just dealing with existing threats and risks, Security Operations Centre professionals also focus on identifying emerging risks and incorporating best practices within the cybersecurity field.
While automated risk detectors and firewalls are popular cybersecurity solutions and are effective against rudimentary hardware and system risks, they can only do so much. A Security Operations Centre relies on the expertise and constant monitoring of human agents, who work 24x7 to ensure that your operations remain free from attack and that risks are warded off.
Mostly - and this is something we can state from experience - SOCs are a popular offering because they take away much of the burden and responsibility of maintaining secure IT systems, applications, and websites from 9-5 security professionals.
Instead, a team whose life and mission it is to maintain exceptional levels of cybersecurity protection are entrusted with this responsibility - one they don’t take lightly. A study in 2018 discovered that Security Operations Centres have become more advanced in terms of how they approach security and now adopt several innovative strategies and techniques to do what they do.
At a time when cyber threats and attacks are growing in number and complexity, a Security Operations Centre is an effective line of defence for companies who put everything on the line to do what they do best.
Securing your operations, assets, and data, however, won’t be guaranteed by every team or SOC - you must choose professionals not just with experience in this field but those whose solutions are backed by the latest technology and best practices.
At Triskele Labs, our Advanced Security Operations Centre can build automated incident responses for information security threats in near real-time, as they are identified. Find out more about our solutions here.
