As the world increasingly moves online, security operations centers (SOCs) play a vital role in keeping individuals, businesses, and organizations safe from cyberattacks. As an SOC is responsible for monitoring and responding to security incidents, it must constantly evolve to stay ahead of the latest threats.
In this blog, we will discuss the top five security measures in 2023 that SOCs need to employ.
Introduction to Security Operations Center
A security operations center (SOC) is a team of security experts responsible for managing an organization’s security posture. These experts work to identify and mitigate security risks and respond to incidents. A SOC is a combination of effort from people, technology, and processes that work together by continuously monitoring, detecting, investigating, preventing, and responding to cybersecurity threats in real-time.
Security operations centers can help organizations respond quickly to security incidents. They can also investigate and understand the root cause of incidents, implement preventative measures to stop them, and improve an organization’s overall security. Here are some of the key benefits of a dedicated SOC team for organizations:
- Reduced risk of security incidents
- Increased data and network security
- Reduced cost and severity of security incidents
- Improved ability to meet compliance obligations
- Improved efficiency of an organization’s IT department
What Does an SOC Security Analyst Do?
An SOC security analyst is part of the SOC team. As they are first responders in any cyber incident, their function is to constantly monitor and defend an organization’s network, servers, website, and database from any threats.
SOC analysts typically have a solid technical background and can quickly understand and interpret complex data. They need to be able to share information and collaborate with others to ensure the security operations center is operating effectively. This means they should have excellent communication skills, as they must constantly coordinate with other team members.
What Are the Top 5 Measures for Organizational Security in 2023?
A security operations center is integral to any organization’s cybersecurity strategy. There are many SOC security measures, but not all will be equally effective in every situation. To help you choose the best security measures for your organization, here is a list of the top five security measures for 2023.
1. Implement a Comprehensive SOC Security Program
This should include all the elements of a successful security program, such as risk assessment, incident response, and threat intelligence. The different types of SOC security programs are advanced and traditional. You could use both or go for the advanced option for more effectiveness.
Consider deploying advanced SOC security technologies such as SIEM (Security information and event management), UEBA (Trillex 2022a; 2022b), and SOAR (Crowdstrike, 2022). Some of these tools include:
- Splunk Enterprise Security helps SOC teams collect, correlate, and investigate data from various sources.
- IBM Security QRadar Soar (formerly Resilient) helps SOC teams automate incident response and orchestration.
- Demisto helps SOC teams automate incident response processes.
Traditional SOC security programs generally include four main components:
- A perimeter defense system that provides firewalls and intrusion detection and prevention systems.
- An endpoint security system that includes antivirus and anti-malware software.
- A network security system that has encryption and access control.
- A data security system that incorporates backups and disaster recovery plans.
You must deploy the four components to implement a traditional SOC security program. However, you might consider adding advanced security programs such as a SIEM system to further strengthen your SOC security posture.
2. Define Clear SOC Security Objectives and Metrics
Security operations center jobs must have clearly defined objectives and metrics.
The first step is identifying what the organization wants to protect and developing objectives and metrics around those assets. All members of the SOC team should be aware of these objectives and metrics so that they can work together to achieve them.
Next, an SOC should consider the threats that it is trying to defend. Finally, a regular review and update of objectives and metrics are also necessary to ensure that the security operations center is always prepared for new threats.
3. Build a Team of Skilled SOC Analysts
To build a team of skilled SOC analysts, you need to find individuals with the required skills for the position.
They should have experience in security and data analysis because they will need to understand and interpret the data they are collecting. Your SOC analysts also need strong communication skills because they will have to communicate effectively with other team members and management. Most importantly, SOC analysts should have the required certifications that set them apart as professional SOC security analysts.
With a top-notch SOC analyst team, you’ll quickly identify potential issues, rapidly respond to incidents, and prevent them from becoming full-blown security breaches.
4. Invest in the Latest Security Trends for a Security Operations Center
You should know the latest SOC security trends to protect your business against cyberthreats.
- Cloud-based SOC solution: With more businesses moving to the cloud, it’s crucial to have an SOC solution that can protect your cloud-based data. Cloud-based SOCs are also becoming more popular because they offer several advantages over on-premises SOCs, such as scalability and flexibility (Checkpoint, 2022).
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI can help SOC analysts identify and respond to threats more quickly and effectively.
- User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA): UEBA helps SOC analysts to detect unusual or suspicious activity and act immediately.
5. Improve Employee SOC Security Awareness and Training
Organizations must ensure their employees are adequately trained on SOC security awareness and procedures. Employees should be aware of the potential threats to the organization and how to report suspicious activity. Security training should be an ongoing process that is reviewed and updated regularly.
SOC security training can be delivered in various ways, including online courses, classroom instruction, or a combination of both. The objective should be to provide employees with the knowledge they need to safeguard themselves and the organization.
Organizations can help keep their employees safe, and their data secure by training them on SOC security procedures. An excellent way to facilitate this outcome is to ensure their employees complete SOC security training. Ample resources that help employees understand SOC security should also be provided.
How to Become a Certified SOC Analyst
To become a certified SOC analyst, you’ll need to receive training from an accredited institution. Once you have completed your training, you’ll need to pass an exam to receive your certification. Security operations center jobs will then be open to you once you acquire SOC certification.
SOC analyst courses will help you understand how SOCs work. You’ll learn about the different types of attacks they can mitigate, while the SOC training will equip you with the skills to use the tools in your arsenal more effectively.
Do you think being a certified SOC analyst is the path for you? EC-Council is offers the Certified SOC Analyst (C|SA) program for entry-level and intermediate-level operations.
EC-Council offers a variety of cybersecurity programs, including Incident Handling and SOC career track. You will also receive intensive training on all SOC courses to give you a strong understanding of the various aspects of security.
Once your training is successful, you will get certifications according to your level. EC-Council offers graduate certificate programs, a Bachelor of Science in Security, and a Master of Science in Cyber Security.
Get started with EC-Council’s C|SA program as you gear up to become a certified SOC analyst. Thanks to its strong reputation and well-recognized certification, you will set yourself up for SOC security success in no time.
References
Checkpoint. (2022). What is cloud security? https://www.checkpoint.com/cyber-hub/cloud-security/what-is-cloud-security/
Aarness, A. (2022, March 10). XDR VS SIEM VS SOAR. Crowdstrike. https://www.crowdstrike.com/cybersecurity-101/what-is-xdr/xdr-vs-siem-vs-soar/
Trillex. What is security information and event management? https://www.trellix.com/en-us/security-awareness/operations/what-is-siem.html
Trillex. What is UEBA? https://www.trellix.com/en-us/security-awareness/operations/what-is-ueba.html#entity
About the Author
Shelby Vankirk is a freelance technical writer and content consultant with over seven years of experience in the publishing industry, specializing in blogging, SEO copywriting, technical writing, and proofreading.
