Security Operations Center for Companies: Types and Functions

Security Operations Center for Companies: Types And Functions – As Gene Spafford said, “the only completely secure system is turn off, locked in a cement block and seal in a room surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards.”

Prevent, monitor, protect, respond… These are the primary tasks of a company’s cybersecurity SOC or security operations center. Do not concern if you do not know much about its operation, because in this article we bring information for you. We will discuss the types of SOC, their functions, and how to choose the most suitable one for your organization.

What is SOC: Concept and Evolution

Traditionally, we have defined the security operations center as a team dedicated to an organization’s surveillance and security control. In this center, you can monitor the entire company’s security activities and take measures to respond to threats.

Over the years, security operations centers have undergone a significant evolution. As the cybersecurity site has become more complex and attacks more sophisticate, companies have looked for ways to improve their SOCs to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals.

Technology has been a critical factor in this evolution since it has allow companies to improve the efficiency of their centers significantly:

• Threat detection and response tools have enable security teams to quickly detect and respond to attacks.
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning have also significantly impacted cybersecurity SOCs to analyze vast amounts of data and detect abnormal behavior patterns.
• Increased awareness of the importance of cybersecurity is another notable factor. The more companies affected by cyber attacks, the more steps have been taken to improve their SOCs. This has led to an increased request for cybersecurity professionals, which has fuel the development of new solutions and technologies.

In short, security operations centers have undergone a significant evolution in recent years due to technology, improve awareness of the importance of cybersecurity, and the demand for professionals in the sector. But this is not all, as evolution will continue to drive the development of new security solutions and technologies, allowing companies to significantly improve their ability to detect and respond to cyber threats.

The General Functionalities of a SOC in Cybersecurity

We can divide the responsibilities and functions of the security operations center into three main categories:

• Preparation, planning, and prevention. Creation of an inventory with all the elements and requirements that need to be protect, from servers and devices to applications and databases. This phase also includes preventive maintenance and incident response planning.
• Monitoring, detection, and response. I supervise the company’s IT infrastructure 24x7x365, log management, data analysis, threat detection, vulnerability management, etc.
• Recovery and Compliance. When a cybersecurity incident is contained, the SOC manages the risk and works so that the affect assets can return to normality as soon as possible. This phase also includes compliance management.

In short, the main functions of a security operations center are to coordinate and supervise the security activities of an organization, as well as analyze and respond to threats and incidents. However, it can provide advice, security training, and policy implementation.

Internal and External SOC

As we have already seen, a security operations center is a team of cybersecurity experts who work on all stages of risk monitoring, analysis, and incident response through different tools. However, the SOC does not have to be an internal team of the company; it can also be an external outsource team. Even a hybrid model, with some tasks manage internally and others externally.

In any case, we are going to delve into the different types of SOC:

• It is an expert team that trains in cybersecurity that is part of the company and is responsible for supervising and coordinating its security activities.
• It is an external team to the company that is subcontracted to supervise and manage the organization’s security. Its functions are surveillance, access control, threat detection, incident response, etc.

These centers are generally equipped with various security systems, such as video monitors, alarms, and access control systems. Security operators at these centers can monitor security activities, coordinate responses to threats, and investigate incidents.

Choose a Differentiating SOC Service in Real-Time

Did you know that over 77% of cyberattacks worldwide are direct against companies? Did you also know that 46% of incidents affect small and medium-sized companies?

To do this, it uses market-leading tools offered as-a-service according to the company’s needs. It is an innovative security operations center that combines threat intelligence and rapid response to security incidents in a real 24×7 mode.