Posted on October 15, 2021
How-To Guides
What exactly is a SOC? How does it work? And why should you care about them?
A Security Operations Center (SOC) is the central hub of an organization’s security operations and provides situational awareness, real-time visibility, and continuous monitoring.
The SOC is a tool that lets people know if there are any risks or vulnerabilities in their network. It can also help identify problems before they get too big.
You don’t want to wait until something terrible happens before taking action – that’s why this guide is here. So keep reading to learn more about what it does, how to choose one, and what to expect from one.
When a security specialist monitors your SOC, they can identify risks on your network. Then, they can take action to prevent problems before it’s too late.
For example, if one of the systems gets hacked by ransomware or other malware, the team in the SOC can lock down computers and devices so the malware won’t spread to other systems.
A SOC is necessary for some companies. The three things to think about are the size of your network, how quickly you need to respond to cyber threats and the cost of implementing one.
The team in the SOC will be able to watch all your organization’s systems. If something happens to one of them, they can fix it without any downtime for you. This process may mean hiring more people or adding another layer to your existing team.
Companies that spend money to ensure their systems, security, and clients get protected can be sure that they will benefit. SOCs might do things like monitoring systems for threats, reducing costs through proper planning, or even having an incident response team.
They can also cut business disruptions by identifying potential problems before they become big problems.
Yes, you can have more than one SOC if your company is significant. For example, a global enterprise might need a different operations center to support its other locations or divisions.
When choosing an outside vendor for a SOC, ensure they do not have a physical location and all their operations are virtual.
Application Performance Monitoring is a type of management that sees how the applications are doing and how they affect the people using them.
Application monitoring also tells you about how to use it. Plus, this helps you to understand what is going on with your app, whether it’s meeting the SLA and if there are things that you can do to improve it.
DNS Performance Monitoring is a service that helps companies by allowing them to ask questions about DNS and then answer them. They can see all the data in real-time and do things like defining the end-user experience for their company while understanding how people are using their services.
RESTful API is a simple, lightweight Application Programming Interface that responds to standard HTTP requests. With REST, you can communicate with the API by using GET or POST requests via HTTPS. These get made over TCP/IP sockets or User Datagram Protocol (UDP).
There are four basic requirements for REST. First, the interface is a basis on stateless operations; the client or server communicates with HTTP requests.
REST uses standard Internet media types rather than custom formats, and finally, REST uses all the features of HTTP that make web services more efficient.
A SOC can do Compliance Monitoring. This operation is when you “track” to ensure that all your systems are safe and carrying out their purpose.
A SOC also does a vulnerability scan, which is when an automated system looks at the company’s online presence. The system then finds any holes in security.
Yes, if you have a company that collects, stores, or processes personal information or other sensitive data, it needs to follow privacy regulations such as GDPR, FINRA, or HIPAA. A SOC may also need to assess the data your company has to see if it is secure.
If you are a business owner and don’t have anyone who does security, it is essential to hire someone who knows how to build a Security Operations Center.
What other functions does a SOC serve?
A SOC can help your company by ensuring all the security products are being monitored, updated, and patched, so they don’t cause problems. For example, if two products are not compatible or something is not working right on the computer. Make sure that patch management is part of your SOC.
A proactive SOC will watch the environment even when there is no sign of a breach. This feature means a SOC can track and schedule regular tasks that you need to do, such as updating antivirus software or installing patches on machines.
Benchmarking and baselining systems is a way to see how they are doing. If you benchmark something, then it is easier to measure what they do. A SOC does this type of thing all the time because they know what to do.
Robotic process automation is a tool that someone can use. It can do many tasks on a computer, and it will not make mistakes the way people sometimes do. It also helps an organization because they don’t need to hire as many people or spend as much money.
A SOC can help with the organization’s recovery process. For example, if a security breach does occur, a SOC should keep employees safe to focus on recovering their data and systems.
One of the primary purposes of a SOC is to keep your company’s data secure. If you’re in charge of compliance, you need to ensure your outsourced security provider can meet all regulatory requirements.
There are many ways in which a SOC reduces the risk for your company. One of them is by performing regular scans to uncover security gaps in your systems.
A SOC can also help you keep up with evolving threats, which require both human and technical resources. Other responsibilities of a SOC include implementing new technologies, measuring the health of your company’s systems, and working alongside other departments to identify weak spots in your network.
By understanding the SOC’s role, you can ensure your company is not placing itself at risk.
As a business, you need to invest in an outsourced security provider. This way, your company can avoid unnecessary risk by keeping up with evolving threats.
A SOC is a company that meets security standards, such as HIPAA, PCI, DSS, and ISO. It can help you meet government regulations when dealing with sensitive information.
Remember, having a SOC will help you manage your company’s recovery process if a data breach occurs because employees can focus on work instead of worrying about recovering their work.
This step is possible because your outsource security provider has the tools required to provide uninterrupted service during recovery efforts, keeping employees safe and network functions running.
Another advantage is having a Security Operations Center customized to your company’s needs, which may need specific tools and training. Of course, this is only possible if the security provider works on site, but it can be more expensive.
An outsource provider may not have all the necessary tools, but they should offer customized service through remote monitoring.
When looking for a Security Operations Center (SOC) provider, you want to find one with experience working in industries like yours. Doing this will ensure they have the knowledge required to address your company’s unique challenges and that they can interact well with your staff.
That way, an outsource security provider knows what to do when issues arise, which means they can help your company recover faster and safer.
To ensure that an outsource security provider will provide high-quality service, you need to ask them about their employees’ training. It’s also helpful to request references from other organizations in your industry who have used their services.
This way, you’ll better understand how the company works and what you can expect from them.
Many organizations can provide your company with a Security Operations Center (SOC). Some of the most outsourced include managed security service providers, cloud and network security providers, and web monitoring services.
As mentioned before, when looking for someone to do security for you, ask them to show you their resumes. In addition, you should find out how much training they have so that their skills will be good enough.
Before choosing a company, make sure they continue to invest in employee training and knowledge sharing.
So if you are searching the market for a Security Operations Center (SOC), ensure you contact us. If you have any questions, we will be more than happy to answer your call or reply to your email. Our website is also resourceful; make sure you take a look at that too.