As cyber threats are evolving these days, organizations should implement an effective SOC team to protect and secure the organization's assets from cyber threats. The SOC team is a centralized unit that is the first line of defense of any organization. This comprehensive blog is curated with a list of the best practices for building a SOC team in an organization.
Best practices for building a SOC Team
The SOC team in an organization plays a vital role in achieving secure business operations efficiently. The following are the best practices that an organization is required to follow for setting up a SOC team:
Setting up the Right Team
Building the right team should include individuals with varied skill sets to avoid a skills gap. A good SOC team should possess the following skills:
System and intelligence monitoring
Incident analysis
Incident response
Alert management
Intrusion detection
Threat hunting
Develop Strategy with Business Goals
Development of SOC strategy with business goals begins with examining the current state of the organization's security. This type of risk assessment offers an opportunity to inventory existing assets and identify gaps or potential vulnerabilities. It is good to develop a clear set of processes and procedures to guide the SOC team on processing continuous reflection and optimization to avoid emerging risks.
Enable End-to-End Visibility
In a threat environment, where a single device is used to compromise network security, the lack of visibility would lead to severe consequences. The SOC team requires complete visibility of cyber risk management, systems, and real-time data across the organization to offer the best protection. The team should possess the ability to identify all digital assets in a centralized way and include all data and monitoring in the analysis.
Secure and Patch Vulnerabilities
The SOC team requires a strategy for deploying security patches and updates to avoid exploits. If vulnerabilities are not patched when discovered, it leaves the network open for data to be stolen or malware to be installed. Patching helps repair bugs when found and is a critical part of proper SOC practices.
Use of Best Tools
The SOC team must use and grab the latest security tools to ensure the seamless functioning of the organization. The following are the most common tools used by the SOC team:
Compliance monitoring solutions
Threat intelligence tools
Endpoint protection systems
Intelligent automated application security
Asset discovery and monitoring systems
Firewalls and antivirus software
Security ratings
Data monitoring tools
High interoperability tools ensure better coverage and reduce the chance of missing a breach or being unable to respond quickly. The latest security tools and technologies enable SOC teams to find and defend against cyber threats effectively.
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