There are a lot of intricacies, delicate matters, and gears to take into account when planning a successful SOC team — whether it’s an in-house group of specialists or an outsourced service. In this article, we’re going to dissect the differences, advantages, and overall features of an in-house SOC team and an outsourced service.
What is a SOC team?
A SOC – Security Operations Center – a team is a group of people who are responsible for protecting an organization from all manner of threats. Mainly cyber threats. A SOC team is made up of experts in the field of cybersecurity, information security, and information technology. They monitor a network for any signs of suspicious activity and try to identify any potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers.
The SOC team uses tools like firewalls, intrusion detection systems, password crackers, and network monitors to increase the strength of an organization’s security — and they constantly update their protocols. Adopting AI, honeypot tools, and blockchain tech to hide and protect a system. They also rely heavily on their experience and know-how.
In addition to protecting the company’s data and infrastructure, the SOC team is responsible for disseminating countermeasures and active defenses — making sure that hackers and criminals are aware of the danger they face if they attack a certain network or company.
While the SOC team is not a new concept, it has only recently been made into a formalized entity by companies like Google and Facebook. These companies have developed their SOC teams to help protect their networks from cyberattacks. These titans have been known to offer expertise, tools, and best practices to other companies in the area. Due to the measure, popularity, and results of these companies foray into the field of cybersecurity, the concept has become increasingly popular.
What does a SOC team do? Today, SOC teams are not just limited to the area of cyber-security. They can also be found doing risk assessments and striking out into other departments depending on the company’s needs.
SOC team structure
Security teams are not just a group of people in a room with the same set of skills and responsibilities. Instead, they are made up of different individuals, departments, and specialists that focus on different aspects of security.
A SOC team’s structure is normally made up of four groups which are generalists, analysts, developers, and operators.
- Generalists have a wide variety of skills that allow them to work in any area of the team.
- Analysts have an in-depth understanding of vulnerabilities and threats to be able to find solutions for them.
- Developers are responsible for building tools that can help automate processes and make it easier for other members of the team to do their job better.
- Operators monitor networks and systems so that they can detect anything suspicious or out-of-the-ordinary happening to them.
The general MO or objective of a SOC team is to uncover, quarantine, and solve anomalies. They define an anomaly as any condition or event that deviates from something expected. Examples of anomalies might be a spike in the number of people logging on to the network, an unexpected drop in performance, or unusually large data usage.
In-house VS outsourced SOC team
Today, due to the importance of cybersecurity companies have a lot of options when it comes to SOC teams. Amongst them is the ability to outsource this service to other specialized firms. Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of outsourcing a SOC team.
Affordability — Winner Outsourced SOC Team
Outsourcing your SOC can be a cheaper option than creating an in-house SOC with a high turnover rate or high salary. An in-house team demands training, a rather lofty investment in tech, and is always at the risk of outside poaching — today, cybersecurity experts are in high demand.
Trust — Winner in-house SOC Team
One downside of outsourcing is that you have to trust the company you outsource to, and they might not have the same level of knowledge that an in-house SOC would. Outsourced companies in many cases offer template solutions. One size fits all services. They don’t take the time to properly analyze your requirements, let alone the possible threats that might assail you.
Control — Tie
One would think the in-house SOC team would offer managers greater control over data and who interacts with it, but the truth is that companies with in-house SOC teams have shown, in many cases, a total disregard for password and data dissemination. This is mainly because in-house SOC teams always suffer birthing pains when just starting. They don’t understand or truly apply certain protocols until they’ve learned from a mistake.
What to know before you get started building a SOC team?
Before starting on building a SOC team, you need to identify the needs of your organization and the size and scope of your budget. You also need to define which type of SOC model you want to implement – centralized or decentralized.
In many cases, you can outsource this responsibility to an external company that will manage it for you. There are many benefits of outsourcing these services in comparison with doing it in-house like increased efficiency and reduced cost. However, before starting the process, it is important to analyze your needs and understand the things your company requires to have an efficient and cost-effective SOC team.
