Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC) Mughal, A. A.

(2022)

Research Article

Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center

(SOC)
Arif Ali Mughal
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8460-8006

K.6.5.m Security Operations Centers (SOC) and their design, operation, and management
K.6.5.n Security incident management and response
K.6.5.o Threat intelligence
K.6.5.p Vulnerability management
K.6.5.q Penetration testing
K.6.5.r Security information and event management (SIEM)
K.6.5.s User and entity behavior analytics (UEBA)
K.6.5.t Metrics and measurement in security operations.

ABSTRACT
As cyber threats continue to evolve and become more sophisticated, building and securing a modern Security Operations Center
(SOC) is crucial for organizations to protect against potential threats. This article covers key aspects of building and securing a
SOC, including designing a modern SOC, defining the roles and responsibilities of SOC team members, establishing processes
and procedures for managing security incidents, measuring SOC performance, and implementing SOC services and technologies
such as incident response, threat intelligence, vulnerability management, penetration testing, security information and event
management, and user and entity behavior analytics. Additionally, this article discusses emerging trends and predictions for the
future of the SOC, such as increased automation, integration with other security tools, cloud-based SOC, greater collaboration,
and focus on metrics and measurement. By staying ahead of emerging threats and technologies, organizations can establish a
proactive and effective approach to cybersecurity through their SOC.

Copyright (c) 2022 Tensorgate. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution [4.0/3.0/2.5/2.0/1.0] International
License (CC-BY [4.0/3.0/2.5/2.0/1.0]), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are
credited. The copyright and license information must be included with any copy or derivative work made from this materi

1. Introduction Keywords: Security Operations Center, SOC,

cybersecurity, threats, challenges, design, roles,
responsibilities, processes
The Security Operations Center (SOC) is a critical
component of an organization's cybersecurity 1.1 Understanding the Security Operations
strategy. It is responsible for monitoring, detecting, Center
and responding to security incidents, threats, and The Security Operations Center (SOC) is a central
vulnerabilities across the organization's
hub of an organization's cybersecurity operations.
infrastructure. Building a modern SOC requires
Its primary objective is to detect and respond to
careful planning, integration with existing IT
security incidents and threats across the
infrastructure and business processes, and a team of organization's infrastructure. The SOC is staffed
security professionals with specific roles and
with trained security professionals who monitor the
responsibilities. The SOC must have well-defined
organization's systems and networks for signs of
processes and procedures for managing security
cyber threats, such as malware, phishing attacks,
incidents, and its performance should be measured
and other malicious activity.
using established metrics and KPIs. In this article,
we will delve deeper into the SOC's design, services,
The SOC uses a combination of people, processes,
technology, and future trends.
and technology to manage and respond to security
incidents. This includes real-time monitoring of
security events and alerts, incident investigation

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 Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC)
and analysis, and response and remediation. The
SOC also collaborates with other departments in the
organization, including IT and compliance, to ensure
that security policies and procedures are being
followed.
The SOC is a critical component of an organization's
cybersecurity strategy as cyber threats continue to
increase in frequency and sophistication. Without a
SOC, organizations would have difficulty detecting
and responding to cyber threats, leaving their assets
and data at risk. A well-designed SOC can help
organizations maintain their security posture,
reduce risk, and respond quickly to security
incidents.
1.2 The Cybersecurity Landscape: Threats
and Challenges
The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving,
and organizations must stay ahead of the curve to
protect themselves from new and emerging threats.
Cyber threats come in many forms and can target an
organization's network, applications, data, or users.
These threats include:
• Malware: Malware is malicious software that
can damage or disrupt an organization's
systems or steal sensitive information.
• Phishing: Phishing attacks use social
engineering techniques to trick users into
disclosing sensitive information or clicking
on malicious links.
• Ransomware: Ransomware is a type of
malware that encrypts an organization's data
and demands payment in exchange for the
decryption key.
• Insider Threats: Insider threats occur when a
current or former employee, contractor, or
business partner abuses their access to an
organization's systems or data.
• Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs): APTs
are a type of cyber attack that involves a
sophisticated, long-term, and targeted attack
against an organization.
In addition to these threats, organizations also face
challenges in securing their IT environments. These
challenges include the complexity and diversity of
modern IT environments, including on-premises,
cloud, and hybrid infrastructures. Organizations
must also ensure that their employees are trained
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Mughal, A. A. (2022)
and aware of cybersecurity best practices to avoid
unintentionally putting the organization at risk.
Furthermore, organizations must comply with
various cybersecurity regulations and standards,
such as GDPR and PCI DSS, to avoid legal and
financial consequences.
2. Building the SOC
Building a SOC involves designing and implementing
a system that can effectively detect, analyze, and
respond to cybersecurity threats. This includes a
combination of people, processes, and technology
that work together to maintain the organization's
security posture.
The first step in building a SOC is to assess the
organization's unique cybersecurity risks and
requirements. This involves understanding the
organization's business objectives, IT infrastructure,
and security policies and procedures. The SOC must
be designed to integrate with the organization's
existing IT infrastructure and business processes
while providing the necessary security controls and
capabilities to detect and respond to cyber threats.
The SOC team is made up of various roles, including
security analysts, incident responders, threat
intelligence analysts, and SOC managers. Each
member of the team has specific responsibilities and
duties that contribute to the SOC's overall
effectiveness. The team must be trained to use the
SOC's processes and technologies effectively.
The SOC's processes and procedures must be well-
defined and documented to ensure that incidents
are handled efficiently and effectively. This includes
developing incident response plans, escalation
procedures, communication protocols, and
documentation requirements.
The SOC must also establish metrics and KPIs to
measure its performance. This includes incident
response times, mean time to detect (MTTD), and
mean time to resolve (MTTR). These metrics help
the SOC to understand how effective its processes
and technologies are and identify areas for
improvement.
Overall, building a SOC is a complex process that
requires careful planning, integration with existing
 Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC) Mughal, A. A. (2022)

infrastructure and business processes, and ongoing that security policies and procedures are
assessment and refinement to stay ahead of being followed.
emerging cybersecurity threats.
Overall, designing a modern SOC involves taking a
2.1 Designing a Modern Security Operations holistic approach that considers people, processes,
Center and technology. By investing in the latest
technologies and processes, the SOC can better
protect the organization from cyber threats and
Designing a modern Security Operations Center
reduce the risk of costly data breaches.
(SOC) involves considering the organization's
unique cybersecurity risks and requirements, the
latest trends in cybersecurity, and the latest 2.2 Roles and Responsibilities of SOC Team
technologies available. Members

Here are some key elements to consider when The Security Operations Center (SOC) team is a
designing a modern SOC: critical component of an organization's
• Automation and Orchestration: Automation cybersecurity strategy. Each member of the team
and orchestration tools can help streamline has specific roles and responsibilities that
the SOC's operations, reducing the workload contribute to the SOC's overall effectiveness.
of security analysts and improving response
times. Here are some key roles and responsibilities of SOC
• Threat Intelligence: Access to real-time team members:
threat intelligence helps the SOC stay ahead • SOC Manager: The SOC manager is
of emerging threats, and respond quickly and responsible for overseeing the SOC's
effectively to incidents. operations, including staff management,
• Endpoint Detection and Response: Endpoint process development, and performance
Detection and Response (EDR) solutions metrics.
provide visibility into endpoints, enabling • Security Analyst: Security analysts are
the SOC to quickly identify and respond to responsible for monitoring the
threats. organization's infrastructure for security
• Cloud Security: The SOC must be designed to events and incidents. They analyze alerts and
monitor and protect cloud environments, determine whether further investigation is
including Software as a Service (SaaS), required.
Platform as a Service (PaaS), and • Incident Responder: Incident responders are
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). responsible for investigating and responding
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: to security incidents. They work to contain
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine the incident, gather evidence, and remediate
Learning (ML) can help automate the the damage caused.
detection of threats and provide insights into • Threat Intelligence Analyst: Threat
emerging threats and vulnerabilities. intelligence analysts are responsible for
• Threat Hunting: Threat hunting involves gathering, analyzing, and sharing threat
actively searching for threats within an intelligence data with the SOC team. They
organization's infrastructure, and is an provide insight into emerging threats and
important component of a modern SOC. trends and help the SOC team stay ahead of
• Incident Response Planning: The SOC must evolving threats.
have a well-defined incident response plan • Vulnerability Management Specialist:
that outlines the procedures for detecting, Vulnerability management specialists are
responding to, and recovering from security responsible for assessing the organization's
incidents. systems for vulnerabilities and ensuring that
• Collaboration: The SOC must work closely patches and updates are applied in a timely
with other departments in the organization, manner.
including IT, compliance, and legal, to ensure
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 Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC) Mughal, A. A. (2022)

• Penetration Tester: Penetration testers are validate the incident and determine the
responsible for identifying and exploiting scope and impact.
security vulnerabilities in the organization's • Containment: The SOC team must contain the
systems. They help the SOC team understand incident to prevent further damage. This
the organization's risk profile and identify involves isolating affected systems or
areas for improvement. devices, blocking malicious traffic, and
• Forensic Analyst: Forensic analysts are disconnecting compromised systems from
responsible for analyzing and interpreting the network.
data related to security incidents. They • Investigation: The SOC team must investigate
gather and preserve evidence for use in the incident to determine the cause and
investigations and legal proceedings. scope of the attack. This involves analyzing
• User and Entity Behavior Analyst: User and logs and other data sources, and using threat
entity behavior analysts are responsible for intelligence to identify the type of attack.
monitoring and analyzing user and entity • Response and Recovery: The SOC team must
activity across the organization's systems. develop a response plan to remediate the
They use machine learning and behavioral incident. This may involve applying patches
analytics to identify anomalies and potential or updates, restoring data from backups, or
security threats. rebuilding systems. The SOC team must also
work to prevent similar incidents from
Overall, each member of the SOC team plays a occurring in the future.
critical role in maintaining the organization's • Post-Incident Analysis: After an incident is
security posture. By working together, the SOC team resolved, the SOC team must conduct a post-
can detect and respond to security incidents quickly incident analysis to identify areas for
and effectively, reducing the risk of costly data improvement. This includes analyzing the
breaches and other cybersecurity incidents. incident response process, identifying any
gaps or weaknesses, and developing a plan to
2.3 Processes and Procedures for Managing address them.
Security Incidents
Overall, effective incident management requires a
well-defined incident response plan, real-time
Processes and procedures for managing security
monitoring tools, and a skilled and experienced SOC
incidents are critical components of an effective
team. By following established processes and
Security Operations Center (SOC). When a security
procedures, the SOC team can respond quickly and
incident occurs, the SOC team must respond quickly
effectively to security incidents, reducing the risk of
and efficiently to contain the damage and prevent
data breaches and other cybersecurity incidents.
further incidents.

Here are some key processes and procedures for

managing security incidents: 2.4 Measuring SOC Performance: Metrics and
• Incident Response Plan: The SOC must have a Reporting
well-defined incident response plan that
outlines the procedures for detecting, Measuring SOC performance is critical to
responding to, and recovering from security understanding the effectiveness of the SOC's
incidents. The plan should include roles and operations and identifying areas for improvement.
responsibilities, escalation procedures, Here are some key metrics and reporting methods
communication protocols, and that can be used to measure SOC performance:
documentation requirements. • Mean Time to Detect (MTTD): MTTD
• Incident Identification: The SOC team should measures the time it takes for the SOC team
have real-time monitoring tools in place to to detect a security incident. A lower MTTD
detect security incidents as they occur. Once indicates that the SOC team is more efficient
an incident is identified, the SOC team must at detecting incidents and responding to
them.
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 Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC) Mughal, A. A. (2022)

• Mean Time to Respond (MTTR): MTTR • Incident Response: Incident response

measures the time it takes for the SOC team services involve detecting and responding to
to respond to and resolve a security incident. security incidents in a timely and effective
A lower MTTR indicates that the SOC team is manner. This includes identifying the scope
more efficient at resolving incidents and and impact of an incident, containing the
reducing the impact of security breaches. damage, investigating the cause, and
• False Positive Rate: The false positive rate remediating the incident.
measures the number of alerts that are • Threat Intelligence: Threat intelligence
generated by the SOC team that are not actual services involve gathering and analyzing
security incidents. A higher false positive rate threat data to identify emerging threats and
can indicate that the SOC team is wasting vulnerabilities. This includes tracking threat
resources on false alarms and not focusing on actors, analyzing malware, and assessing
real threats. potential risks.
• Incident Response Time: Incident response • Vulnerability Management: Vulnerability
time measures the time it takes for the SOC management services involve identifying
team to respond to a security incident once it vulnerabilities in the organization's systems
has been detected. A shorter incident and applications and applying patches and
response time indicates that the SOC team is updates to reduce the risk of exploitation.
more efficient at responding to incidents and • Penetration Testing and Red Teaming:
preventing further damage. Penetration testing and red teaming services
• Compliance: Compliance measures the SOC involve testing the organization's defenses
team's ability to adhere to regulatory and by simulating attacks and attempting to
industry standards for cybersecurity. This exploit vulnerabilities. This helps the SOC
includes compliance with regulations such as team identify weaknesses in the
PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR. organization's security posture and take
steps to improve it.
Reporting methods can include regular reports to • Security Information and Event Management
executive management and the board of directors, (SIEM): SIEM services involve collecting and
as well as dashboards and alerts for SOC team analyzing security data from various sources,
members. These reports should include metrics and including network devices, servers, and
KPIs, as well as analysis of trends and applications. This helps the SOC team identify
recommendations for improvement. potential security incidents and respond to
them in real-time.
Overall, measuring SOC performance is critical to • User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA):
maintaining the organization's security posture and UEBA services involve analyzing user and
reducing the risk of data breaches and other entity behavior across the organization's
cybersecurity incidents. By monitoring and systems and networks to detect potential
reporting on key metrics, the SOC team can identify threats and anomalies. This helps the SOC
areas for improvement and take steps to optimize team detect and respond to threats before
their processes and technology. they can cause damage.

3. SOC Services Overall, SOC services provide a wide range of

SOC services are the functions and capabilities that
a Security Operations Center (SOC) provides to an
organization to help monitor, detect, and respond to
cyber threats. SOC services are essential for
maintaining the security posture of an organization
and protecting against cyber attacks.
capabilities to help organizations protect against
cyber threats. By working together, these services
can help the SOC team detect and respond to
security incidents quickly and effectively, reducing
the risk of costly data breaches and other
cybersecurity incidents.

Here are some key SOC services:

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 Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC) Mughal, A. A. (2022)

3.1 Incident Response: Preparation, Execution, and
Analysis
Incident response is a critical SOC service that
involves detecting, analyzing, and responding to
security incidents in a timely and effective manner.
The incident response process typically involves
three phases: preparation, execution, and analysis.
• Preparation: The preparation phase involves
developing an incident response plan that
outlines the procedures for detecting,
responding to, and recovering from security
incidents. The plan should include roles and
responsibilities, escalation procedures,
communication protocols, and
documentation requirements. The SOC team
should also conduct regular training and
simulations to ensure that they are prepared
to respond to incidents effectively.
• Execution: The execution phase involves
identifying and containing the incident,
investigating the cause and scope of the
attack, and developing a plan to remediate
the damage caused by the incident. This
involves using various tools and techniques,
such as SIEM, EDR, and threat intelligence, to
analyze and respond to the incident.
• Analysis: The analysis phase involves
conducting a post-incident analysis to
identify areas for improvement in the
incident response process. This includes
analyzing the effectiveness of the incident
response plan, identifying any gaps or
weaknesses in the response process, and
developing a plan to address them.
To ensure effective incident response, the SOC team
should follow established procedures and best
practices. This includes:
• Real-time monitoring: Real-time monitoring
of the organization's infrastructure is critical
to detecting and responding to security
incidents quickly.
• Collaboration: The SOC team must work
closely with other departments in the
organization, including IT, compliance, and
legal, to ensure that security policies and
procedures are being followed.
• Communication: Effective communication is
critical during an incident response. The SOC
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team must establish clear communication
protocols to ensure that all stakeholders are
informed about the incident and the
response.
• Documentation: Documentation is critical
during an incident response. The SOC team
must document all actions taken during the
incident response process, including incident
detection, containment, and remediation.
Overall, incident response is a critical SOC service
that requires careful planning, effective
communication, and ongoing assessment and
refinement to ensure that the organization is well-
protected against cyber threats.
3.2 Threat Intelligence: Gathering,
Analyzing, and Sharing Threat Data
Threat intelligence is a SOC service that involves
gathering, analyzing, and sharing threat data to help
organizations stay ahead of emerging cyber threats.
The threat intelligence process typically involves
three phases: gathering, analyzing, and sharing.
• Gathering: The gathering phase involves
collecting threat data from various sources,
including open-source intelligence,
commercial threat feeds, and internal data
sources. The data can include indicators of
compromise (IOCs), malware signatures, and
other information about threat actors and
tactics.
• Analyzing: The analyzing phase involves
processing and analyzing the gathered data
to identify potential threats and
vulnerabilities. This includes identifying
patterns, trends, and anomalies in the data to
help the SOC team understand the threat
landscape.
• Sharing: The sharing phase involves sharing
the analyzed threat intelligence data with
internal stakeholders and external partners.
This includes sharing information with other
SOC teams, government agencies, and
industry partners to improve situational
awareness and coordinate responses to
threats.
 Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC)
To ensure effective threat intelligence, the SOC team
should follow established procedures and best
practices. This includes:
• Continuous monitoring: Continuous
monitoring of threat intelligence sources is
critical to staying ahead of emerging threats.
• Collaboration: The SOC team must work
closely with other departments in the
organization, as well as external partners, to
share threat intelligence data and coordinate
responses to threats.
• Analysis: The SOC team must have the
necessary tools and expertise to analyze
threat intelligence data effectively and
identify potential threats and vulnerabilities.
• Actionable intelligence: The threat
intelligence data should be actionable,
providing specific information about
potential threats and recommendations for
mitigation.
Overall, threat intelligence is a critical SOC service
that helps organizations stay ahead of emerging
cyber threats. By gathering, analyzing, and sharing
threat intelligence data, the SOC team can help the
organization improve its security posture and
reduce the risk of costly data breaches and other
cybersecurity incidents.
3.3 Vulnerability Management: Assessing
and Mitigating Security Weaknesses
Vulnerability management is a SOC service that
involves identifying, assessing, and mitigating
security weaknesses in an organization's systems
and applications.
The vulnerability management process typically
involves four phases: discovery, assessment,
prioritization, and remediation.
• Discovery: The discovery phase involves
identifying all systems and applications in
the organization's environment and
assessing their vulnerabilities. This includes
using vulnerability scanning tools to identify
potential vulnerabilities and risks.
• Assessment: The assessment phase involves
analyzing the vulnerabilities to determine
their severity and potential impact on the
organization. This includes assessing the
likelihood of exploitation, the potential
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damage that could be caused, and the
potential impact on the organization's
business operations.
• Prioritization: The prioritization phase
involves prioritizing vulnerabilities based on
their severity, potential impact, and other
factors. This helps the SOC team focus their
efforts on addressing the most critical
vulnerabilities first.
• Remediation: The remediation phase
involves mitigating the vulnerabilities
through patching, configuration changes, or
other measures. This includes developing a
plan to address each vulnerability and
tracking progress towards remediation.
To ensure effective vulnerability management, the
SOC team should follow established procedures and
best practices. This includes:
• Regular scanning: Regular vulnerability
scanning is critical to identifying and
addressing vulnerabilities in a timely
manner.
• Collaboration: The SOC team must work
closely with other departments in the
organization, including IT, compliance, and
legal, to ensure that vulnerabilities are being
addressed in a timely and effective manner.
• Prioritization: Prioritizing vulnerabilities
based on their severity and potential impact
helps the SOC team focus their efforts on
addressing the most critical vulnerabilities
first.
• Remediation tracking: Tracking progress
towards remediation helps ensure that
vulnerabilities are being addressed in a
timely and effective manner.
Overall, effective vulnerability management is
critical to maintaining the organization's security
posture and reducing the risk of costly data breaches
and other cybersecurity incidents. By identifying
and mitigating vulnerabilities in a timely manner,
the SOC team can help the organization stay ahead
of emerging threats and reduce the risk of cyber
attacks.
 Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC)
3.4 Penetration Testing and Red Teaming:
Identifying and Exploiting Security
Vulnerabilities
Penetration testing and red teaming are SOC
services that involve identifying and exploiting
security vulnerabilities in an organization's systems
and applications. These services are designed to
simulate real-world attacks and help organizations
identify weaknesses in their security posture.
The penetration testing and red teaming process
typically involves four phases: planning, testing,
analysis, and reporting.
• Planning: The planning phase involves
developing a plan for the penetration testing
or red teaming exercise. This includes
identifying the systems and applications to
be tested, defining the scope and objectives
of the exercise, and developing a plan for
conducting the tests.
• Testing: The testing phase involves
conducting the penetration testing or red
teaming exercise, which may include using
various tools and techniques to identify
vulnerabilities and exploit them.
• Analysis: The analysis phase involves
analyzing the results of the testing to identify
vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the
organization's security posture. This
includes assessing the severity of the
vulnerabilities and their potential impact on
the organization.
• Reporting: The reporting phase involves
documenting the results of the testing and
providing recommendations for improving
the organization's security posture. This
includes developing a remediation plan to
address the identified vulnerabilities and
weaknesses.
To ensure effective penetration testing and red
teaming, the SOC team should follow established
procedures and best practices. This includes:
• Planning: Careful planning is critical to
ensuring that the testing exercise is
conducted effectively and efficiently.
• Collaboration: The SOC team must work
closely with other departments in the
organization, including IT, compliance, and
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legal, to ensure that the testing exercise is
conducted in a safe and secure manner.
• Analysis: The SOC team must have the
necessary tools and expertise to analyze the
results of the testing exercise effectively and
identify potential vulnerabilities and
weaknesses.
• Reporting: The reporting phase should
include clear and actionable
recommendations for improving the
organization's security posture.
Overall, penetration testing and red teaming are
critical SOC services that help organizations identify
and address vulnerabilities in their security posture.
By simulating real-world attacks and identifying
weaknesses, the SOC team can help the organization
improve its security posture and reduce the risk of
costly data breaches and other cybersecurity
incidents.
3.5 Security Information and Event
Management: Collecting and Analyzing
Security Data
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
is a SOC service that involves collecting, analyzing,
and correlating security data from various sources
to detect and respond to security incidents in real-
time. SIEM systems provide a centralized view of the
organization's security posture, enabling the SOC
team to identify potential security incidents and
respond to them quickly.
The SIEM process typically involves four phases:
data collection, correlation, analysis, and response.
• Data collection: The data collection phase
involves collecting security data from various
sources, including network devices, servers,
and applications. This includes collecting
logs and other data that can help identify
potential security incidents.
• Correlation: The correlation phase involves
correlating the collected data to identify
patterns and anomalies that may indicate a
potential security incident. This includes
using rules and machine learning algorithms
to identify potential threats.
• Analysis: The analysis phase involves
analyzing the identified security incidents to
determine their severity and potential
 Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC)
impact on the organization. This includes
assessing the likelihood of exploitation, the
potential damage that could be caused, and
the potential impact on the organization's
business operations.
• Response: The response phase involves
responding to the identified security
incidents in a timely and effective manner.
This includes taking action to contain and
remediate the incident, as well as identifying
and addressing any underlying
vulnerabilities or weaknesses in the
organization's security posture.
To ensure effective SIEM, the SOC team should
follow established procedures and best practices.
This includes:
• Data normalization: Normalizing the
collected data ensures that it can be easily
analyzed and correlated.
• Rule tuning: Tuning the correlation rules
ensures that potential security incidents are
accurately identified and not overlooked.
• Automation: Automating the response to
potential security incidents ensures that they
are addressed in a timely and effective
manner.
• Collaboration: The SOC team must work
closely with other departments in the
organization, including IT, compliance, and
legal, to ensure that potential security
incidents are addressed in a safe and secure
manner.
Overall, SIEM is a critical SOC service that helps
organizations identify potential security incidents
and respond to them quickly and effectively. By
collecting, analyzing, and correlating security data
from various sources, the SOC team can improve the
organization's security posture and reduce the risk
of costly data breaches and other cybersecurity
incidents.
3.6 User and Entity Behavior Analytics:
Detecting Anomalies and Threats in User
Activity
User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) is a SOC
service that involves analyzing user and entity
behavior across an organization's systems and
networks to detect potential threats and anomalies.
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UEBA systems use machine learning algorithms and
other techniques to identify patterns in user
behavior that may indicate a potential security
incident.
The UEBA process typically involves four phases:
data collection, analysis, correlation, and response.
• Data collection: The data collection phase
involves collecting user and entity data from
various sources, including logs, network
traffic, and endpoint activity. This includes
collecting data on user activity, application
usage, and network traffic.
• Analysis: The analysis phase involves
analyzing the collected data to identify
potential threats and anomalies in user and
entity behavior. This includes using machine
learning algorithms to identify patterns and
anomalies that may indicate a potential
security incident.
• Correlation: The correlation phase involves
correlating the identified threats and
anomalies with other security data, such as
threat intelligence and vulnerability data, to
provide context and improve accuracy.
• Response: The response phase involves
responding to the identified threats and
anomalies in a timely and effective manner.
This may include taking action to contain and
remediate the incident, as well as identifying
and addressing any underlying
vulnerabilities or weaknesses in the
organization's security posture.
To ensure effective UEBA, the SOC team should
follow established procedures and best practices.
This includes:
• Data normalization: Normalizing the
collected data ensures that it can be easily
analyzed and correlated.
• Rule tuning: Tuning the machine learning
algorithms and other rules ensures that
potential security incidents are accurately
identified and not overlooked.
• Automation: Automating the response to
potential security incidents ensures that they
are addressed in a timely and effective
manner.
• Collaboration: The SOC team must work
closely with other departments in the
organization, including IT, compliance, and
 Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC) Mughal, A. A. (2022)

legal, to ensure that potential security 4.1 Security Orchestration, Automation, and
incidents are addressed in a safe and secure Response: Enhancing SOC Efficiency
manner.
Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response
Overall, UEBA is a critical SOC service that helps (SOAR) is a technology used in a SOC to automate
organizations identify potential threats and and streamline incident response processes,
anomalies in user and entity behavior. By analyzing enabling SOC teams to respond to incidents more
user and entity data from various sources, the SOC efficiently and effectively. SOAR platforms integrate
team can improve the organization's security with various security tools and solutions to provide
posture and reduce the risk of costly data breaches a centralized platform for incident management and
and other cybersecurity incidents. response.
SOAR technology can enhance SOC efficiency in
several ways, including:
4. Technology • Automating incident response: SOAR
platforms automate incident response
The technology used in a SOC plays a crucial role in processes, enabling SOC teams to respond to
its effectiveness. The technology used in a SOC incidents more quickly and effectively. This
includes a wide range of security tools and solutions reduces the time and resources required to
that are used to monitor, detect, and respond to manage incidents, allowing SOC teams to
potential security threats. focus on other critical tasks.
• Streamlining workflows: SOAR platforms
The following are some of the key technologies used provide a centralized platform for incident
in a SOC: management and response, streamlining
• Security Orchestration, Automation, and workflows and reducing the risk of errors or
Response (SOAR): SOAR platforms automate miscommunication between SOC team
and streamline incident response processes, members.
enabling SOC teams to respond to incidents • Integrating with security tools: SOAR
more efficiently and effectively. platforms integrate with various security
• Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR): tools and solutions, such as SIEM and EDR,
EDR solutions monitor and protect providing a comprehensive view of the
endpoints, such as laptops, desktops, and organization's security posture and enabling
servers, against potential security threats. SOC teams to respond to incidents more
• Network Detection and Response (NDR): effectively.
NDR solutions monitor and secure network • Enhancing collaboration: SOAR platforms
traffic to identify potential security threats enable SOC teams to collaborate more
and respond to them in real-time. effectively, providing real-time visibility into
• Cloud Security: Cloud security solutions are incident management processes and
used to manage and secure cloud ensuring that all team members are working
environments, protecting them against together to address incidents.
potential security threats.
To ensure effective use of SOAR technology, the SOC
Overall, the technology used in a SOC must be team should follow established procedures and best
carefully selected and deployed to ensure that it practices. This includes:
meets the organization's security needs and • Defining incident response workflows: Clear
integrates effectively with the SOC's workflows and and defined incident response workflows
processes. The technology must also be regularly ensure that SOC teams are responding to
updated and maintained to ensure that it remains incidents in a consistent and efficient
effective against emerging security threats. manner.
• Regularly updating and maintaining the
SOAR platform: The SOAR platform must be
regularly updated and maintained to ensure
10 | P a g e International Journal of Business Intelligence and Big Data Analytics
 Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC)
that it remains effective against emerging
security threats.
• Training SOC team members: SOC team
members must be trained on the use of the
SOAR platform and incident response
workflows to ensure that they can effectively
use the technology to respond to incidents.
Overall, SOAR technology is a critical component of
a modern SOC, enabling SOC teams to automate and
streamline incident response processes and
respond to incidents more efficiently and effectively.
4.2 Endpoint Detection and Response:
Monitoring and Protecting Endpoints
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a
technology used in a SOC to monitor and protect
endpoints, such as laptops, desktops, and servers,
against potential security threats. EDR solutions
provide real-time visibility into endpoint activity,
enabling SOC teams to detect and respond to
potential security incidents quickly and effectively.
EDR technology can enhance SOC efficiency in
several ways, including:
• Detecting and preventing threats: EDR
solutions use advanced detection techniques,
such as machine learning and behavioral
analysis, to identify potential threats on
endpoints and prevent them from causing
damage.
• Providing real-time visibility: EDR solutions
provide real-time visibility into endpoint
activity, enabling SOC teams to detect and
respond to potential security incidents
quickly and effectively.
• Streamlining incident response: EDR
solutions automate incident response
processes, enabling SOC teams to respond to
incidents more quickly and effectively. This
reduces the time and resources required to
manage incidents, allowing SOC teams to
focus on other critical tasks.
• Integrating with other security tools: EDR
solutions integrate with other security tools
and solutions, such as SIEM and SOAR,
providing a comprehensive view of the
organization's security posture and enabling
SOC teams to respond to incidents more
effectively.
11 | P a g e International Journal of Business Intelligence and Big Data Analytics
Mughal, A. A. (2022)
To ensure effective use of EDR technology, the SOC
team should follow established procedures and best
practices. This includes:
• Regularly updating and maintaining EDR
solutions: The EDR solutions must be
regularly updated and maintained to ensure
that they remain effective against emerging
security threats.
• Configuring EDR solutions appropriately:
The EDR solutions must be configured
appropriately to ensure that they provide the
necessary level of protection without causing
unnecessary disruption to endpoint activity.
• Training SOC team members: SOC team
members must be trained on the use of EDR
solutions to ensure that they can effectively
use the technology to monitor and protect
endpoints.
Overall, EDR technology is a critical component of a
modern SOC, enabling SOC teams to monitor and
protect endpoints against potential security threats.
By providing real-time visibility into endpoint
activity and automating incident response
processes, EDR technology can help SOC teams
respond to incidents more efficiently and effectively.
4.3 Network Detection and Response:
Monitoring and Securing Network Traffic
Network Detection and Response (NDR) is a
technology used in a SOC to monitor and secure
network traffic to identify potential security threats
and respond to them in real-time. NDR solutions
provide real-time visibility into network traffic,
enabling SOC teams to detect and respond to
potential security incidents quickly and effectively.
NDR technology can enhance SOC efficiency in
several ways, including:
• Detecting and preventing threats: NDR
solutions use advanced detection techniques,
such as machine learning and behavioral
analysis, to identify potential threats in
network traffic and prevent them from
causing damage.
• Providing real-time visibility: NDR solutions
provide real-time visibility into network
traffic, enabling SOC teams to detect and
 Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC)
respond to potential security incidents
quickly and effectively.
• Streamlining incident response: NDR
solutions automate incident response
processes, enabling SOC teams to respond to
incidents more quickly and effectively. This
reduces the time and resources required to
manage incidents, allowing SOC teams to
focus on other critical tasks.
• Integrating with other security tools: NDR
solutions integrate with other security tools
and solutions, such as SIEM and SOAR,
providing a comprehensive view of the
organization's security posture and enabling
SOC teams to respond to incidents more
effectively.
To ensure effective use of NDR technology, the SOC
team should follow established procedures and best
practices. This includes:
• Regularly updating and maintaining NDR
solutions: The NDR solutions must be
regularly updated and maintained to ensure
that they remain effective against emerging
security threats.
• Configuring NDR solutions appropriately:
The NDR solutions must be configured
appropriately to ensure that they provide the
necessary level of protection without causing
unnecessary disruption to network traffic.
• Training SOC team members: SOC team
members must be trained on the use of NDR
solutions to ensure that they can effectively
use the technology to monitor and secure
network traffic.
Overall, NDR technology is a critical component of a
modern SOC, enabling SOC teams to monitor and
secure network traffic against potential security
threats. By providing real-time visibility into
network traffic and automating incident response
processes, NDR technology can help SOC teams
respond to incidents more efficiently and effectively.
4.4 Cloud Security: Managing and Securing
Cloud Environments
Cloud Security is a technology used in a SOC to
manage and secure cloud environments, protecting
them against potential security threats. As
12 | P a g e International Journal of Business Intelligence and Big Data Analytics
Mughal, A. A. (2022)
organizations increasingly adopt cloud computing, it
becomes essential to secure these environments to
prevent data breaches and other cybersecurity
incidents.
Cloud Security technology can enhance SOC
efficiency in several ways, including:
• Providing real-time visibility: Cloud Security
solutions provide real-time visibility into
cloud environments, enabling SOC teams to
detect and respond to potential security
incidents quickly and effectively.
• Identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities:
Cloud Security solutions can identify
vulnerabilities in cloud environments and
provide recommendations for mitigating
them.
• Automating incident response: Cloud
Security solutions automate incident
response processes, enabling SOC teams to
respond to incidents more quickly and
effectively. This reduces the time and
resources required to manage incidents,
allowing SOC teams to focus on other critical
tasks.
• Integrating with other security tools: Cloud
Security solutions integrate with other
security tools and solutions, such as SIEM
and SOAR, providing a comprehensive view
of the organization's security posture and
enabling SOC teams to respond to incidents
more effectively.
To ensure effective use of Cloud Security technology,
the SOC team should follow established procedures
and best practices. This includes:
• Regularly updating and maintaining Cloud
Security solutions: The Cloud Security
solutions must be regularly updated and
maintained to ensure that they remain
effective against emerging security threats.
• Configuring Cloud Security solutions
appropriately: The Cloud Security solutions
must be configured appropriately to ensure
that they provide the necessary level of
protection without causing unnecessary
disruption to cloud environments.
• Training SOC team members: SOC team
members must be trained on the use of Cloud
Security solutions to ensure that they can
 Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC) Mughal, A. A. (2022)

effectively use the technology to manage and

secure cloud environments. To stay ahead of these trends and prepare for the
future of the SOC, organizations must invest in the
Overall, Cloud Security technology is a critical latest cybersecurity technologies and ensure that
component of a modern SOC, enabling SOC teams to their SOC teams are trained and equipped to
manage and secure cloud environments against effectively respond to potential security incidents.
potential security threats. By providing real-time The SOC must also be integrated with other
visibility into cloud environments and automating departments in the organization to ensure that
incident response processes, Cloud Security potential security incidents are addressed in a safe
technology can help SOC teams respond to incidents and secure manner. Overall, the future of the SOC
more efficiently and effectively. will be shaped by the ability of organizations to
adapt to emerging threats and technologies, while
5. The Future of the SOC also maintaining a focus on collaboration,
compliance, and effective incident response.
The Future of the SOC is an important consideration
for organizations looking to stay ahead of emerging 5.1 The Evolving Cybersecurity Landscape:
cybersecurity threats and technologies. As cyber Emerging Threats and Technologies
threats continue to evolve and become more
sophisticated, the SOC must evolve as well to ensure The evolving cybersecurity landscape is
that it remains effective in protecting against characterized by emerging threats and technologies
potential threats. that require organizations to stay vigilant and adapt
to new challenges. Some of the emerging threats that
The following are some of the key factors that will are expected to pose a significant risk in the future
shape the future of the SOC: include:
• Emerging threats and technologies: The • Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs): APTs
cybersecurity landscape is constantly are sophisticated and persistent attacks that
evolving, with new threats and technologies are specifically designed to evade detection
emerging regularly. The SOC must be able to and gain unauthorized access to an
adapt to these changes to remain effective in organization's systems.
protecting against potential threats. • Ransomware: Ransomware is a type of
• Automation and AI: Automation and artificial malware that encrypts an organization's data
intelligence (AI) are expected to play an and demands payment in exchange for the
increasingly important role in the SOC, decryption key.
enabling SOC teams to automate routine • Internet of Things (IoT) attacks: As more
tasks and improve the speed and accuracy of devices become connected to the internet,
incident response. the potential for IoT attacks increases. These
• Collaboration: Collaboration between the attacks can target devices such as smart
SOC and other departments, such as IT and homes, healthcare devices, and industrial
compliance, is expected to become control systems.
increasingly important in the future, as • Supply chain attacks: Supply chain attacks
organizations seek to improve their overall involve targeting third-party vendors and
security posture. suppliers that have access to an
• Cloud computing: As more organizations organization's systems.
move to the cloud, the SOC must be able to
adapt to these changes and effectively In addition to these threats, emerging technologies
manage and secure cloud environments. such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of
• Compliance and regulations: Compliance and Things (IoT) are also expected to have a significant
regulatory requirements will continue to impact on the cybersecurity landscape. AI can be
play a significant role in shaping the future of used to enhance cybersecurity by automating threat
the SOC, with organizations required to meet detection and response, while the IoT presents new
increasingly strict security standards.
13 | P a g e International Journal of Business Intelligence and Big Data Analytics
 Building and Securing the Modern Security Operations Center (SOC) Mughal, A. A. (2022)

security challenges due to the large number of tools and technologies specifically designed
devices connected to the internet. for cloud-based environments.
• Greater collaboration: Collaboration
To address these emerging threats and technologies, between the SOC and other departments
organizations must ensure that their SOC teams are within an organization, such as IT and
equipped with the latest cybersecurity tools and compliance, will become increasingly
technologies, such as AI and machine learning. They important in the future. This will allow for a
must also establish strong security policies and more coordinated approach to cybersecurity
protocols to prevent potential breaches and ensure and more effective incident response.
that they remain compliant with relevant • Focus on metrics and measurement: The SOC
regulations and standards. will increasingly focus on measuring its
performance and effectiveness. This will
Overall, the evolving cybersecurity landscape involve the development of new metrics and
presents both challenges and opportunities for key performance indicators (KPIs) to track
organizations. To stay ahead of emerging threats SOC performance and identify areas for
and technologies, organizations must remain improvement.
vigilant and proactive in their approach to
cybersecurity. This includes investing in the latest Overall, the future of the SOC is expected to be
technologies, establishing strong security protocols, shaped by emerging technologies, increased
and ensuring that SOC teams are trained and automation, and greater collaboration between
equipped to effectively respond to potential security departments. Organizations that invest in the latest
incidents. cybersecurity technologies and establish strong
security policies and protocols will be best
5.2 The Future of the SOC: Trends and positioned to adapt to these changes and effectively
Predictions protect against emerging threats.

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15 | P a g e International Journal of Business Intelligence and Big Data Analytics