Insight into Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC)

Cloud services are now almost universally used for Cyber Security Operations. A report by The State of Security Operations 2020 states that 64.6% of IT security operations and services are now hosted in the cloud. Technology, healthcare, and government organisations are introducing cloud-hosted SOC services. The shift to a largely remote workforce results in new security challenges. Along with dealing with a continuously changing threat landscape, security teams were forced to create new approaches to manage vulnerabilities to the company network and data posed by home-based workers.   

Even as they tried to solve concerns connected to ongoing cloud adoption and digital transformation programs, security organisations had to develop solutions to handle these new issues. The security teams in charge of an organisation's cyber defences often needed to be more staffed and unable to secure the funding they needed to do their tasks. The pattern sparked an increase in demand for managed security services providers and security services offered in the cloud.   

Have you ever heard of the term “CSOC”? A CSOC is a group of network security analysts who work together around the clock to identify, investigate, respond to, document, and prevent network security issues. In this blog, we will learn about CSOC, its functions, types, characteristics, and benefits. 

Table of Contents

1) Introduction to Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC)  

2) What does a CSOC do?   

3) Let’s discuss the types of CSOC   

4) Understanding the characteristics of an effective CSOC  

5) So, what are the Benefits of a CSOC?   

6) Conclusion 

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Introduction to Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) 

Cybersecurity Operations Center (CSOC) refers to the Center for Cyber Security that oversees the intake, triage, validation, and response to incidents, threats, or problems through crisis management, mitigation, and important consultation. A CSOC's job is to protect strategic networks from unauthorised activity, which involves monitoring, detection, analysis, reaction, and restoration actions.  

Members of the CSOC team provide an incident response for various cybersecurity situations, including malware attacks, hacked accounts, corporate email intrusion, phishing, system or data breach, and unauthorised data leak. The CSOC will be informed as needed for the incident to monitor suspected unusual activity, do forensic analysis on the log or system data, restrict impacted accounts or systems, and advise on the best course of action for mitigation.

Under the direction of the University Legal Counsel, a CSOC collaborates with administrative departments such as human resources, research integrity, and law enforcement to assist in e-discovery, legal response, and data preservation services.  


 

What does a CSOC do?

CSOCs carry out a certain set of functions by utilising technology, best practices, and processes that are used to deliver a specific set of services that necessarily include many different meta domains and disciplines. Most importantly, a CSOC delivers the following functions: 

1) Security monitoring and auditing

2) Incident response

3) Threat and vulnerability management

4) Security monitoring

5) Auditing and training

6) Device management and security compliance

7) Malware, forensic, vulnerability, and threat intelligence analysis

8) Penetration testing, countermeasure implementation, and security audits

A well-functioning CSOC will perform activities like attack path modelling, security intelligence collection, and risk analytics analysis. Talents and skill sets vary significantly between CSOCs. The effectiveness of a CSOC is determined by the quality of its team rather than the quantity. Because of the increased risk of events and breaches and the rising use of managed security services, Gartner predicts that 15% of big enterprises have a CSOC. 

Let’s discuss the types of CSOC 

There are other types of CSOC that are defined by their organisational and operational model rather than their core sets of capabilities, so let's get started and look at them all. 

1) Virtual CSOC 

A secure web-based application called a virtual CSOC lets you quickly check the system security in real time. This centralised command and control center make it possible to control security operations, better understand your organisation's security posture, and find all of your security monitoring and incident response needs in one place. It will also help you in passing the audit test. Managers use a virtual CSOC to prioritise security events and use the most current threat intelligence methods to respond and resolve the incidents that have the biggest effect on your company. 

2) Distributed CSOC

These kinds of operations typically rely on freelancers, security service providers, and employees from other departments to force multiply their capabilities with specialised knowledge as and when necessary. These operations usually have a few staff members on-site 24/7 to manage ongoing operations. The distributed approach can be significantly less expensive than dedicated CSOC models and permits you to keep essential security functions in-house. However, you give up agility, responsiveness, and teamwork with this model, which can affect the team’s productivity. 

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3) Dedicated CSOC

The ideal CSOC has a dedicated facility, supporting infrastructure, and a workforce that functions independently, providing continuous security operations consistently. Large enterprises, multinational corporations, and nation-states generally run dedicated CSOCs. 

4) Command CSOC 

A command CSOC is a specific building, infrastructure, and team that serves as the command-and-control center for several other CSOCs with regional bases. To coordinate incident response on a local, national, or international scale, command CSOC teams collaborate with external CSOC teams. They also work together on training, education, knowledge sharing, and cooperative initiatives with other CSOCs. Defence contractors, influential nations, and military intelligence groups run command CSOCs. 

Understanding the characteristics of an effective CSOC 

1) Authority- A CSOC that needs more authority spends more time-fighting political battles than having a successful operational influence. To be effective, they require a clear direction from senior leadership, documented policies that grant them authorisation to exist and secure funding, and solid internal policies. 

2) Emphasis on quality- An essential component of Cyber Security is people, and choosing the correct number of operators to hire can be challenging. However, emphasising the operator's quality is crucial. You need to put specific policies, compensation plans, and employee support mechanisms to ensure that you can retain your quality assets and prevent the standard high employee transaction cost in the Cyber Security sector. 

3) Data handling- There is a delicate balance to be achieved when gathering data that can help identify potential threats. Too little data or too much data can be dangerous. A practical, operationally focused strategy can help prioritise resources because collecting the correct amount of data in the right amounts and from the right places is essential.  

4) Efficiency in tasks- It can be challenging to decide which duties to take on and to what degree, but over time and as a CSOC matures, it can build upon its failures and successes and take on new roles in its journey toward operational excellence. A good CSOC needs to determine which of their many responsibilities are a priority and focus on doing the essentials effectively. 

5) Maximising technology value- They maximise technology value by investing resources in tools' ongoing development and integration into unified architecture and workflows. A newly established CSOC must determine the relevance of its technology purchases concerning its constituency, longevity, and operator feedback. 

6) Proactive- A freshly formed CSOC constantly modifies its approaches, tactics, and procedures to adapt to a changing threat environment. Consuming cyber threat intelligence is part of this proactive strategy, which is motivated by observations and analysis and directed by a cyber threat analysis cell that focuses on advanced and persistent threats. 

7) Mission-oriented- The finest CSOC operations separate passive monitoring systems, analytics, and sensitive data storage from the rest of the company. A robust CSOC operation must function even when its resources have been compromised. To gain customer confidence and maximum impact, they authorise monitoring points of presence, prevent the competitor from learning about their monitoring capabilities, and provide transparency while reporting to their clients.

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So, what are the Benefits of a CSOC? 

Listed below are a few of the top benefits of CSOC: 

1) Continuous safety 

All year long, CSOCs are open 24/7. This continuous monitoring is essential to identify the earliest indications of unusual behaviour. Attacks only happen occasionally. CSOC team members, whether internal, external, or virtual, continuously scan for vulnerabilities to identify threats at all times. 

2) Rapid and effective response 

The period between when the hack initially happened and the mean time to detection is reduced because CSOC team members continuously watch for threats. CSOC analysts evaluate any observed unusual activity to determine whether an attack is taking place before attempting to limit it. The CSOC team then starts the incident response process to assess the threats' seriousness, eliminate them, and address any adverse effects. 

3) Threat detection 

CSOCs are used for more than just incident detection. CSOC teams undertake analysis and threat monitoring to identify potential threats before they become actual attacks. CSOCs boost the organisation's visibility and control over security systems, allowing it to stay one step ahead of threats and problems. 

4) Collaboration and communication 

A CSOC team is skilled at working together and communicating inside and with the rest of the company. For example, through security awareness training programs, CSOC team members educate clients, third-party contractors, workers, and others about potential dangers. Cyber Security Operations Centre members also communicate security insights to C-level managers, business leaders, and department heads to assist them in calculating possible risks and deciding whether to accept them or implement new policies or controls to reduce them. 

5) Accountability 

Critical SOC monitoring skills are essential to organisational accountability, especially when following laws like General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that call for specific security monitoring activities and methods. 

6) Better business reputation 

The existence of a CSOC is a sign that an organisation takes data security and privacy seriously for its staff, clients, customers, and other stakeholders. This makes it easier for the company, its workers, and its clients to share data. Additionally, a business will gain its customers' trust by treating the security and privacy of its data with greater seriousness. A well-run CSOC may result in more referrals from both existing and new customers due to its enhanced corporate reputation. 

Conclusion

This blog gives you a detailed understanding of what is Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) is, Operational Cyber Security, types, characteristics, and benefits of CSOC. In addition, the blog will help you learn what a CSOC does and why CSOCs are a vital resource for detecting security incidents for many organisations.   

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