1. What is a Security Operations Center (SOC), and What Does It Do?
2. Why Use a Managed SOC?
3. Selecting a Managed SOC Solution Provider
4. How Can Tx Assist with managed SOC Services
5. Summary

Every business requires resilient protection against cyber threats. As new tech innovations enter the market, security against evolving cyberattacks is also getting harder. With the rapid surge in cyberattacks, every business wants to protect itself from breaches and successful attacks, as they can hurt brand image and cost millions to recover. This raises the question, “How can users trust an organization that experienced a cyberattack?” This is why a security operations center (SOC) is a must for every organization. 

SOC teams utilize various processes and tools to identify, analyze, and respond to suspicious behaviour and cybersecurity incidents. Although SOC teams are important for a business to function securely, not all organizations prioritize this aspect. And there are dozens of reasons why this is so. But there’s another way to leverage the benefits of SOC, i.e., managed SOC. 

What is a Security Operations Center (SOC), and What Does It Do? 

There was a time when only passwords and antivirus software were sufficient to protect a computer’s digital assets. However, modern cyberattacks have become more cunning with rapid tech advancements. That’s why the security operations center has become a basic necessity to keep oneself always on alert and swiftly respond to any security incident. 

The SOC assists an organization in improving its threat detection, response, and prevention measures by integrating and coordinating all cybersecurity technologies and operations. Also known as an information security operations center (ISOC) is a team of security professionals that monitors an organization’s IT infrastructure. It could be an in-house or outsourced team that detects, analyzes, and counters any security incidents in real-time. They can maintain surveillance over the enterprise network, applications, and systems to ensure a strong defence wall against cyberattacks. 

If not established in-house, the outsourced SOC is often referred to as a managed SOC, provided by a managed security service provider (MSSP). The primary benefit of outsourcing SOC is that it integrates and manages an organization’s security infrastructure, including security tools, strategies, and cyber incident preventive measures. The result? Improved security protocols and policies, effective and cost-efficient response to security threats, and faster detection. It also helps increase customer trust levels and strengthen industry compliance measures according to national and global regulations. 

What Does It Do? 

• The SOC continuously monitors assets, such as tools, technologies, hardware, and software, for security incidents. 

• It analyzes tech infrastructure regularly 24*7 to detect and address any abnormalities or irregular activities. The SOC teams use behavioral monitoring to minimize false positives. 

• Every security incident has different risk levels. SOC teams can prioritize alerts by assigning a severity ranking. They can perform incident response after a breach is detected. 

• The SOC team conducts a root-cause investigation after an incident occurs. They review the log information to track the cause and prevent it from happening again. 

• The SOC team works according to organizational policies, regulatory requirements, and standards. 

Why Use a Managed SOC? 

Managed SOC, or SOC as a Service, is a subscription-based solution in which organizations outsource the SOC to external cybersecurity experts. They deploy their teams to monitor the organization’s applications, IT networks, data, and devices to identify vulnerabilities, risks, and threats. Here are some of the managed SOC features: 

• The third-party SOC provider will be responsible for an organization’s security operations. Businesses can leverage the support of security experts 24/7/365, and the cost associated is less than that of around-the-clock in-house monitoring. Whenever a suspicious activity is identified, the managed SOC teams will get an instant alert before it harms the organization’s data and brand value. Also, they utilize behavioral analysis to teach security systems the difference between regular activities and threat behaviour. 

• Businesses that produce huge amounts of data often face problems during threat detection. It is time-consuming, as security teams must scan all data for malware or suspicious activities. Managed SOC streamlines the fraudulent activity identification process and ensures businesses are protected by proactive threat detection.  

• The managed SOC team comprises a security analyst and incident responder, followed by security engineers, compliance auditors, threat hunters, and forensic lab experts. They combine their expertise and use technologies like AI, ML, cloud, etc., to detect, analyze, remediate, and learn from security incidents. 

• Businesses should set up rules to detect certain threats to a network. There will be many preloaded alerts if they opt for a standard SOC service, which is usually true with in-house SOCs. Managing hundreds or thousands of alerts is impossible as the in-house teams don’t have enough strength to handle all the alerts. So, to discover and prioritize abnormalities based on their threat level, managed SOC service is the best option. This will also save time and resources by sending alerts when it truly matters and needs action. 

• The cost of adopting managed SOC services differs depending on the business size. Managed SOC solution providers offer affordable and predictable monthly to yearly subscription plans. Businesses don’t have to spend extra money hiring new security professionals and training them to manage the SIEM solution.  

Selecting a Managed SOC Solution Provider 

Managed SOC makes security cost-effective for businesses of all sizes and offers various benefits over in-house security operations centers. However, the specifications and quality of services and tools will vary from vendor to vendor. Here are some of the things that businesses should consider when evaluating a managed SOC solution: 

• What is the level of customization needed for enterprise IT security? 

• How many customizations can the vendor offer? 

• Can the vendor utilize AI, ML, and other digital tools and technologies for advanced security? 

• How much experience does the vendor have in outsourcing security services? 

• What type of additional security services does the vendor have? 

• Are there any other enterprises in the same or a comparable industry using the services of the vendor being evaluated? 

How Can Tx Assist with Managed SOC Services? 

Partnering with a managed SOC solution provider offers you the necessary cybersecurity expertise and resources required to secure IT operations. Being a leader in security testing services, Tx covers a wide range of operations in managed SOC services: 

• We Provide managed SOC consultancy services to assist you in establishing your own SOC. 

• Our report includes a detailed analysis of detected threats, and the remediation measures you must implement. The report will also include metrics such as MTTD (Mean Time to Detect) and MTTR (Mean Time to Respond). 

• Our security experts perform the compliance evaluation to provide you with relevant regulatory standards and compliance details necessary for your business. 

• Our in-house security framework, Tx-Secure, developed by Tx SCoE, continuously monitors and detects threats in your security infrastructure. 

• We conduct SOC maturity assessments to identify gaps in your security operations. Our technical evaluation covers business, people, technology, services, and processes. 

• We utilize top-of-line tools and technologies like AI/ML, RPA, cloud, and test automation to offer scalable security solutions. 

Conclusion 

The cyber threat ecosystem is rapidly evolving, and organizations cannot ignore the severe impact of even a single security incident. Security operations center can offer various benefits to businesses that want to optimize their cybersecurity measures. A managed SOC solution from a reliable vendor like Tx can speed up security improvement with far greater expertise and at a low cost compared to in-house SOC. To learn how Tx can assist you, contact our experts now!