class="news-template-default single single-news postid-7254 wp-custom-logo tribe-no-js">
SOC as a Service 101
What is a SOC?
A SOC (Security Operations Centre) is the combination of people, technology and process which is responsible for round the clock monitoring to reduce the damage of a cyber-attack that effectively evades preventive security measures.
A common misconception of a SOC is that the implementation of one will 100% reduce the risk of a cyber-attack. Although this is the goal, the ever-evolving TTTPs (Tactics Techniques and Procedures) used by threat actors means this is not always possible.
Therefore, SOCs focus on detecting and responding to malicious activity on a security environment to disrupt an attacker early in their campaign to reduce the impact of a breach.
What is a SOC as a Service (SOCaaS)?
SOC (Security Operations Centre) as a service is the outsourcing of an organisations SOC to an expert third party to benefit from their specialist expertise. This is typically as a fully managed service, but in some instances, organisations choose to use a hybrid approach where a third party bolsters the internal skills of an existing security operation.
Is SOC as a service the same as MDR?
There can be some confusion between Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and SOC as a service, as they both utilise people and technology to monitor for cyber threats within a company’s environment.
However, the main differentiating factor for SOC as a service is the continual use of expert analysts to analyse alerts and respond appropriately. MDR, on the other hand, typically focusses on the use of technology to automate out the review process of alerts.
Frequently, an MDR function is integrated within a SOC function to reduce alert fatigue and improve response times for low level alerts.
SOC as a service benefits
Increased cyber posture is one of the key benefits of a SOC as a service. The access to highly skilled analysts speeds up both detection and response as providers can tune out of the box detection rules to best suit a business’s environment.
This reduces overall noise of alerts as well as accuracy to ensure no malicious signals are missed. Expert third party analysts can also support in the best response methods if malicious activity is picked up, improving response times.
As well as posture there are several other benefits to outsourcing a SOC function, these can predominantly be broken down into three categories: Costs, Resource and Scalability.
Cost
The cost of setting up an internal SOC can be unattainable for many small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) with a limited cybersecurity budget. By utilising a third-party provider, businesses can benefit from cost reductions in tooling, licensing, software and equipment as these are split between multiple customers.
The reduction in these costs can enable SMBs to benefit from higher spec tooling and expertise, that they may struggle to afford, or get budget approved for in house.
Resource
The cybersecurity industry has been facing year on year staffing and skills shortages, making it very difficult to attract and retain expert analysts internally. Outsourcing to third-party provider elevates this challenge and enables internal teams to focus on security needs best suited for an internal team.
Moreover, as TTPs continue to evolve ongoing staff training is imperative to keep analysts up to date with the latest detection and response methodology. Cybersecurity training is inherently expensive, and by outsourcing a SOC to a third party, these costs are alleviated.
Scalability
By outsourcing a business’s SOC function, it enables flexibility to grow or shrink a team of analysts based on the business’s needs. With an internal team, size is likely to be fixed and difficult to adjust in times of need.
Working with a third party that allows contract agility allows SMBs to flex their security function with minimal impact on internal teams such as HR.
How to evaluate SOC as a service providers?
When outsourcing, working with a cybersecurity partner that matches your businesses needs is vital to avoid service frustrations.
For example, a large enterprise vendor is typically not suitable for a scaling SMB business that may require more support in their cybersecurity roadmap, as they do not have the dedicated customer support teams suitable.
Therefore, it is recommended that businesses use these factors to assess the subtility of potential providers:
Support
Assessing and being honest with the level of support required from a SOC as a service provider is a very beneficial evaluation tool as it will set expectations and clearer SLAs for both parties.
If a business is new to their cybersecurity journey, they will likely require more support both in onboarding and planning their ongoing roadmap. Certain customer centric providers will be better suited to this level of support than others.
Technology
Some SOC as a service providers partner with specific vendors and their tech stacks. This can tie businesses in to licensing contracts where it is hard to move but also, the tech stack used might not be best suitable to the businesses existing environment.
Cost
Arguably cost is one of the most important factors to assess SOC as a service provider, as only providers within a business allocated budget will be a legitimate option. Unfortunately, gathering this information prior to a sales call is traditionally quite difficult.
But what is important to bear in mind is that high service quality can come at a cost. By assessing the above factors, it makes it easier to find a trustworthy and well-fitting provider to partner with who may be able to assist with building a business case to secure an increased cybersecurity budget.
Do I need a SOC as a service?
As discussed in our report, The SMB Fight Against Ransomware: Is a SOC the Answer? businesses of all sizes are becoming increasingly more at risk of high impact cyber-attacks. To find out more about the impact of ransomware on SMBs and whether a SOC as a service is the best solution to this challenge, download the full report here.
