Our Security Operation Center (SOC) as a service program.
The need to protect company data and maintain a safe virtual environment are the key considerations for every business.
Whether you run a global operations department or a branch office, ensuring the safety of your staff and assets is a top priority. According to Gartner, Inc., the global market share for information security incident response teams (ISIRT) doubled to 16.7% in 2016 from 8.3% in 2015.
So, if you’re looking to hire a specialist to manage your security operations, consider our Security Operation Center (SOC) as a service. Developed based on the research of security operations practitioners, our SOC platform tailors the role to your exact requirements.
Your Top Security Operations Issues
We analyzed the top security issues that your organization’s security professionals are struggling with and the problems they’re encountering in their day-to-day jobs. Based on our research and experience, we’ve compiled an ideal security operations role profile that suits your needs.
Here, you’ll discover the top three security operations challenges that your employees are dealing with, along with a few tips on how to address them effectively. We’ll also discuss the most critical skills and attributes required of a successful Security Officer.
1. Data gathering and analysis.
One of the essential functions of a security official is to gather and analyze as much information as possible. This includes everything from intel on potential threats to monitoring activity on your networks. In 2016, 74.1% of security professionals reported that their most critical challenge was gathering and analyzing information about threats and attacks. Nearly three out of four security professionals (74.4%) said that dealing with complex data sets and gathering and analyzing a range of information was also a major challenge.
In the wrong hands, this information can be pretty damaging. So it’s essential that you have the right people collecting this data and presenting it in a useful format. According to our research, an ideal security officer should be skilled at gathering, analyzing, and reporting on complex data. This includes things like threat intel, which can be notoriously difficult to collect and process. The more you can do to automate this process, the better. You can find a support team that can help you with this, such as Splunk. They can assist you with analyzing massive amounts of data and presenting it in a useful format. For example, you can use their search and reporting functionality to find the information you need and want to analyze.
2. Identifying and responding to suspicious activity.
As your organization’s security officer, one of your most important jobs is to spot and alert your staff and management to suspicious activity. This includes everything from unusual network activity to employee disquiet and mental lapses. For example, if you notice that a particular employee is frequently accessing personal data, or suddenly becomes very quiet, those could be signs of trouble. A 2016 IBM Security Research report identified vigilance and speed in identifying attacks as the top skill for incident responders, followed by the ability to analyze and synthesize a wide range of information.
It is essential that you have the right person in place to identify suspicious activity and determine its significance. Unfortunately, many organizations don’t have this covered by law, so it falls to the individual security officer to determine if the behavior they’re observing is, in fact, suspicious. This requires a high degree of vigilance and mental acuity, as well as the ability to quickly determine the motives of those around them.
Fortunately, with the right training, tools, and protocols in place, your security team can approach each situation with a clear head and sound judgment. With a little bit of automation, you can ensure that every situation is documented and that the significance of each event is clear. This will help you identify patterns that might indicate a malicious intent and improve overall security.
3. Coordinating and conducting investigations.
If you have a clear policy in place for investigating incidents and analyzing security breaches, you can rest assured that your organization’s security professionals will have the training and the support to carry out these crucial tasks effectively. Unfortunately, many organizations don’t have clear policies in place for investigating cyber attacks, which can lead to a lack of coordination and transparency. As a result, your security team may be forced to repeatedly revert to old patterns, which could leave your organization vulnerable.
According to the 2014 Global Information Security Survey by the research firm Teneo Intelligence, 65% of respondents reported that their most critical challenge was proving the origin of an attack. A whopping 79% said that it was difficult to identify the motives of those behind an attack. These are huge concerns, given the increasing amount of cybercrime we’re seeing. If you want to maintain a safe and productive virtual environment, you need to establish clear policies and procedures for investigating any suspicious activity.
Key Skills and Attributes of a Successful Security Officer
Now, let’s delve into the specific skills and attributes that set a successful Security Officer apart from others.
First off, we need someone who is detail oriented and has a good memory. This is important because, as we’ve discussed, your security officer will be analyzing a lot of information and may come across details that could be important to the case. These details can include emails and chat logs that were previously unreported or unnoticed, or they could be items that were seemingly unconnected that, in reality, are deeply entwined.
We also need someone who is objective and even-handed, demonstrating that they can look at evidence objectively and reach an unbiased decision – even in the most difficult of cases. This even-handedness is important because, again, as we’ve discussed, your security officers will be working with a variety of information and sources that can all be, potentially, misleading. They need to be able to separate fact from fiction, accurate data from inaccurate data, and useful information from useless information.
Above all else, we need someone who is passionate about security and determined to protect their organization from malicious activity. As we’ve discussed, your security officer’s job is not an easy one, and there are a lot of responsibilities that come with it. Once you’ve found that perfect candidate, give them the training and support they need to succeed.
Contact Us
If you are interested in our SOC as a service program then please contact us today to discuss your specific needs.