This blog post will explain in detail the SOC (Security Operation Center) Team, which is becoming increasingly important in the cybersecurity world, and the roles in the team. It will include information about the duties and responsibilities of the members of the SOC team as well as the skills required to be a part of this team.
The analysts are responsible for monitoring security alerts, analyzing security incidents, and responding quickly to potential threats. They use various tools and technologies to investigate alerts, determine their validity, and escalate incidents that require further attention.
They are essential in developing and implementing incident response plans, coordinating with other teams, and ensuring a fast and effective response to security breaches. They are also responsible for incident investigations and writing reports of related incidents.
They use advanced techniques and tools to detect threats that may not be identified by automated systems. This helps the SOC to stay ahead of evolving cyber threats and improve the overall security posture of the organization.
The forensic analyst collects all physical and digital evidence from the crime scene that can be used to solve the case in the future. The accumulated data can be analyzed with special software. The goal is to write a report that will help solve the case with this evidence.
They ensure that security tools are properly configured, up to date, and effectively integrated with the organization's infrastructure. They also work with other IT teams to implement security best practices. Their primary responsibility is to define and implement the organization's security policies and procedures.
The SOC Manager is responsible for leading the SOC and overseeing its overall operation. Their role includes strategic planning, coordination, and ensuring that the team is aligned with the organization's security objectives.
A SOC (Security Operations Center) team is a group of cybersecurity professionals who monitor, detect, respond to, and mitigate security incidents within an organization. The primary goal of SOC is to improve overall cybersecurity by proactively detecting and addressing potential threats to the organization's information systems, networks, and data. The Security Operations Center (SOC) team plays a crucial role in protecting organizations from various cyber threats such as brute force, malware, phishing, data breaches, and other security incidents. The team continuously monitors security events and incidents to ensure a prompt and efficient response to detected security threats.
The SOC team is responsible for continuous monitoring, alert triage, and incident response. They apply a forensic intelligence model, which includes performing forensic analysis, proactively hunting for threats, managing security tools, providing security awareness training, documenting and reporting findings, and collaborating with other teams. The SOC team writes various detection rules on SIEM, EDR, XDR, or various security tools with the logs collected from various sources in the system, and is responsible for the detailed investigation of the alerts generated as a result of these rules. The roles and responsibilities of the SOC team members are detailed below.
Security analysts are the backbone of any SOC team. They are responsible for monitoring security alerts, analyzing security incidents, and responding quickly to potential threats. Analysts use a variety of tools and technologies to investigate alerts, determine their validity, and escalate incidents that require further attention. The following are the skills that a security analyst should have:
Security analysts are critical to the detection, analysis, and reporting of attacks. In cases where the security analyst misunderstands the alert, real attacks can sometimes be missed. Sometimes they might fail to evaluate false positives, which are not real or known attacks. This leads to situations such as different teams taking unnecessary actions. To avoid such situations, there are usually structures called tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 within SOC teams. The purpose of this structure is to prevent misjudgment by having more than one person see the actual attack.
According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a security analyst in the United States is $97,677 per year.
The first level of cybersecurity analysts is called Tier 1. They focus on reviewing and categorizing the latest threats reported by the system. According to Glassdoor, the estimated total salary for a Tier 1 cybersecurity analyst is $53,688 per
year in the United States, with an average salary of $50,445 per year.
Tier 2 analysts typically have several years of experience working in the data security industry. Most of a Tier 2 analyst's work involves investigating incidents following a data breach. When a Tier 1 analyst detects suspicious activity, he or she gathers preliminary information to provide to the Tier 2 team. According to Glassdoor, the estimated total salary for a Tier 2 cybersecurity analyst in the United States is $59,690 per year, with an average salary of $56,087 per year.
Tier 3 analysts are often the most experienced professionals in a SOC. They are responsible for investigating and researching new security measures to defend against advanced persistent threats (APTs) and other complex cyber-attacks. Tier 3 analysts also work closely with Tier 1 and Tier 2 analysts to develop and implement new security policies and procedures. According to Glassdoor, the estimated total salary for a Tier 3 cybersecurity analyst in the United States is $99,576 per year, with an average salary of $92,755 per year.
Incident responders focus on managing and mitigating security incidents. They play a critical role in developing and implementing incident response plans, coordinating with other teams, and ensuring a rapid and effective response to security breaches. Incident responders often work closely with legal departments and communications teams to manage the fallout from a security incident. In cases where the alert is determined to be a true positive as a result of the investigation, the Incident Response Team(s) will take action. When the security analyst reports that the attacker has infiltrated the target system or exploited the vulnerability in the structure, the Incident Responder is responsible for ensuring that no point in the case is missed and/or that some points are investigated in more detail with different tools. As mentioned earlier as one of the responsibilities of security analysts, alerts are also investigated and reported by incident responders. However, the difference here is the criticality level of the alerts and the complexity of the attack. The skills that an Incident Responder should have are listed below.
According to Glassdoor, the estimated total pay for an Incident Responder is $68,721 per year in the United States area, with an average salary of $61,202 per year.
Threat hunters search proactively for signs of malicious activity inside an organization's network. They use advanced techniques and tools to identify threats that may go undetected by automated systems. By doing so, they help the SOC stay ahead of evolving cyber threats and strengthen the organization's overall security posture. The most important point that distinguishes Threat Hunter from other analysts is that their work begins before an alert occurs. In other words, they perform many different searches for any hidden malware or attackers that may be present on the system. The purpose here is to detect situations that Security analysts or security products may miss, usually by investigating behavior-based research. In addition, Threat Hunters conduct research on the entire system by following popular attack patterns and IOCs of attackers around the world. In summary, they generally aim to detect attacks before rather than after alerts or to detect vulnerabilities in the system. The skills that a Threat Hunter should have are shared below.
According to Glassdoor, the estimated total pay for a Threat Hunter is $99,087 per year in the United States, with an average salary of $91,018 per year.
Forensic analysts collect and analyze digital evidence following a security incident. They play a crucial role in understanding the scope and impact of a breach, as well as providing insights to prevent similar incidents in the future. In severe cases, forensic analysts may work closely with law enforcement. Forensic analysts collect all physical and digital evidence from the crime scene. This evidence can be used to solve the case in the future and can be analyzed with special software. The aim here is to write a report that will help solve the case with this evidence. They examine all the accumulated data about the relevant case. In summary, Forensic analysts collect, analyze, and report all artifacts (malware, source code, and system configuration) related to the cases. The skills that a Forensic Analyst should have are shared below.
According to Glassdoor, the estimated total pay for a Forensic Analyst is $92,414 per year in the United States area, with an average salary of $84,000 per year.
A security engineer is an IT professional who designs, implements, and maintains security measures to protect an organization's information assets. They ensure that security tools are configured correctly, up-to-date, and effectively integrated into the organization's infrastructure. They also work with other IT teams to implement security best practices. Their primary responsibility is to define the organization's security policies and procedures and implement them in systems. Another responsibility of a Security engineer is to ensure that security risk assessments and inspections are conducted in the organization. Risk assessments need to be up to date with the latest security threats and trends. The skills that a Security Engineer should have are shared below.
According to Glassdoor, the estimated total pay for a Security Engineer is $150,088 per year in the United States area, with an average salary of $119,130 per year.
The SOC Manager is responsible for leading the SOC team and overseeing all operations. Their responsibilities include strategic planning, coordination, and ensuring that the team is aligned with the organization's security objectives. They are also involved in incident response planning and liaising with other departments within the organization. They ensure that each person on the SOC team works in harmony with each other and with other teams. It can be said that one of the responsibilities of the SOC Manager is to ensure that the necessary training is received for the development of the personnel in the SOC team and to organize and make it sustainable. The skills that a SOC Manager should have are shared below.
According to Glassdoor, the estimated total pay for a SOC Manager is $125,132 per year in the United States, with an average salary of $119,130 per year.
In summary, the primary goal of the SOC is to improve overall cybersecurity by proactively identifying and addressing potential threats to the organization's information systems, networks, and data. The SOC team plays a critical role in protecting organizations from various cyber threats such as brute force, malware, phishing, data breaches, and other security incidents. The team continuously monitors security events and incidents to ensure a prompt and efficient response to detected security threats. The SOC team is responsible for continuous monitoring, alert triage, and incident response. This includes gathering forensic information, performing forensic analysis, proactively hunting for threats, managing security tools, providing security awareness training, documenting and reporting findings, and collaborating with other teams. The roles and responsibilities of SOC team members are detailed below. Security Analysts are the backbone of the SOC team. They are responsible for monitoring security alerts, analyzing security incidents, and responding quickly to potential threats. Analysts use a variety of tools and technologies to investigate alerts, determine their validity, and take appropriate action to mitigate the threat.
