SOC Expert Combo Online Training Course

In Cybersecurity, SOC stands for Security Operation Center. A Security operation center in a central facility in an organization that employs security professionals, technology, processes to analyze the security incidents and respond to Cybersecurity threats.

SOC Analyst is a front-line defender of the security infrastructure of an organization. He monitors and analyzes the Cybersecurity incidents and coordinates the response plan with other SOC team members. Other responsibilities of a SOC analyst include log analysis, reporting the ongoing or potential security threats, and creating disaster recovery plans as per the organization’s need.

A network operation center (NOC) is responsible for providing uninterrupted network services in an organization. On the other hand, SOC deals with servers, applications, security technologies, and processes to identify security threats.

A SOC analyst must possess strong analytical and communication skills to work efficiently within a SOC team. Apart from this, an in-depth understanding of network security, reverse engineering, application security, incident response, ethical hacking, SIEM solutions, and digital forensics is necessary for SOC analysts.

The SOC team includes SOC Analysts, IR automation engineers, and managers who look after various SOC processes and coordinate with the incidence response team. The team members monitor all the ongoing activities on the network and servers and analyze the security incidents. Common Cyberattacks are prevented using security tools such as IDS, IPS, or firewall, but it requires human security experts to thwart complex cyberattacks.

SIEM stands for Security Information and Event Management. SOC teams use SIEM solutions to collect data from all over the network. SIEM tools gather all the useful information and store it at a centralized location where analysts can identify the security incidents and mitigate the possible risks.

The Tier 1 or L1 SOC analyst is a triage specialist. A Tier 1 SOC analyst’s responsibility is to monitor the incidents and determine their urgency and severity. He alerts the Tier 2 SOC analyst by raising the trouble ticket and manages the security tools.

A Tier 2 or L2 SOC analyst respondS to threats. He identifies the infected system and determines the scope of the attack. His other responsibilities include collecting data for the investigation and formulate remediation and recovery plans.

A tier 3 or L3 SOC analyst review the vulnerability assessment report. He uses advanced threat intelligence methodologies to find out the security threats present in the system. Tier 3 SOC analysts are well-versed in conducting penetration tests to detect vulnerable endpoints in the network.

An average salary of a SOC analyst is $88,831 in the US. In India, SOC analysts can make INR 4,81,473. SOC analysts’ salary may vary as per the work experience and job positions (L1, L2, L3 SOC analysts).

 (Sources: salary.com and payscale)