Having technicians who know a lot about cybersecurity, reassures; of course. But that does not make the system safer. Only the combination of knowledge, tools, processes and performances can provide the security that each environment needs. You have to know and you have to be organized; we must implement a Security Operations Center, SOC.

Constant security with professionals

Computer scientists can know a lot about how to do a phishing, spoofing and a long etcetera of attacks whose nomenclature is due to geeks who design and perpetrate them. Even, most importantly, they know how to avoid them. However, having highly qualified technical staff in cybersecurity is not a total guarantee that the system will be secure. If the security is not articulated as a process and if as part of the skills, ingenuity and criteria of each technician in their performance, the truth: we are ready!

 Suitable Response:

Understanding and implementing security simply as another feature with which services and resources have to be operated, contributes little to the peace of mind that IT operation requires. It is obvious that the last patches and updates must be systematically applied. And almost everyone does it .

And what about the logs? When are they analyzed? Well, as ordered, when something fails. If this happens in the technical part, the “bureaucratic part” of security that also has to do and a lot with the level of protection required, does not go far behind. What date is the last revision of the risk analysis? Who has documented the changes introduced since the last audit? And if a security incident occurs, how is it managed?

The cybersecurity should be raised as a separate process within the area of computer activity centered its definition and implementation. Not something else that must be taken into account when operating the system. Only by adopting security as a process can we have a whole perspective on the true security needs , the risks / threats that really have to be faced, the controls that have to be confronted, the monitoring of their effectiveness and, It is also extremely important to estimate the technical, human and economic resources that must be dedicated.

Secure customer and stake holders

The evolution of IT services, increasingly critical for the activity of any organization, makes security increasingly larger and more complex. It cannot be resolved by mounting a firewall and keeping the antivirus updated. Cybersecurity must be articulated from a central point where the different human and technical resources involved in maintaining the activity of the organization are coordinated, safe from any computer mishap. This central point is what is called Security Operations Center, better known by its acronym SOC.

The technical staff, tools and money assigned to a SOC are used to maintain all aspects related to cybersecurity, providing services ranging from vulnerability diagnosis to disaster recovery, through response to incidents, neutralization of attacks, programs of prevention, awareness campaigns, risk management and monitoring of all types of alerts related to probable incidents in the operation of IT infrastructures.

 Make things easier with Investigations:

The need to implement a SOC as a service is unquestionable for any system – Either Big, medium or small, Simple or complex. The question is whether you have the will and resources to organize it. The SOC can be composed of many technical and human resources. Or be the performance of a single person with the essential tools for it. It is not necessary to assemble a large and cool room with walls lined with huge extra-flat screens accessed through the iris of the eye. No, not much less. The basics for implementing a SOC is to gather the technicians and tools that are really needed to support the IT security that the business activity requires.

Organizing an own SOC within the organization has the same problem associated with the implementation of other specialized organizational processes, in terms of time, resources and preparation. With the added handicap that this “area” does not bring any tangible assets to the organization and if certain “inconvenient” operation to other employees, so the development of its implementation should have the unconditional support of the staff manager in each and every one of its phases and in its subsequent operation.

Spot Threats earlier than Critical experiences

Another option to implement SOC is to resort to outsourcing the service. Security is already essential and service providers count in their catalogs with this offer. In the same way, as other computer services are obtained, it is possible to obtain cybersecurity. Service providers can afford to organize a sophisticated Security Operations Center in terms of tools, technicians and other means, since their support, maintenance and operation is borne by the customers who acquire their services. There are different modes of service and to determine the best option to be contracted irremissibly, you have to consult with the provider.

Qualified staff and proper wellbeing

The option of contracting an external SOC is evident for those environments that do not have a computer area with the dimensions in which to fit it in terms of means, qualified technicians, and experience and security requirements.

In those facilities that can afford it, the decision to adopt an own or outsourced SOC may not be simple. We must assess that the two models have their advantages and disadvantages. In front of all the inconveniences that suppose implanting an own SOC, the externalized contributes rapidity, saving, high qualification and means. However, we must have a provider that can provide maximum guarantees to entrust such a delicate task, which can depend on the survival of the organization and maintain this confidence through periodic audits of their activity and capacity.