Six Strategies for Achieving Continuous In-House SOC Excellence

Hackers operate continuously, therefore enterprise defenses must do the same. Attackers often target businesses during off-hours, when there are fewer security personnel available to monitor systems, resulting in delayed responses and remediation efforts.

In a recent incident, retail giant Marks & Spencer encountered a security breach over the Easter weekend, resulting in the shutdown of their online operations, which contribute to roughly one-third of their clothing and home sales. With most staff absent during off-hours and holidays, mobilizing an incident response team takes time, allowing attackers to navigate laterally within the network and cause significant disruption before a proactive security response can be mounted.

While maintaining an in-house team for round-the-clock monitoring may not be feasible for every organization, developing a 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC) is among the most effective strategies to guard against off-hour attacks. This article will discuss the importance of continuous vigilance, the challenges involved, and practical steps for achieving a successful 24/7 SOC.

Importance and Challenges of a 24/7 SOC

A SOC is integral to an organization’s cyber defense framework, facilitating the detection, investigation, and response to potential threats at all times. Real-time threat detection and resolution are further optimized with the use of automation, especially beneficial during weekends or holidays when personnel may be busy or away.

Operating a 24/7 SOC presents notable challenges, including the necessity for a well-defined balance between established processes, advanced technological tools, and expert personnel.

Proper Planning and Automation as Key Drivers

In scenarios where human resources may be overwhelmed by the rapidly changing attack landscape, implementing AI can significantly enhance efficiency. With the right people and processes in place, AI facilitates automated threat detection, leading to quicker response times and an improved overall security posture.

Six-Step Approach for Building a 24/7 SOC

Establishing a successful SOC involves the following six measures:

1. Develop a Foundation Tailored to Your Organization

A robust 24/7 SOC begins by articulating a clear mission and scope that aligns with the organization’s broader business objectives. This strategic clarity aids in identifying security coverage needs.

Budget considerations will influence hiring decisions and the integration of necessary security tools, making it essential to advocate effectively for 24/7 monitoring. Given the increasing frequency and severity of cyberattacks, building a strong case should be manageable. The optimal SOC model will be contingent upon your organization’s risk profile, compliance obligations, industry standards, and available resources. The SOC’s goals should be customized to the business and sector; for instance, a healthcare provider must prioritize safeguarding patient data to comply with regulations such as HIPAA, whereas a retailer will focus on payment card industry standards (PCI DSS).

Regardless of whether the model chosen is in-house, hybrid, or outsourced, incorporating AI can bolster security efforts, ensuring adaptability to counter growing threats. A hybrid SOC utilizing AI analytics can enhance efficiency considerably.

2. Assemble the Right Team and Provide Targeted Training

Organizations must cultivate a team equipped to confront security threats. Hiring managers should aim for a balance of junior analysts and experienced responders, as diversity fosters collaboration.

SOC teams commonly adopt a tiered structure consisting of Tier 1 analysts for alert triage, Tier 2 analysts focused on investigation and response, and Tier 3 analysts dedicating efforts to strategic initiatives and advanced threat analysis. For organizations with limited resources, a two-tier structure can also function effectively, allowing Tier 1 to manage initial investigations while Tier 2 handles complex inquiries and strategic endeavors.

Whenever feasible, prioritize internal hiring to nurture talent and allocate budgets for ongoing training and certification opportunities. For instance, team members can receive training in AI tools to enhance efficiency in managing Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) challenges and Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) complexities.

3. Implement Smart Shift Rotations to Mitigate Burnout

SOC teams often experience high turnover rates due to burnout. Developing resilient shift rotations, utilizing either 8- or 12-hour shifts, is crucial. Implementing schedules such as 4-on, 4-off can help maintain alertness, and when operating across multiple time zones, distributing shifts can alleviate fatigue.

It is advisable to hire more analysts than initially deemed necessary, as many work on a shift basis. This ensures effective rotation, coverage of unexpected absences, and overall reduced pressure on core team members. Diversity in responsibilities—such as alert triage, playbook reviews, and threat hunting—can also engender engagement and job satisfaction among staff.

Furthermore, establishing clear handoff protocols with overlapping transitions enhances collaboration and context sharing among teams. As fatigue can precipitate staff turnover, leveraging automation to minimize repetitive tasks, such as log analysis, can help retain key personnel. Wellness initiatives aimed at encouraging work-life balance and offering channels for anonymized feedback can prove beneficial. Scheduled downtime and breaks should be prioritized, with an emphasis on avoiding work during these periods unless in the midst of an active incident. Acknowledging and rewarding team members for their contributions is essential in bolstering job satisfaction and loyalty.

4. Select Appropriate Tools

Thoroughly assess and implement AI-driven security tools tailored to your organization’s specific demands and security requirements. Consideration of cost and complexity of tools is vital in this decision-making process.

Tools like Splunk may face scaling challenges and high log management expenses, making them unsustainable within multi-cloud settings. Moreover, solutions like Elastic’s Attack Discovery are associated with numerous false positives, necessitating manual validation from analysts.

Despite the advancements offered by many AI-powered solutions, they still demand extensive configuration, fine-tuning, onboarding, and dashboard customization. Analysts often must interpret results generated by static tools that are pre-trained for limited use cases. Additionally, existing SOAR solutions require significant ongoing maintenance, and their immobile playbooks may struggle to adapt to new threats.

Radiant offers an alternative through its adaptive AI SOC platform, which efficiently ingests, triages, and escalates alerts deemed as genuine threats, facilitating rapid responses across various security issues. The platform’s streamlined automation and >95% accuracy enhance SOC team efficacy while overcoming restrictions associated with traditional tools.

5. Foster a Culture of Continuous Learning

Security leadership must promote post-event analysis without assigning blame, as every incident presents an opportunity for learning. Establishing a repository for knowledge-sharing can significantly benefit the organization by retaining valuable insights and experiences.

Encouraging continuous education and offering training opportunities—such as sponsorship for certifications like GIAC Intrusion Analyst and Offensive Security Certified Professional—are vital. Cultivating an environment of collaboration, wherein team members share knowledge and establish trust, will strengthen overall capabilities. Regular threat briefings and simulated security drills, such as red team versus blue team exercises, can identify gaps in processes and enhance response coordination.

6. Governance, Metrics, and Reporting

Success metrics should encompass Mean Time to Detect (MTTD), Mean Time to Respond (MTTR), AI accuracy, and false positive rates. Swift detection minimizes damage, while a rapid response diminishes the impact of incidents. High AI accuracy engenders trust in automation, while a reduced false positive rate alleviates the workload of analysts.

Equitably distributing workloads and managing alert volume throughout SOC shifts is essential for maintaining team morale and performance. Tracking incident metrics alone is inadequate; monitoring employee well-being is equally crucial to sustaining a healthy SOC environment.

Real-time dashboards and regular review sessions are indispensable for achieving the above objectives. Visual representations and in-depth analyses provided to team leads ensure effective tool optimization, improved alignment with compliance standards, and the management of team well-being.

Conclusion

The effective collaboration of skilled personnel, optimized processes, advanced AI, and cohesive tools is paramount in safeguarding your enterprise against cyber threats.

Implementing a 24/7 AI-powered SOC fortifies organizations against evolving, sophisticated threats. Such an establishment addresses the limitations of conventional SIEMs, SOARs, EDRs, and SOC co-pilots through the seamless integration of automation, skilled professionals, effective processes, and comprehensive tools.

As exemplified by Radiant’s adaptive AI SOC platform, organizations can navigate complex security landscapes while empowering analysts and security specialists with tools designed for efficiency and scalability.