Many Cyber Security sources will write on the rapidly evolving threat landscape and the need to stay abreast (and up to date) in the latest technologies, trends, and challenges. Whilst this is very true, the onus and responsibility can be a very heavy burden to bear. Instead of overwhelming you with the vast amounts of information, technologies, and resources an organisation will need to be secure at that point in time, this post will explore a service that will not only assist in lifting this burden from your shoulders but protect you against the “rapidly evolving threat landscape” in the future to come.

The Cyber Security Industry has experienced exponential growth, with predictions that it will continue to grow in the future [1]. Whilst this growth makes room for more players in the market, it consequently leads to an industry with a multitude of desperate products that are only getting more expensive. This growth is made possible by the fact that cyber threats seem to be growing in both number and sophistication, whilst the skills and resources capable of dealing with threats are found few and far between. This begs the question, in the face of such adversity, how can organisation overcome this looming threat that is Cyber Security. The solution we propose is SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS).

Benefits of SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS)

Technology as a Service have become more and more the norm as technologies and markets have evolved. SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) is not exception to this, it is important for business and decision makers to understand why this has become the trend.

Access to Skilled Resources

The Cyber Security industry is lacking in terms of skilled resources capable of navigating the current threat landscape to keep your company safe, whilst there are certainly some skilled resources out there, enterprise organisation and specialist security companies tend to hold a monopoly on access to such resources, this results in many SME’s being unable to find and afford such resources. SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) provides all organisations regardless of size, access to such skilled resources. This not only takes away the cost and complexities of employing additional resources but provides organisation with access to specialists with a wealth of knowledge of Cyber Threats across many industries.

Reduced burden of managing a security operations team
Building on the last point, employing a SOC team comes with many burdens. For the most effective SOC you will want 24/7 capabilities, this brings its own unique employment challenges. Further, monitoring alerts and communicating with the relevant individuals in order to resolve these incidents can be a very draining endeavour which can leave many SOC members fatigued and on poor terms with other members of the company, by outsourcing this responsibility, you can avoid the complexities of an internal SOC, avoid negative relations between departments and afford to focus time, effort and capital strategic areas crucial to the business’s growth.

Reduced Costs

Managing an internal SOC comes with many costs, companies will not only have to invest money into resources (employees) and training for these resources but will also have to invest significant amounts into the technologies these employees will utilise. SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) model significantly reduces costs in this regard by removing the cost of employing and training staff members. Additionally, SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) providers generally work closely with SOC technology providers, this allows them some level of flexibility when it comes to pricing. All in all the total cost of ownership (TCO) for SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) is significantly lower than that of setting up and managing an internal SOC.

Enhanced Incident Response

SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) providers have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field, this allows for faster detection and response time than a traditional in-house SOC would provide. Additionally, in any service level engagements documents such as SLA’s will give you the ability to define standards and levels of service required by your organisation, this provides companies with an assurance that certain standards will be met, as opposed to having to push strict standards on your staff which may not be met. Lastly, SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) providers will generally have more experience in incident response activities than other organisations, this mean if a company is compromised, the speed and quality of response from SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) providers will far exceed that of a typical in-house SOC.

Having an understanding of the nature of the Cyber Security industry, the challenges faced organisations and the ever increasing demand for companies to reduce costs, it comes as no surprise that SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) offerings, which boast reduced costs, enhanced incident response, reduced management burdens and access to skilled resources, have become a key players in the Cyber Security space.