SOC-as-a-Service

Countering today’s persistent threats takes coordination and correlation; keep your organizations safe with SOC-as-a-Service

Gone are the days when a few firewalls and a reliable anti-virus were enough to protect your business from a digital breach. Today’s cyberthreat landscape is complex and persistent, with rapidly evolving threats constantly probing network defenses and adapting to exploit any weakness. To counter these modern dangers, many organizations rely on a dedicated Security Operations Center (SOC) to actively monitor networks and systems, identify threats, and respond quickly to mitigate damage. Unfortunately, building, outfitting, and maintaining an effective SOC carries with it a high cost in terms of resources and talent – a cost that many companies cannot afford.

This begs the question: Is it possible to enjoy the protection offered by a SOC without having to establish one in-house? The answer is yes, in the form of SOC-as-a-Service.

What Is SOC as a Service?

SOC-as-a-Service (or SOCaaS) is an emerging offering in the cybersecurity space that empowers organizations with a comprehensive suite of security tools and services, all provided and managed over the internet by a third-party vendor.

By working with an external SOC-as-a-Service provider, companies of all sizes can quickly and effectively deploy fully functional security operations centers backed by security experts, sophisticated tools and technologies, and streamlined processes. As a result, these businesses gain the ability to access security expertise and resources to better identify, detect, investigate, and respond to cyber threats proactively. Top SOCaaS providers offer 24 x 7 x 365 monitoring and response so that their clients never have to worry about attacks occurring when security teams are on break.

Simply put, SOC-as-a-Service creates a persistent threat to persistent threats, deploying a dedicated, capable, well-equipped team of security professionals to defend your vital data – every hour of every day. Regardless of what form a threat may take, top SOCaaS solutions are capable of intelligently evaluating and addressing the danger and adapting their response to fit each unique circumstance.

SOC vs. SOC-as-a-Service

To reiterate, SOC-as-a-Service is SOC, just outsourced. SOCaaS delivers the same advantages and capabilities as any skilled in-house SOC team. Where SCO-as-a-Service differs from traditional SOC is in its structure, location, and deployment. Here’s a quick breakdown:

SOC
The term SOC originally referred to the room within an office building where IT security teams would coordinate their efforts (the security operations center). But as need and responsibility both grew, SOC came to describe a centralized function within an organization, incorporating a range of tools and people to analyze and respond to cyberthreats and reinforce the organization’s security posture. SOC collects data from across the entire IT infrastructure, correlating every monitorable event and determining what action (if any) needs to be taken.

SOCaaS
SOC-as-a-Service takes its inspiration from the many ‘as-a-service’ models available today, streamlining and scaling SOC capabilities for clients who may not have the resources to build in-house SOC solutions. Relying on remote access and cloud-based computing, SOCaaS delivers complete SOC solutions to clients. This includes:

  • Network monitoring
  • Threat detection
  • Threat intelligence
  • Log management
  • Incident investigation
  • Incident response
  • Reporting
  • Compliance

The major difference between SOC and SOCaaS is that the managed SOC-as-a-Service team is made up of external contractors who operate remotely and manage their own tools and processes.

Benefits of SOC-as-a-Service

While the actual differences between SOC and SOCaaS may seem less-than-significant, they allow for some extremely significant benefits. This is because SOC-as-a-Service democratizes threat intelligence and response, allowing businesses and organizations that don’t have endless resources to establish their own security operations centers to field the same defensive capabilities as well-established enterprise businesses. In other words, SOCaaS eliminates many of the limitations that might otherwise leave a small or medium-sized business vulnerable to attack.

Other advantages of SOC-as-a-Service include:

  • Access to skilled security professionals
    IT security professionals are in high demand, with a recent ISC report suggesting that there are approximately 3.4 million more IT security positions than there is talent to fill them. SOCaaS saves you the difficulty and expense of attracting, recruiting, and hiring these hard-to-find professionals in-house. SOCaaS providers take full responsibility for staffing their teams with skilled experts.
  • Improved security maturity
    It takes time and experience to create an effective cybersecurity program. SOC-as-a-Service vendors have already laid down the groundwork of developing institutional knowledge and working processes that can then be applied to protecting your networks. SOCaaS is a proven shortcut to IT security maturity.
  • Up-to-date tools and information
    The cybersecurity landscape is anything but static; technologies, threats, and regulations are always moving forward, and SOCaaS providers are on the cutting edge of this advance. The tools and expertise offered by an effective SOC-as-a-Service team are always up to date, both in terms of providing effective defenses and ensuring regulatory compliance.
  • Reduced strain on in-house teams
    The people who make up your workforce are valuable, and so is their time. SOCaaS solutions free in-house IT personnel from the responsibilities of managing SOC tasks. This allows them to focus their efforts on those strategic initiatives that will play a major part in growing your business.
  • Unlimited scalability
    As your business grows, your SOC solution will need to grow with it. SOC-as-a-Service vendors have the resources and infrastructure to scale up or down to meet your needs, regardless of how those needs evolve.
  • Lower costs
    From tools, to training, to licenses, and beyond, there are many expenses associated with deploying and maintaining SOC in-house. SOCaaS providers spread those expenses thin over their entire customer base so that their individual clients pay less overall.

Make SOC Easy with SOCaaS from Ontinue ION

In today’s cyberthreat-centric world, having a reliable, proven security operations center is an absolute must. But that doesn’t mean you have to build one from the ground up. SOC-as-a-Service makes it possible for your business to enjoy the increased digital security of SOC without the added investment costs of deploying in-house. Unfortunately, not every SOCaaS solution offers the same commitment or capability. For managed third-party security detection and response in conjunction with the Microsoft Security Suit, choose Ontinue ION.

Ontinue ION combines cloud-native accessibility and unmatched expertise, dedicating some of the industry’s most experienced IT security professionals to protecting your vital data. Ontinue managed detection and response (MDR) solutions take SOCaaS further than ever before, providing leading protection while also optimizing the tools and systems you depend on.

Click here to learn more about Ontinue ION, and make security operations central to your success.