A new report from the Information Security Forum (ISF) explores the key elements that are integral to optimizing a SOC’s performance, realizing operational efficiency and pursuing innovation, and equips organizations with a practical understanding of how to design, establish and enhance a SOC that is both empowered by the organization, and aligned with business requirements.

“In today’s business climate, organizations can no longer afford to rely solely on reactive measures. Instead, the priority must be to identify threats, resolve security issues and prevent adversaries from disabling or degrading business operations, said Steve Durbin, Managing Director, ISF. “A successful SOC will demonstrate its worth to business by protecting the organization’s reputation, delivering on compliance obligations and embracing a proactive approach to risk management.”

The Building a Successful SOC: Detect Earlier, Respond Faster report is aimed at organizations who are either creating a SOC or seeking to optimize their existing SOC. The report equips an organization to build and evolve a SOC of substantial worth to the business by:

•     Describing the capabilities that a successful SOC can provide
•     Articulating the key considerations for selecting a suitable SOC operating model
•     Presenting a framework that provides practical guidance on how to design, establish and enhance a SOC.

The report provides clarity on the elements that are integral to optimizing a SOC’s performance, realizing operational efficiency and pursuing innovation. It also equips organizations with a practical understanding of how to design, establish and enhance a SOC that is both empowered by the business, and aligned with business requirements. Whether creating a SOC from scratch or transforming an existing SOC, organizations should adopt the ISF Approach to derive maximum value from their investment. The report will help an organization determine the set of capabilities the SOC should provide and how these can best be delivered to meet business needs.

“The ISF Approach for Building a Successful SOC incorporates three aspects, which enable organizations to plan for, create and evolve a high performing SOC that supports business objectives. By adopting the ISF Approach, organizations will be better positioned to detect threats earlier and respond faster to cyber-attack,” addedDurbin. “The ISF Approach includes a detailed flowchart of SOC activities and explores the respective benefits and limitations of an internal, external and hybrid SOC. The final aspect of the ISF Approach is a framework for designing, establishing and enhancing a SOC, which embodies best practices, distilled from significant ISF Member engagement and research.

Visit the ISF website for more information.