SOC (Security Operation Center): Part-2

Small summary of Part 1 “Security Operations Center (SOC)” is an in-house, ongoing function of an organization which deals with the aspect of cyber security.

• The benefits of having a fixed SOC include constant coverage, quick reaction, surveillance of danger and avoidance of possible dangers, and staying within the limits of the law and regulations.
• Apart from this, plans of a thorough improvement of threat intelligence in a SOC implementation to understand the adversary TTPs and the emergence of controls over the evolution of those who exist, in formal briefings there is an up to date portrayal of how useful security is disposed in furthering any tasks.
• Security monitoring extends beyond the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) acquisition and log management and use case development as installing the SIEM, data elation, log generation and real time analysis of the logs are included
• The SIEM must collate and format all the logs processed from the different sources consistently and then be able to systematically examine them in potential generation of security breaches. Log collection refers the assembling an orbitotomy log to the SIEM, through log centers, for the respective collation and search of all system and device pertinent logs After all, the organization is in touch with the extended time period set by the management for retention of the top system logs in light of the prevailing organizational and legal demand).

Cloud security operations are essential to maintain the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of entire cloud-based resources. Below is an overview of critical aspects of threat monitoring, threat response, and incident management in the context of the cloud, more specifically multi-cloud or hybrid cloud configuration.

Cloud Threat Monitoring and Mitigation by Seamless Integration of Security

Monitoring:

• Cloud-native Security Tools: Major cloud service providers development their own security tools as well, such as AWS CloudTrail, Azure Security Centre, Google Cloud Security Command Center and many others. They assist in the audit logs, access to resources and also do anomaly detection.
• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): SIEM tools such as Splunk, Sumo Logic, IBM Qradar are hosted solutions used for log data aggregation and analysis and also give alerts and notifications in real time about attacks and other security events impacting the system.
• Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS): This type of system monitors network traffic for malicious activity and can impede that activity when needed. Some of the cloud IDS solutions include Trend Micro Deep Security, AWS GuardDuty and Azure Defender.
• Threat intel: Adding threat intel feeds substantiates security by placing extra defensive measures and assisting in the reduction of identifiable threats. Many of the cloud services adopt integration with recorded future or Mandiant platforms.

Responding to threats:

• Automated Responses: It is possible to proceed with some actions which are cloud native to some threats. As an illustration, AWS lambda can perform a smart action of concentric actions such as removing a compromised instance or blocking threatening IP addresses.
• Incident Responding Playbooks: Actors and actresses executing determined actions and the prepared scripts can be carried out considering definite situations and possessing detailed instructions. These playbooks need be updated frequently as new threats arise.
• Continuous Improvement: Relapses may lead to feedback within the reporting organization and hence changes being made. They help in creating detection rules, planning and improving response times as well as working on security policies.

Cloud Specific Tools and Techniques

Identity And Access Management (IAM):

• Granular Permissions: Users and services should be given permissions only as what is required to perform their functions in the least privilege model. This requires a combination of AWS IAM, Azure AD and GCP IAM.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Every single user account must have multiple factors implementing authentication level in order to cut down the chances of credential vulnerability.
• IAM Policies: Controls for reviewing and auditing the IAM policies should periodically be carried out to enhance security compliance.

Encryption:

• Data at Rest: Use cloud provider services like AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, and Google Cloud KMS to manage and encrypt data stored in the cloud.
• Data in Transit: Implement Transport Layer Security (TLS) for all data communications. This ensures that data is protected from interception while being transmitted across networks.
• Key Management: Rotate encryption keys regularly and ensure they are stored securely. This can be automated using cloud-native key management solutions.

Logging and Auditing:

• Centralized Logging: Use centralized logging services to aggregate logs from various sources. AWS CloudWatch, Azure Monitor, and Google Cloud Operations are examples of services that offer centralized log management.
• Log Retention and Analysis: Define log retention policies and regularly analyze logs to identify patterns that may indicate security issues.

Data privacy and protection are key aspects of the SOC to safeguard sensitive information from leakage in the event of security incidents. Some of these are as follows:

Handling sensitive information in the SOC

• Classify Data: SOC controls the logs, alert, and telemetry activities that contain sensitive PII that needs to be kept confidential. In place are a data classification policy intended to categorize and emphasize proper handling of the data classified as critical.
  Access to authorized SOC analysts is also controlled based on the principle of least privilege.
• Data Masking: This disguises sensitive information in logs and alerts so that analysts view only what is needed.
  Auditing and Monitoring Access to sensitive information should be audited and monitored in real-time so mishandling or accidental exposure cannot be perpetrated.

• Data Encryption and Access Controls: Encrypt your SOC data at rest-that is, stored logs and databases-and in transit-computer connection through the monitoring tool. Thus, use TLS for the encrypted data in transit and AES to ensure encrypted data at rest.
  RBAC limits SOC access to the required data by necessary roles. The RBAC actually ensures that each member of the SOC has authorized access to only the right data for conducting his tasks.
  MFA increases access controls and also reduces the risk of unauthorized access to SOC systems data.

Incident Response Privacy

• Reduce exposure of data: A SOC analyst shall identify impacted systems minimize unauthorized access of sensitive data during such incidents and thus incident playbooks must contain privacy guidelines that limit access as well as sharing in an investigation.
• All such incident response data must only be kept for the time necessary and purged according to the data retention policies to avoid violation of privacy.
• Incident Reporting: Since this is a security incident report, in many cases, avoid transferring unnecessary PII or proprietary information to the third party.

Best Practices in SOC for Data Privacy

Regular privacy training on policies, applicable law (for example, GDPR and HIPAA), and handling sensitive data for SOC staff shall be required.

• Data Anonymization: Data anonymization or pseudonymization removes privacy-related risks and allows a SOC to effectively analyze threat intelligence.
• Privacy by Design: SOC Tools and Procedures: All organizational processes: collection of data, storage of data, and operations of process must be made privacy enabled as per the rules and regulations.

Monitoring the Deep and Dark Web is very essential for gathering threat intelligence, especially for early signs of attacks, data breaches, or criminal activities. This section mentions typical techniques, tools, strategies, and legal and ethical considerations.

Techniques used for Deep and Dark Web Activities Monitoring

1. Automated Web Crawlers and Scrapers: To index content hosted on deep and dark web markets, forums, and hidden services, which are impossible to access through search engines like Google, third-party specialized crawlers and scrapers are used, after which data is collected and analyzed.
2. Human Intelligence (HUMINT): Some threat intelligence teams employ undercover personas to go undercover in underground forums and extract actionable intelligence using manual mechanisms. Mostly, this includes human analysts in communication with threat actors in such environments.
3. Keyword-based monitoring: Forums, encrypted chats, and marketplaces are monitored by the SOCs through utilization of particular keywords, phrases, and signatures that could directly relate to their organizations, industries, or known threats.
4. Data Leak Detection: Searches for leaks of intellectual property, customer data, or credentials being sold or shared across deep and dark web platforms.

Underground Forums Threat Intelligence Tools and Platforms

1. DarkOwl: One of the strong dark web monitoring platforms with threat intelligence is DarkOwl. The company collates and indexes all data from dark web forums, marketplaces, and chat services.
2. Recorded Future: It is a global threat intelligence platform. The tool offers an integrated dark web monitoring system to most organizations, which displays the incidence of new threats and data breaches.
3. ThreatFusion: These are threat feeds based on deep and dark web activities. They contain data breach and other criminal activities, etc. Other possible cyber threats.

Strategies for Data Leaks or Breaches Monitoring and Response

• Proactive Monitoring: Regulated monitoring of dark web sources for mentions of organizational sensitive data-for example, customer data, trade secrets, or credentials-would help detect breaches in advance, thus enabling quicker response action to minimize the impact of the attack.
• Data correlation: Once a breach or data leak has been confirmed to be real, cross-reference the compromised data with internal databases to validate its authenticity and scope-for example, match leaked credentials with employee and customer records.

Conclusion

• In a nutshell, multi-cloud or hybrid configurations are operated by a robust security operations model for threat monitoring, threat response, and incident management for security. Combined cloud-native security tools, SIEM systems, and threat intelligence platforms help monitor, detect, and mitigate risks in real-time. Some of the techniques include granular IAM, data at rest and in motion encryption, continuous auditing, among many more that improve the security posture.
• Data privacy and protection are equally relevant, particularly in the case of SOC. It limits exposure through a restricted number of entries, encrypted access to sensitive data, and proper private protocols of incident response processes. Privacy training is conducted at regular intervals; SOC processes follow Privacy-by-design principles, thereby ensuring maximum compliance with GDPR and HIPAA regulations.
• Monitor the deep and dark web as a complement to many of the traditional controls — provide early warnings of breaches, compromised credentials or emerging threats. This will be managed through a combination of automated and manual monitoring techniques, plus.

Written By: karan kachadiya