This is the definitive, vendor-neutral guide to building, maintaining, and operating a modern Security Operations Center (SOC). The authors introduce the SOC as a service provider, and show how to use your SOC to integrate and transform existing security practices, making them far more effective. This book covers: How SOCs have evolved, and the key considerations in deploying them today Key services SOCs can deliver, including organizational risk management, threat modeling, vulnerability assessment, incident response, investigation, forensics, and compliance People and process issues, including training, career development, job rotation, and hiring Centralizing and managing security data more effectively Threat intelligence and threat hunting Incident response, recovery, and vulnerability management Using data orchestration and playbooks to automate and control the response to any situation Advanced tools, including SIEM 2. 0 The future of SOCs, including AI-Assisted SOCs, machine learning, and training models The Industry Standard, Vendor-Neutral Guide to Managing SOCs and Delivering SOC Services This completely new, vendor-neutral guide brings together all the knowledge you need to build, maintain, and operate a modern Security Operations Center (SOC) and deliver security services as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. Leading security architect Joseph Muniz helps you assess current capabilities, align your SOC to your business, and plan a new SOC or evolve an existing one. He covers people, process, and technology; explores each key service handled by mature SOCs; and offers expert guidance for managing risk, vulnerabilities, and compliance. Throughout, hands-on examples show how advanced red and blue teams execute and defend against real-world exploits using tools like Kali Linux and Ansible. Muniz concludes by previewing the future of SOCs, including Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) cloud technologies and increasingly sophisticated automation. This guide will be indispensable for everyone responsible for delivering security services—managers and cybersecurity professionals alike. Address core business and operational requirements, including sponsorship, management, policies, procedures, workspaces, staffing, and technology Identify, recruit, interview, onboard, and grow an outstanding SOC team Thoughtfully decide what to outsource and what to insource Collect, centralize, and use both internal data and external threat intelligence Quickly and efficiently hunt threats, respond to incidents, and investigate artifacts Reduce future risk by improving incident recovery and vulnerability management Apply orchestration and automation effectively, without just throwing money at them Position yourself today for emerging SOC technologies
