The Modern Security Operations Center

The industry standard, vendor-neutral guide to managing security operations centers (SOCs) and delivering SOC services

• All you need to know to effectively provide comprehensive security services through a modern SOC ― whether you’re a manager, security professional, or network professional
• Covers the technical, people, process, and compliance issues required to make an SOC effective ― no matter whose technology you’re using
• Includes full chapters on data centralization, data orchestration, threat intelligence, threat hunting, and many other key topics
• By three internationally renowned security, SOC, and networking experts

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

Chapter 1: Introducing Security Operations and the SOC

Chapter 2: Developing a Security Operations Center

Chapter 3: SOC Services

Chapter 4: People and Process

Chapter 5: Centralizing Data

Chapter 6: Reducing Risk and Exceeding Compliance

Chapter 7: Threat Intelligence

Chapter 8: Threat Hunting and Incident Response

Chapter 9: Vulnerability Management

Chapter 10: Data Orchestration

Chapter 11: Future of the SOC

About the Author

Joseph Muniz is an architect and security researcher in the Cisco Security Sales and Engineering Organization. He is driven by making the world a safer place through education and adversary research. Joseph has extensive experience in designing security solutions and architectures as a trusted advisor for top Fortune 500 corporations and the U.S. government.

Joseph is a researcher and industry thought leader. He speaks regularly at international conferences, writes for technical magazines, and is involved with developing training for various industry certifications. He invented the fictitious character of Emily Williams to create awareness around social engineering. Joseph runs The Security Blogger website, a popular resource for security and product implementation. He is the author and contributor of several publications including titles ranging from security best practices to exploitation tactics.

When Joseph is not using technology, you can find him on the fútbol (soccer) field or raising the next generation of hackers, also known as his children. Follow Joseph at https://www.thesecurityblogger.com and @SecureBlogger