Transcript Here

What You’ll Learn

• What really happens before, during, and after a cyberattack
• Why alerts alone aren’t enough—and what action truly looks like
• How our “Big R” response approach drives results
• The critical role of human insight in an AI-driven world
• What it takes to stay ahead of evolving threats

Featuring

Erica Smith, Director of Security Operations (Moderator) | Stephanie Camacho, SOC Shift Lead | Ryan Bratton, SOC Auditor

The post On Demand Webinar – Tales from the SOC: When Action Speaks Louder Than Alerts appeared first on CyberMaxx.

What You’ll Learn

• What really happens before, during, and after a cyberattack
• Why alerts alone aren’t enough—and what action truly looks like
• How our “Big R” response approach drives results
• The critical role of human insight in an AI-driven world
• What it takes to stay ahead of evolving threats

Who Should Attend

Security professionals, IT leaders, and anyone curious about how modern SOCs operate under pressure.

When: October 8th, 2025 | 1PM ET
Where: Virtual Link

Watch the On-Demand Version Here

Presenters.

Erica Smith, Director of Security Operations (Moderator)

Ryan Bratton, SOC Auditor

Stephanie Camacho, SOC Shift Leader

The post Tales from the SOC: When Action Speaks Louder Than Alerts appeared first on CyberMaxx.

Information sharing groups are great because they provide that information in a bit more targeted forum. I’m in this industry, this threat is being seen by my industry, so it helps with prioritizing. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg too, when it comes to triaging information and working through threat intelligence.

That’s what stands out to me about “The Call that Protected Four Clients.” It is a prime example of getting to the crux and being able to act on information. An organization itself would have to hope that the call that one client made would have been shared within our business community. That’s a lot to expect. Organizations are hesitant to share information because of the view that we are mostly competitors. Sharing a potential weakness feels like we are unnecessarily exposing ourselves to a risk not worthwhile.

But here, we have a company entrusting information to their shared partner protector. The fortunate component is that the partner is a trusted partner to many organizations in the same vertical. That allows them to apply knowledge from one to many, which collectively provides additional security to an exponential number of companies from a threat that they might not be aware of yet themselves.

This is the greatness of strength in numbers. I’m in a position where my focus is on the application of a potentially active threat, as opposed to working me through any number of infinite possible threats that may be theoretical at best. My vertical, my organizational size, those are two factors when I triage the threat landscape itself that I need to prioritize parsing out, and here that work is already done when I first hear about the threat.

That puts my organization and me in a position to be proactive in our reactive response. Yes, we’re reacting to the information, but our response is proactive, even if it’s just a little bit, we’re hardening defenses and taking action prior to an active incident in our environment. Preventive measures in a proactive stance allow for more forethought and calm minds to make determinations, since we’re not operating under the intensity of an active incident.

Context and critical thinking, plus that gut feeling, are components I don’t take for granted. There’s always something to be said for them, something to trust, and to lean into. If I can get them from a source of expertise, it allows me to focus on execution, not excavation.

Read the full eBook: Tales from the SOC: Security Success Stories Powered by Proactive Intelligence and Real-Time Response

The post Tales from the SOC CISO Perspective: Key Takeaways from The Call That Protected Four Clients appeared first on CyberMaxx.

Linthicum Heights, MD – June 3, 2025– CyberMaxx, a leading Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider, has announced the release of a new eBook titled “Tales from the SOC: Security Success Stories Powered by Proactive Intelligence and Real-Time Response.”

This collection of true stories from CyberMaxx’s Security Operations Center (SOC) gives an in-depth insight into why human instincts and human-led response are still essential in a market driven by automation.

The Importance of Human-AI Balance

“Tales from the SOC” explores the power of CyberMaxx’s signature approach to cybersecurity, known as “Big R.” Unlike the industry-standard “little r” response model, which often ends at passive alerting, Big R focuses on the importance of ethical human judgment. This is essential when investigating, containing, and eradicating threats in real time before they can cause widespread damage.

Behind the Scenes of Frontline Security Stories

The eBook details several high-stakes incidents where CyberMaxx’s SOC team pushed beyond standardized procedures to protect clients from cyber threats. Each instance involved acting on early warning signs before they triggered formal alerts.

Highlights include:

• One IP address, two organizations saved: How investigating an IP address that repeatedly appeared uncovered a hidden threat that almost went unnoticed.
• A malicious inbox rule and 300+ shares: How rapid response and forensic investigation contained a fast-moving email threat before it could escalate further.
• A thumb drive and a criminal investigation: A suspicious device turned into a high-stakes criminal investigation, showing the critical role of human ethics in cybersecurity.

Why Big R Matters

“Tales from the SOC” explains why protecting your organization requires more than throwing money at automated tools and refreshing your business dashboard.

Sometimes, it involves letting an activity play out a little longer to build a clearer picture and better understand the threat. Above all else, it demands human expertise and creativity.

Discover how CyberMaxx stops attacks before alerts are even triggered. Download the full eBook here: Tales from the SOC eBook | CyberMaxx

About CyberMaxx

CyberMaxx provides comprehensive managed detection and response (MDR) services that protect organizations from today’s complex cyber threats. Focusing on proactive security measures, CyberMaxx delivers industry-leading technology combined with expert human oversight, offering robust protection and peace of mind to clients across various industries.

For more information about CyberMaxx’s Modern Managed Detection & Response (MDR), visit www.cybermaxx.com

Press Release on PR Web

Media Contact

John Pinkham
E: jpinkham@cybermaxx.com
M: 781-801-5352

The post CyberMaxx Highlights the Role of Human Judgment in New eBook, Tales from the SOC appeared first on CyberMaxx.

Have you ever wondered: What’s my Security Operations Center (SOC) or Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service actually doing? If so, it’s generally caused by sheer anxiety, or there’s a legitimate cause for questioning what your Security Operations Center is doing. I’m sorry for you in either event. But let’s take some time to rid you of those heart palpitations and questions. In this blog, we’re going to pull aside the curtain and show you what our Threat Research Team is doing to bolster the capability of our organization to react to events in your environment and make you more resilient to attack. We won’t just speculate about it – we’ll provide you with a real-world example from a very recent and relevant attack chain which would have resulted in an impact event had we not intervened.

“Those folks”

A SOC is a very complex part of an organization. There are SOC Analysts, Threat Hunters, Digital Forensics and Incident Response specialists, a Threat Response Team, Developers, Operations, and Code to keep it all running smoothly 24x7x365.

There are also groups of people you may know as “Threat Researchers”, “Detection Engineers”, or “Reverse Engineers”. I’m paraphrasing, but in his book Sandworm, Andy Greenberg describes members of this team as working in a “black room with no windows”. Sometimes members of these groups are combined into a “D.E.A.T.H. Squad”, which naturally stands for Detection Engineering and Threat Hunting Squad. What did you think we were talking about? When I first came into the information security community, I heard that “those folks run on caffeine and spite”, and I knew where I’d be drawn toward.

In all seriousness, this group performs critical tasks for any security organization. They focus on gathering data, digesting it, and providing “actionable intelligence” to key stakeholders in the organization. Along with bolstering the SOC, they’re responsible for part of the Sales & Marketing mission too (e.g., the very piece you’re reading).

A high-functioning team will take this intelligence and organize, categorize, and then codify it for use in the SOC. Detections are written based on activities observed as well as the team’s ability to surmise additional techniques to achieve the same result. So, it pays to have offensive and defensive minds working together here, because you’ll always have a better result when parties familiar with multiple methods to achieve a goal are in concert with people who know multiple ways to gather telemetry on said methods.

This is the case at CyberMaxx. Our Threat Research Team knows that relying solely on out-of-the-box technology like EDR or NIDS for detections is akin to playing chess with half the pieces missing – a grand master may survive against even a weaker opponent for a time, but not for long. The team is also responsible for understanding detection gaps like threat actors living off the land, abusing legitimate tools, bypassing or disabling tool sets, and for coming up with methods to cover the gaps! Let’s take a look at a concrete example to show you how this all goes down.

Real World Execution

In late 2023 and early 2024, our Threat Research Team became aware of a new attack that was being conducted against Microsoft Teams users. We documented a new social engineering attack being conducted by either sending targets an unsolicited Teams message or Email designed to entice the user into joining a quick Teams chat. Think “Hi, I’m from your IT provider BiiigTimeMSP, can you join this session quickly so we can get your system all updated? We’re behind, and your leadership wants this done ASAP!” Sadly, this proved tremendously effective at getting users to click links, which is the foot in the door that attacker is looking for. Once the session was established, it led to the installation of a persistence mechanism such as a legitimate Remote Management Tool like ScreenConnect or LogmeIn (again, living off the Land so as not to trigger AntiVirus or EDR Alarms). Worse, if the threat actor didn’t see an active EDR / Antivirus software, it led to dropping any malicious tool they want. In either event, it quickly leads to a potentially costly impact for the victim’s environment.

Here’s where those scurrilous rumors about caffeine and spite save the day. We do not like threat actors. So, when we write a detection for a Malicious Teams Session, we’re not just doing it for one or two that have occurred in the wild. Our team is constantly thinking of new ways to chain attack techniques together, along with the systems we have in place for telemetry collection. Along with that, we’re considering a range of other factors like relevance, the likelihood of that vector being deployed, etc. Ultimately, that leads to making a robust detection. In early to mid-2024, the Threat Research Team created a detection in response to analysis of the increasing threat to MS Teams as a risk surface. The team accounted for methods in the wild and the likelihood that tactics would continue to evolve. At that time, we were able to identify a unique commonality in a log parameter when threat actors executed this style of attack which had not been disclosed by other intelligence sources. In this case, the “Members” parameter in a specific event log always had strings of interest.

We simply added as many matches as we could, tested against them, and tuned the list to scale.

Early in May 2025, our SOC was alerted to this while no native Microsoft or EDR detections were raised. Pictured below is our SOAR detection for the MS Teams event.

This is an alert that Microsoft clearly couldn’t deploy at scale. They likely know about it, but sadly have no viable method to tune their product at scale. On the other hand, CyberMaxx has developed and engineered for this scenario. Again, while we were never alerted to this activity from Microsoft natively, custom detections from our Threat Research Team alerted our SOC to malicious activity in a timely manner.

In accordance with our Detection Strategy and Threat Intelligence norms, all platforms we operate have a detection base made of custom queries meant to provide resiliency, depth, and indication of urgency for our SOC and Threat Response Team.

In the case at hand, four (4) supplemental custom detections worked in concert with the Teams Session watchlist, painting a clear picture of malicious intent to our SOC analysts. Pictured below are the additional alerts for enumeration, ingress, and persistence shortly after the Malicious Teams session.

Once more, no native detections for the EDR platform were raised. It was not configured to alert because the threat actor was using approved tools for the environment and living off Microsoft binaries. This is the power of EDR, it provides rich telemetry that our experts can use to detect activity not natively alerted. EDR platforms would create alert fatigue if they alarmed on every living of the land tactic.

With everything observed in a short period of time, our Threat Response Team kicked off a remediation playbook, resulting in isolating the endpoint to quickly contain the threat, revoking the user’s M365 sessions, as well as resetting their credentials.

Final Analysis

The Threat Research Team at CyberMaxx takes the security and protection of any computer network extremely seriously. We don’t just drink the Kool-Aid of “think like an attacker”; we live it by studying them and emulating them with structured techniques. This is on full display in the case just described. It’s a necessity to have a team behind your SOC seeking to create Threat Intelligence and operationalize it in today’s world. The scale and scope of the largest product vendors will always have them leading the way to the best capabilities, but lagging when it comes to deployment at scale. When we can take their tools and customize them, we are able to fight that battle and win.

The post Intel from the Trenches: <br>APT-licable Knowledge appeared first on CyberMaxx.

Though both play vital roles in IT management, the SOC offers deeper expertise, a stronger security-first mindset, and a proactive approach to cyber threats. Understanding these differences is key to making informed decisions about protecting an organization’s digital assets. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Primary Objectives: Availability vs. Security

The fundamental difference between a NOC and a SOC lies in their core mission.

• NOC: Primarily responsible for ensuring uptime, service reliability, and the overall health of the IT infrastructure. It focuses on resolving network issues, optimizing performance, and keeping business operations running smoothly.
• SOC: Dedicated to security monitoring, threat detection, and reducing the organization’s attack surface. Instead of simply maintaining systems, a SOC actively safeguards them from cyber threats through advanced threat intelligence and response strategies.

While a NOC ensures operational stability, it does not specialize in cybersecurity. A SOC, on the other hand, is built to detect and mitigate security risks, preventing costly breaches before they occur.

2. Data Being Monitored: Performance vs. Security Insights

The data each center monitors further demonstrates their distinct roles.

• NOC: Analyzes network traffic, device health, and system performance to identify inefficiencies and potential downtime risks. The goal is to maintain business continuity and optimize resources.
• SOC: Monitors security logs, user activity, and anomalous behavior that could indicate a cyberattack. SOC teams scrutinize patterns to detect signs of compromise and prevent malicious actors from gaining access to sensitive systems.

A SOC’s ability to analyze deep security insights ensures organizations are protected against modern threats, something NOC is not designed to handle.

3. Skill Set: IT Experts vs. Cybersecurity Specialists

While NOC and SOC teams share some technical knowledge, their skill sets are vastly different.

• NOC Professionals: Typically hold vendor certifications (such as Cisco and Palo Alto) and specialize in service continuity, networking, and general IT troubleshooting. Their focus is on infrastructure performance rather than security.
• SOC Analysts: Have security-specific certifications (such as Security+ and SANS) and operate with a security-first mindset. They are continuously updating their knowledge of emerging threats, leveraging Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tooling, conducting threat hunting, incident response, and analyzing security logs.

Cyberattacks require expertise beyond IT fundamentals— SOC professionals specialize in more nuanced areas than your typical NOC. They need to understand networking, endpoint, incident response, and preventive security measures. In addition to prevention, a SOC’s response model ensures that critical issues never sit in a queue waiting for attention. Because it is performed by experts in the SOC, response is immediate and focused on both understanding the full scope of the compromise quickly and taking swift action to contain and mitigate the issue.

The SOC Advantage: Security Beyond Just Operations

While a NOC is critical to keeping systems operational, it lacks the security expertise needed to defend against sophisticated cyber threats. A SOC provides continuous threat monitoring, advanced incident response, and proactive defense strategies, making it an indispensable asset for organizations serious about cybersecurity.

Modern security offerings provide advanced protection by providing a full scope of compromise evaluation and response capabilities within their SOC environment. Expedited response capabilities minimize the dwell time a threat actor has access to the environment, thereby limiting the damage that can be done.

Choosing SOC support means prioritizing protection, reducing cyber risk, and reinforcing an organization’s defenses. In today’s digital landscape, security is not optional, it’s a necessity.

The post NOC vs. SOC: Why a Security Operations Center Is the Better Choice for Cybersecurity appeared first on CyberMaxx.

The Role of SOAR Automation in Cybersecurity

The key role of Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) lies in its ability to streamline repetitive tasks and automate responses to cyber threats. Doing so allows organizations to identify and respond to potential threats much more quickly.

What SOAR Brings to the Table

Traditionally, security teams would have to manually handle repetitive, low-level tasks such as aggregating system logs and triggering alerts.

Unfortunately, this shifts their focus away from more complex tasks and reduces productivity. The mundanity of these tasks also increases the risk of human error, which means threats are more likely to slip through.

Today, organizations can use SOAR to collect threat data, send automated notifications, and orchestrate incident response processes. This helps streamline incident management and allows faster responses to security incidents. It is more comprehensive than Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), which collects and analyzes security event data.

Limitations of SOAR in Dynamic Threat Environments

SOAR relies heavily on learning known signatures and defined behavior patterns from previous threats. It then applies this information to new threats. This means that despite its benefits, it also introduces a number of constraints.

These constraints are especially apparent when organizations are dealing with threats that don’t follow predictable patterns or known signatures. Increasingly, attackers are using advanced threats to leverage sophisticated evasion techniques that do not follow known patterns.

The Power of SOC Expertise in Detecting Complex Threats

Human expertise is integral to any Security Operations Center (SOC) team. Analysts bring contextual understanding and critical thinking to cybersecurity, which SOAR alone cannot provide.

The Role of Contextual Judgment

SOC analysts use real-world insights to recognize advanced threats that evade automated detection. Many of these advanced threats are characterized by unusual behavior patterns.

For instance, analysts may decide to investigate an employee’s login at a strange time or from a different part of the world. Attackers may have intentionally set an attack to trigger late at night or over the weekend when there is less human oversight.

Adapting to Evolving Threat Tactics

SOC analysts have the flexibility and contextual awareness to respond to novel, evolving threats that would typically bypass SOAR’s pre-set responses. That means they can stay one step ahead of sophisticated threats.

Why CyberMaxx Combines SOAR with SOC Expertise

The discussion of human vs. automated threat detection is complex. CyberMaxx combines the advantages of both by using both SOAR alongside a skilled SOC team. This means it can take advantage of the complementary strengths of automation and human analysis in its security strategy.

Faster Detection with Reliable Human Oversight

CyberMaxx uses SOAR to automate simple tasks and trigger responses to low-level known threats. This maximizes efficiency and helps the organization to scale its security operations. In addition, CyberMaxx relies on its SOC analysts to verify alerts to minimize false positives and investigate more complex threats.

Combining SOAR with SOC enhances accuracy and reduces the risk of threats going unnoticed, allowing CyberMaxx to increase the effectiveness of its responses.

Scalability

Handling higher volume of incidents: as the number of security alerts and incidents increases, SOAR helps SOC Analysts manage higher volume of incidents without needing to proportionally scale up the team.

Adaptability

SOAR platforms can be tailored to the specific needs of an organization, allowing them to scale and adapt as threats evolve.

Real-World Examples: When SOC Expertise Makes the Difference

There are many real-life scenarios in which human expertise in a SOC security team has identified and stopped threats that SOAR alone would not catch.

Recognizing Behavioral Anomalies

Even if an organization has an automated advanced threat detection system in place, threats may be missed.

For example, a business consultant may have a history of accessing sensitive files during business hours. They occasionally accessed files in the early evening if they were working late. Because this behavior of accessing files outside of work hours isn’t completely new, the software did not flag it, and it remained undetected.

After a few weeks, a SOC analyst noticed that this behavior was becoming more frequent. The times the employee accessed the files also gradually got later and later into the evening. Upon further investigation, they noticed the employee was attempting to access files unrelated to their role. This included financial documents and employee personal records.

Upon further investigation, the SOC analyst realized that an attacker had infiltrated the network. They were trying to gain access to sensitive information about employees and sensitive financial information about the organization. Without further investigation by the analyst, this threat may not have been detected.

Rapid Adaptation to Emerging Threats

CyberMaxx’s SOC team is always ready to adapt its approach to novel threat tactics. This means it can respond to threats in ways that SOAR cannot anticipate.

For example, a SOC analyst could detect a phishing email targeting a high-profile executive within an organization. In this scenario, the attacker gained a significant amount of information about the executive by aggregating social media data. They also gathered information about sensitive internal projects through previous phishing campaigns.

While SOAR flagged the email as suspicious and quarantined it, it was unable to anticipate the next stage of the attack. The attacker called the executive and used deepfake audio to impersonate a business partner. They asked the executive to transfer money.

The executive was suspicious and called the SOC team to alert them of the call. After conducting a thorough manual review, the SOC team analyzed the emails flagged by SOAR. They determined that the attacker had used personal information from the email chain to target the executive and confirmed that this was a multi-stage social engineering attack.

The CyberMaxx Advantage: A Balanced Security Approach

CyberMaxx combines the speed of SOAR with the nuanced judgment of SOC experts. This provides many benefits for clients.

Maximizing Threat Detection and Response

CyberMaxx’s combined approach delivers higher detection rates and faster, more accurate responses for clients than using SOAR alone.

Its SOAR system carries out basic functions such as handling known attack patterns and automating workflows. Meanwhile, its SOC team monitors alerts from a range of security tools to identify more complex threats. This helps organizations maximize their threat detection and response capabilities.

CyberMaxx remains committed to adaptable security in today’s evolving threat landscape. Blending automation with human expertise helps the organization to effectively deal with today’s threats while staying prepared for future threats.

The Importance of SOC Expertise in Threat Detection

SOC expertise in threat detection is crucial for cybersecurity. Combining human expertise with SOAR automation highlights CyberMaxx’s commitment to adaptive, effective threat detection.

The post The Human Advantage: Why SOC Expertise Complements SOAR Automation in Threat Detection appeared first on CyberMaxx.

Modern cyber attacks require modern solutions to combat them. And the security operations center (SOC) is one of the best examples of keeping defenses in line with technology advancements and emerging cyber threats. From the traditional SOC to the virtual SOC (vSOC) to the modern SOC (mSOC), each offers a great way to protect your business. Here’s how:

Traditional Security Operations Center (SOC)

The traditional security operations center (SOC) is an in-house team responsible for 24/7 threat monitoring, prevention, detection, and investigation. They’re also first on the scene for incident response once an attack gets discovered. Their job is simple: Safeguard their organization’s most valuable assets or crown jewels as we like to call them.

These include:

• Intellectual property (patents, trade secrets, designs, etc.)
• Employee information
• Business systems and applications
• Production lines and operational uptime
• Brand reputation
• Customer data
• Supply chain integrity

So how does the SOC protect these assets? The first step is designing and implementing the organization’s cybersecurity strategy or “game plan” to achieve security resilience. They’ll also need to coordinate with other departments, such as IT, legal, and financial teams. Why? To ensure they have the resources and system access to maintain security and compliance.

SOCs take the lead in adopting processes and technology to assess risk, track network activity, and respond to threats. A Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system is one such tool. It’s like having your own high-tech security guard who tirelessly sifts through data to spot cyber threats.

Ultimately, traditional SOC teams offer a centralized organizational function that employs people, processes, and technology to achieve cybersecurity goals.

Prevention and Detection

What do you think is more expensive?

1. Paying for new security measures that protect against cyber threats?
2. Paying for incident response, digital forensics, legal penalties, regulatory fines, and professional services teams (legal, PR, etc.) after an attack is delivered?

Most would guess the latter. And you’d be correct!

That’s why it’s always better to prevent a cyber incident than react to one. And a SOC team offers 24/7 prevention capabilities. They constantly monitor the network for potential threats — preventing a cyber attack altogether or at least “softening the blow.”

Investigation

SOC teams constantly put themselves in the attacker’s shoes. This helps with threat analysis, which predicts where and how an attack might come from based on common trends and specific vulnerabilities.

Using those insights, they can look for suspicious activity to track key indicators of compromise (IoCs) — letting the SOC understand the nature of a threat and assess how far it has penetrated the IT infrastructure.

They’ll also apply global threat intelligence to perform triage. For example, reports indicate that ransomware attacks increased 29% in 2024 Q1 compared to the previous year, with 1,283 successful attacks recorded. Knowing this, a SOC team can beef up its controls in highly targeted areas, patch vulnerabilities, and improve its malware detection systems accordingly.

Response

SOC teams are essentially first responders in cyberspace. Immediately upon discovering a threat, they work to isolate and remove it, then notify appropriate team members for further remediation action.

Post-incident, they also help restore lost or compromised systems and recover lost data by wiping and restarting endpoint devices, reconfiguring systems, or deploying backup environments.

Virtual Security Operations Center (vSOC)

Offering remote security operations management, many companies have turned to the virtual security operations center (vSOC). It provides nearly identical capabilities to the traditional SOC, such as comprehensive activity and threat data monitoring and continuous network surveillance, but as an outsourced service. As such, there are unique benefits to vSOC:

• You get access to broad cybersecurity expertise and tools to protect your assets
• It’s much more cost-friendly since you don’t have to invest in a full-time, in-house SOC team or resources
• vSOC services are scalable and flexible; they can adapt as the business grows, security needs change, or you have to meet new compliance requirements

Building an in-house SOC team demands high upfront costs and security expertise — making vSOCs so appealing. You get experienced, certified analysts who undergo continuous training and are adept at spotting potential threats and responding quickly to them, but for a fraction of the cost.

Modern Security Operations Center (mSOC)

Now, the new kid on the block: The modern security operations center (mSOC). mSOC is a status (like a badge of honor) given based on your technology and data handling capabilities. Gartner defines it as a SOC that can:

• Collect vast amounts of network data
• Enrich data with security intelligence for effective big data analysis
• Use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to automate threat analysis, predictive analytics, and incident response

It’s not only about the capabilities, however. Key mSOC responsibilities simply offer more than the usual detection and response functions of a traditional SOC:

• Risk Management: Identifies, manages, and prioritizes cyber risks to help decide which risks to take and how to mitigate them. mSOCs also provide tools to implement automated risk assessment frameworks.
• Vulnerability Management: Automates regular vulnerability assessments and quickly patches system flaws based on risks identified.
• Compliance: Continuously assesses compliance needs by the organization to help it adhere to industry standards and regulations like GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and many more.
• Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR): Curates and tracks data used during post-incident analysis and legal preparation. It also has forensic tools to run detailed investigations and determine what happened during an attack.
• Situational and Security Awareness: Brings awareness to threats that provide insights you can share during employee security awareness training.
• Research and Development: Provides tools and techniques to stay ahead of emerging threats while collecting data to contribute to developing cutting-edge technologies and cybersecurity research.

A Security Operations Center (SOC) Supports a Modern Cybersecurity Strategy

If you’re contemplating investing in a traditional SOC, implementing remote management through a vSOC, or making the leap to an mSOC through cutting-edge tools, congratulations! You’ve proven your commitment to robust security and are on the path to cyber resilience.

The only wrong SOC solution is having no SOC. It’s a must-have to protect your organizational assets and stay ahead of emerging cyber threats in the long run.

The post What are the differences between a SOC, vSOC, and mSOC? appeared first on CyberMaxx.

By employing threat hunting, organizations can move from reacting to threats to anticipating and staying ahead of them before they gain traction.

And when organizations detect and neutralize risks earlier, they save time, money, and stakeholder trust.

The Benefits of Proactive Threat Hunting

Among the benefits of threat hunting, saving money is one of the most compelling. The financial impact of a data breach is directly linked to how quickly it can be identified and contained.

According to IBM’s “Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024,” the global average cost of a breach is $4.88 million, and that cost increases the longer a risk goes undetected. Proactive threat hunting can reduce this timeline by actively seeking out hidden dangers before they emerge.

But the benefits go beyond immediate cost savings. Others include the following:

• Early Detection of Threats: By identifying potential hazards early, organizations can mitigate risks before they escalate, reducing the chances of more significant damage.
• Reduced Risk of Data Breaches: Threat hunting enables businesses to proactively address vulnerabilities, helping prevent costly data breaches.
• Improved Incident Response: Earlier detection means resources are more efficiently deployed, making responses more effective.
• Enhanced Security Posture: Threat hunting helps reduce your attack surface and exposure.
• Deeper Understanding of Risk Environment: By incorporating threat hunting into their cybersecurity program, organizations can better understand the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of adversaries.

In total, proactive threat hunting enables organizations to improve their strategic footing with a security posture that supports business health, resilience, and trust.

Key Elements of Proactive Threat Hunting

Proactive threat hunting combines expert knowledge and in-depth analysis in a holistic approach that leans on offensive measures to fortify cyber defenses. Essential security tools and methods include the following:

• Threat Review & Analysis: Regularly reviewing new information about previously unknown threats, such as zero-day vulnerabilities and newly discovered attack vectors, helps identify which targets to focus on.
• Threat Intelligence: Global threat intelligence feeds help safeguard network infrastructure and provide insights into emerging risks and trends, including the motives, targets, and behaviors of threat actors.
• Behavioral Analytics: User behavior is analyzed to identify anomalies in network traffic, application performance, and data content using tools such as NetFlow, service monitoring, and deep packet analysis (DPA).
• Network Traffic Analysis: Data flows are monitored to detect suspicious patterns and potential dangers, including unexpected connections or abnormal bandwidth usage, identify unauthorized access, and ensure network security.
• Vulnerability Scanning: Weaknesses are identified in systems and infrastructure by systematically assessing potential security gaps, misconfigurations, and outdated software.
• Automation & Artificial Intelligence (AI): Automation and AI are leveraged to enhance threat-hunting capabilities. Per the aforementioned report from IBM, extensive use of AI and automation in security reduced average breach costs by 45.6%, from $5.98 million to $3.76 million, compared to organizations that didn’t implement these technologies.

The Role of a SOC

A well-performing SOC plays a critical role in proactive threat hunting by providing the expertise, tools, and data needed to identify and mitigate risks effectively.

SOCs utilize automated security tools, such as Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) systems, to continuously monitor network activity and gather information. This creates a data-rich environment that provides valuable clues for threat hunters, enabling them to detect subtle patterns or anomalies that may signal emerging hazards.

As such, threat hunting operates alongside in-depth security monitoring, complementing detection systems and processes. Insights gained from threat hunting can also directly inform and enhance monitoring operations, improving the SOC’s ability to detect and respond to future risks with greater precision and agility.

In short, both functions are integral to the SOC, working together to provide a comprehensive defense against evolving cybersecurity hazards.

The post The Art of Proactive Threat Hunting: A Deeper Dive appeared first on CyberMaxx.

When cybersecurity isn’t managed by security professionals, potential knowledge gaps can impact an organization’s risk posture. Rather, enlisting a dedicated Security Operations Center-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) provider enables companies to outsource critical elements of cybersecurity so they can focus on their own core offerings.

With continuous monitoring, risk mitigation, and incident response managed by experts, a SOCaaS offers a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity. It enables companies to achieve robust protection without the significant investment and complexity of building a comparable in-house function.

Here’s a brief explainer about the benefits of SOCaaS and enlisting a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) that provides this as part of their service offerings to help protect your business.

SOC v. SOC-as-a-Service

A Security Operations Center (SOC) is a key component of any cybersecurity program, leveraging technology, processes, and expert personnel to provide essential continuous monitoring, threat detection, and incident response.

In contrast, Security Operations Center as a Service (SOCaaS) is a subscription-based, outsourced alternative to a traditional in-house SOC. It provides the same core functions but does so through a third-party provider. A SOCaaS operates remotely, utilizing the service provider’s technology, processes, and cybersecurity experts to safeguard an organization’s digital assets.

SOC-as-a-Service Benefits

Implementing a SOC in house poses significant challenges for most businesses, making SOCaaS a preferable option. Here are a few reasons why outsourcing to SOCaaS is particularly advantageous.

Program Cost

The costs of infrastructure, software, and skilled personnel are substantial and ongoing. Building and maintaining an in-house SOC requires significant capital investment in state-of-the-art technology and security tools.

SOCaaS, on the other hand, is more cost-effective. It enables businesses to leverage the provider’s existing infrastructure and expertise, thus avoiding hefty upfront and ongoing expenses, such as training and development, infrastructure, and staff additions.

SOCaaS providers also spread these costs across multiple clients, lowering overall expenses for each business.

Managing Complexity

Creating a comprehensive cybersecurity posture requires integrating a diverse array of advanced tools and systems, including Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platforms, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and threat intelligence feeds. These systems must be carefully configured and continuously fine-tuned to work harmoniously, creating a cohesive defense against incoming threats.

In contrast, SOCaaS providers handle this complexity on behalf of their clients. They offer integrated, state-of-the-art security systems and seasoned cybersecurity professionals, enabling businesses to access comprehensive security capabilities without navigating the intricacies of building and maintaining these systems themselves.

Staying Up-to-Date

An in-house SOC demands constant review and adaptation to keep pace with the rapidly evolving threat landscape. This requires ongoing research, analysis of threat intelligence, and frequent updates to security protocols and technologies – a resource-intensive process that can strain even well-equipped organizations.

However, SOCaaS providers specialize in staying current with the latest threats. They leverage a broad range of threat intelligence sources and advanced technologies to ensure continuous protection. By outsourcing to SOCaaS, businesses benefit from the provider’s up-to-date knowledge and proactive security measures, significantly reducing the effort required to stay on pace with cyber threats.

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