Preface xiii -- 1 Introduction to SOC Analysis 1 -- Overview of Security Operations Centers (SOCs) 1 -- Importance of SOC Analysis 1 -- Objectives and Scope of the Book 2 -- Structure of the Book 3 -- Challenges in SOC 4 -- SOC Roles and Responsibilities 6 -- SOC Team Structure and Roles 7 -- SOC Models and How to Choose 8 -- Choosing the Right SOC Model 10 -- Evaluate Where You Are 11 -- Define the Business Objectives 12 -- Designing an SOC 13 -- Future Trends and Developments in SOCs 15 -- SOC Challenges and Best Practices 16 -- Best Practices for SOC Management 17 -- Case Studies and Examples of Successful SOCs 18 -- References 19 -- 2 SOC Pillars 21 -- Introduction 21 -- Definition of SOC Pillars 21 -- People 22 -- Process 23 -- Technology 25 -- Data 26 -- Importance of SOC Pillars in Cybersecurity 28 -- Levels of SOC Analysts 28 -- Processes 31 -- Event Triage and Categorization/The Cyber Kill Chain in Practice 31 -- Prioritization and Analysis/Know Your Network and All Its Assets 33 -- Remediation and Recovery 34 -- Assessment and Audit 34 -- Threat Intelligence 34 -- Threat Intelligence Types 35 -- Threat Intelligence Approaches 36 -- Threat Intelligence Advantages 36 -- References 36 -- 3 Security Incident Response 39 -- The Incident Response Lifecycle 39 -- Incident Handling and Investigation Techniques 40 -- Post-incident Analysis: Learning from Experience to Strengthen Defenses 42 -- The Importance of Information Sharing for Effective Incident Response 44 -- Handling Advanced Persistent Threats and Complex Incidents 47 -- Communication Strategies During and After Incidents 49 -- Cross-functional Coordination in Incident Response 51 -- Leveraging Technical Key Performance Indicators 53 -- Navigating Incident Impacts Through Decisive Prioritization 55 -- Adaptive Access Governance 56 -- Maintaining Response Communications and Integrations 57 -- Incident Response in Diverse IT Environments 58 -- Addressing International and Jurisdictional Challenges in Incident Response 60 -- Mental Health and Stress Management for SOC Analysts and Incident Responders 62 -- Case Studies and Real-World Incident Analysis: A Crucial Practice for Enhancing Incident Response 63 -- Analyzing the 2021 Microsoft Exchange Server Vulnerabilities 64 -- References 64 -- 4 Log and Event Analysis 67 -- The Role of Log and Event Analysis in SOCs 67 -- Advanced Log Analysis Techniques 70 -- Detecting Anomalies and Patterns in Event Data 71 -- Integrating Log Analysis with Other SOC Activities 72 -- Enhancing Log Data Security and Integrity 80 -- Reconstructing the Attack Chain 81 -- Leveraging APIs for Advanced Threat Detection 83 -- Cross-platform Log Analysis Challenges and Solutions 88 -- Developing Skills in Log Analysis for SOC Analysts 90 -- Spotting Cloud Cryptojacking 91 -- Integration of Log Analysis with Threat Intelligence Platforms 93 -- Evaluating Log Analysis Tools and Solutions 94 -- Addressing the Volume, Velocity, and Variety of Log Data 95 -- Building a Collaborative Environment for Log Analysis 96 -- Democratized Threat Intelligence 97 -- References 97 -- 5 Network Traffic Analysis 99 -- Traffic Segmentation and Normalization 99 -- Threat Intelligence Integration 100 -- Contextual Protocol Analysis 103 -- Security Regression Testing 107 -- Network-based Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (NIDS/NIPS) 109 -- Vulnerability Validation 113 -- Impact Examination 114 -- Inspecting East-West Traffic 116 -- Analyzing Jarring Signals 122 -- Modeling Protocol Behaviors 125 -- Utilizing Flow Data for Efficient Traffic Analysis 131 -- Constructing an Implementation Roadmap 134 -- Performance Optimization Techniques for Traffic Analysis Tools 134 -- References 136 -- 6 Endpoint Analysis and Threat Hunting 139 -- Understanding Endpoint Detection and Response Solutions 139 -- Techniques in Malware Analysis and Reverse Engineering 141 -- Data and Asset-Focused Risk Models 144 -- The Role of Behavioral Analytics in Endpoint Security 146 -- Principles for Minimizing Endpoint Attack Surfaces 149 -- Advanced Managed Endpoint Protection Services 154 -- Adapting Monitoring Strategies to Fragmented Cloud Data Visibility 156 -- Responding to Events at Scale 161 -- Case Study: Financial Services Organization 167 -- References 168 -- 7 Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) 169 -- Fundamentals of SIEM Systems 169 -- Distributed Processing 172 -- Next-gen Use Cases 175 -- Accelerated Threat Hunting 176 -- Compliance and Regulatory Reporting with SIEM 178 -- Infrastructure Management 181 -- The Insider Threat Landscape 185 -- SIEM Log Retention Strategies and Best Practices 187 -- Automated Response and Remediation with SIEM 189 -- Threat Hunting with SIEM: Techniques and Tools 191 -- SIEM and the Integration of Threat Intelligence Feeds 193 -- Common SIEM Capability Considerations 197 -- Operational Requirements 199 -- Comparing Commercial SIEM Providers 202 -- Proof of Concept Technical Evaluations 203 -- References 204 -- 8 Security Analytics and Machine Learning in SOC 207 -- Behavioral Analytics and UEBA (User and Entity Behavior Analytics) 209 -- Machine Learning Algorithms Used in Security Analytics 211 -- Challenges of Operationalizing Predictive Models 215 -- Custom Machine Learning Models Versus Pre-built Analytics 217 -- Optimizing SOC Processes with Orchestration Playbooks 219 -- Anomaly Detection Techniques and Their Applications in SOC 220 -- Investigative Analysis 223 -- Challenges in Data Normalization and Integration 225 -- References 228 -- 9 Incident Response Automation and Orchestration 231 -- Introduction 231 -- Evaluating the Impact of Automation in SOCs 233 -- The Role of Playbooks in Incident Response Automation 235 -- Threat-Specific Versus Generic Playbooks 237 -- Automated Threat Intelligence Gathering and Application 240 -- Automating Collection from Diverse Sources 241 -- Measuring the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Automated Systems 245 -- Critical Success Factors for High-Performance SOCs 246 -- Improving SOC Performance 247 -- Centralizing Cloud Data and Tooling 251 -- Maintaining Compliance Through Automated Assurance 253 -- Injecting Human-Centered Governance 255 -- References 256 -- 10 SOC Metrics and Performance Measurement 259 -- Introduction 259 -- Core Areas for SOC Metrics 259 -- Advancing Cyber Resilience with Insights 261 -- Performance Measurement 265 -- Utilizing Automation for Real-Time Metrics Tracking 266 -- Anomaly Detection 267 -- Integrating Customer Feedback into Performance Measurement 268 -- Metrics for Evaluating Incident Response Effectiveness 270 -- Assessing SOC Team Well-being and Workload Balance 271 -- Skills Investment Gap Assessment 272 -- Financial Metrics for Evaluating SOC Cost Efficiency and Value 274 -- Metrics for Measuring Compliance and Regulatory Alignment 276 -- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning 279 -- Strategies for Addressing Common SOC Performance Challenges 280 -- Future Trends in SOC Metrics and Performance Evaluation 289 -- Unifying Metrics for Holistic SOC Insights 292 -- References 292 -- 11 Compliance and Regulatory Considerations in SOC 295 -- Introduction 295 -- Regulatory Challenges Across Geographies 297 -- Just-in-Time Security Orchestration 298 -- Managing Incident Responses in a Regulatory Environment 303 -- Healthcare Data Breaches 305 -- Financial Services Data Security 306 -- Energy and Utility Incident Response 306 -- Future Trajectories 307 -- Continuous Incident Readiness Assessments 307 -- Integrating Compliance Requirements into SOC Policies and Procedures 308 -- Unified GRC Dashboard Visibility 310 -- Open Banking Third-Party Risk Mitigations 311 -- The Role of SIEM in Achieving and Demonstrating Compliance 313 -- Emerging Technology Compliance Gap Forecasting 316 -- Crown Jewels Risk Assessments 319 -- Navigating International Compliance and Data Sovereignty Laws 321 -- The Impact of Emerging Regulations 322 -- Case Studies: SOC Adaptations 323 -- NIS Directive Response Planning 324 -- References 326 -- 12 Cloud Security and SOC Operations 327 -- Introduction 327 -- Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs) Integration with SOC 330 -- Continuous Compliance Monitoring 332 -- Container Sandboxing 334 -- Compliance Validation and Drift Detection 336 -- Centralizing IAM Across Hybrid and Multicloud Deployments 337 -- Data and Key Management for Encryption 339 -- Preserving Recoverability and Governance 340 -- Securing Multicloud and Hybrid Cloud

Environments 342 -- Establishing a Root of Trust Across Fragmented Cloud Key Infrastructures 343 -- Mapping Dependency Context Across Managed Cloud Services 345 -- Best Practices for Cloud Incident Response Planning 347 -- Remediating Drift through Policy as Code Frameworks 349 -- The Role of APIs in Cloud Security and SOC Operations 352 -- Applying Machine Learning Models to API Data 353 -- Innovating Detection and Response Capabilities Purpose Built for Cloud 355 -- Future Trends in Cloud Security and ...