NIST, MITRE ATT&CK? Choosing a SOC Framework

Have you ever felt like you're drowning in cybersecurity alerts, monitoring screens, and logging tasks, and struggling to separate the real threats from the noise? That's exactly where a security operations center (SOC) comes in. It acts as your digital warrior against the ever-evolving scenarios of cyberattacks. Just like a well-structured construction needs a blueprint, a SOC also needs a solid framework to work effectively. The following article dives deep into the world of SOC frameworks, discovering what they are, why they're critical, and how to pick the correct one for your organization.

What Is a SOC Framework?

Let's go with the basics first. A SOC is like the controller room for a company’s cybersecurity infrastructure. It's a team of specialists (or even a single individual, in smaller arrangements) armed with various toolkits or suites and processes to monitor, identify, examine, and reply to cybersecurity occurrences. Think of them as the caretakers of your digital possessions, working around the clock to safeguard your premises. In today's unified world, cyber threats are continuous and critical. A SOC benefits you by proactively recognizing vulnerabilities, responding quickly to attacks, and minimizing harm.

SOC Frameworks: Your Cybersecurity Blueprint

Now, let's talk about the framework. A SOC framework is nothing but a set of protocols, best practices, and guidelines that provide a well-defined approach to building and managing a SOC. It's more like a recipe for cybersecurity success, outlining the key elements and stages needed to efficiently protect your organizational data and other digital assets.

But the question is, why are these frameworks so important? The answer is that they provide a common language and architecture for your SOC team, guaranteeing everyone is on the same page. They also help you bring your security efforts in line with the industry’s best practices and regulations. Without a framework, your SOC risks will become disorganized and reactive, stressed to keep up with the lively threat landscape.

The Building Blocks of a Powerful SOC Framework

A healthy SOC framework encompasses several unified components, each playing a vital role in generating an all-inclusive security posture:

Incident Response

This module launches the events for handling security incidents, from early detection and analysis to control, eradication, recovery, and post-incident evaluation. A clear and well-rehearsed incident comeback plan is important for diminishing damage and reestablishing normal procedures quickly.

Threat Intelligence

This includes the constant collection and analysis of info about possible threats. It focuses on developing attack procedures, loopholes (vulnerabilities), and threat actors. Staying ahead of the curve through threat intelligence empowers proactive defense and advances the organization's capability to get ahead and prevent attacks.

Vulnerability Management

This module focuses on the methodical identification and remediation of vulnerabilities in an organization's systems. Regular vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and security audits are actually very impactful for detecting and addressing vulnerabilities before they can be resolved.

Security Monitoring

This includes the monitoring of security logs and proceedings from numerous sources, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, servers, and endpoints. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems actually play a vibrant role in gathering, associating, and examining this data to classify suspicious activity and possible threats in real time.

Security Awareness Training

This critical component concentrates on providing the cybersecurity best performance to employees. For example, distinguishing phishing emails, using strong passwords, and circumventing suspicious websites. Human error is frequently an important factor in security breaches. This makes security awareness training a very important layer of defense.

Security Auditing

Scheduling security audits provides an autonomous assessment of the efficiency of prevailing security controls and recognizes areas for enhancement. These audits can be achieved from within or conducted by external third-party administrations.

Security Architecture

A definite security construction provides an outline for the organization's overall safety strategy, exactness of the security pedals, and technologies used to defend critical assets. The security planning should be associated with business purposes and risk tolerance.

Metrics and Reporting

Searching for key performance indicators (KPIs) and creating regular reports is important for calculating the success of the SOC and signifying the value of security investments. Metrics can include the number of incidents detected, time to resolution, and overall security posture.

7 Common SOC Frameworks and How They Work

Now, let's look at some of the most popular SOC frameworks:

MITRE ATT&CK

This framework's name stands for Advanced Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge. It provides a complete familiarity base of how attackers function, from preliminary investigation to data exfiltration. ATT&CK helps to comprehend the attacker's standpoint, allowing you to proactively preserve against their moves. It's unbelievably beneficial for threat hunting and incident response. Some of the functionalities of MITRE ATT&CK are Initial Access, Execution, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, Defense Evasion, Credibility Access, Discovery, Lateral Movement, Collection, Exfiltration, and Command and Control.

NIST Cybersecurity Framework

Another SOC framework is NIST, which was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This framework delivers a high-level, elastic set of strategies for managing cybersecurity risks. It's prepared from five core components: Recognize, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover. NIST is invaluable for organizations of all scopes and industries. It offers a solid foundation for building a robust cybersecurity schedule. The major difference between MITRE ATT&CK and NIST framework is that NIST focuses on establishing the complete cybersecurity architecture by covering the entire risk management process. Whereas MITRE ATT&CK focuses on getting to know all about defending against specific cyber threats and cyber attacks.

Cyber Kill Chain

This framework summarizes the various stages of a cyberattack, from reconnaissance (also known as information gathering) and weaponization to delivery, exploitation, backdoor creation, command and control, and finally, actions on objectives. Getting to know all about the kill chain helps you recognize possible points of involvement and interrupt the attack before it can cause noteworthy damage.

ISO 27001

This worldwide standard states the necessity for an Information Security Management System (ISMS). It delivers an all-inclusive method for managing information security, covering the whole thing from VAPT and security policies to incident response. ISO 27001 certification proves your promise to adhere to the finest information security policies.

SANS Institute

SANS is another security framework introduced by SANS itself. It offers a wealth of resources, such as frameworks, training, and certifications for cybersecurity professionals. Their frameworks usually focus on the specific blue teaming area, like incident handling or penetration testing, providing in-depth direction for those observing to concentrate on.

COBIT

Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) is a framework for IT governance and management. It's different from Cyber Kill Chain, and somewhat similar to NIST and MITRE ATT&CK. While not exclusively focused on security, it offers a valuable framework to bring IT activities in line with business goals and makes sure that security is combined into all characteristics of IT operations.

Center for Internet Security (CIS) Critical Security Controls

CIS delivers a set of ordered, specific, and actionable security controls that organizations can use to safeguard the infrastructure against common cyberattacks. These controls are grounded in real-world threat data and are intended to be easy to deploy.

Benefits of Using a SOC Framework

A SOC framework contains the various essential components and guidance for building and operating a successful SOC. It's a complete set of best guidelines and procedures that guarantees that the data and infrastructure are working with consistency and effectiveness. These frameworks offer a multitude of benefits:

• Integrated Approach: A framework nurtures a shared consideration of security concepts and procedures, allowing clear communication and association within the SOC team and across the company.
• Proactive Security: By executing a framework, organizations can proactively understand, detect, and mitigate vulnerabilities, lessening their risk acquaintance and stopping attacks before they even arise.
• Streamlined Incident Response: A well-defined framework provides a clear understanding of the incident response procedures, allowing the SOC team to respond quickly and conclusively to contain and counterbalance security threats.
• Enhanced Resource Allocation: A structured approach guarantees that possessions are allocated successfully, take full advantage of the impact of security reserves, and refine the competence of SOC operations.
• Regulatory Compliance: Many frameworks help organizations stay in line with industry guidelines and standards, streamlining the entire process.

Choosing a SOC Framework

Choosing the right SOC framework is critical. There's no one-size-fits-all solution. Here are some factors to reflect on:

• Organization Size and Industry: Smaller firms and companies might opt for a simpler and easy-to-use framework like NIST, while larger enterprises with 10,000 or more staff might need a more inclusive approach like ISO 27001. Strict industries might have their own regulatory requirements or best practices, such as the medical industry, where the HIPAA framework helps safeguard medical and health organizations.
• Risk Appetite: Contemplate your organization's broad-mindedness for risk. A more risk-averse organization might opt for a framework with strict controls.
• Resources: Appraise your available resources, as well as budget, personnel, and tools. Choose a framework that you can convincingly implement and preserve.
• Existing Security Measures: Think of how the chosen framework is going to benefit your organization and will integrate with your current security infrastructure and methodology.

Applying a SOC framework isn't without its challenges. One might encounter confrontation from some teams, fight to distribute sufficient resources, or face problems in familiarizing with the framework and implementing it for your precise needs. However, with cautious planning, communication, and persistence, you can overcome these hurdles.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you now know what SOC frameworks are and why they're indispensable for any organization looking to strengthen its cybersecurity defenses. Opting for the right framework can either be a game-changer or a game itself, since it provides a roadmap for building a dynamic and effective SOC. Remember that the key is to select a framework that suits your organization's specific needs and risk profile.

Either NIST or MITRE ATT&CK, whichever is chosen, are both going to enhance the level of your security architecture if deployed correctly. For example, from Microsoft to JP Morgan, many big organizations go for the NIST framework. Whereas companies like Palo Alto and Cisco have chosen MITRE ATT&CK for their security architecture.

‍This post was written by Gourav Bais. Gourav is an applied machine learning engineer skilled in computer vision/deep learning pipeline development, creating machine learning models, retraining systems, and transforming data science prototypes into production-grade solutions.