Implementation Plan – SIEM & SOAR in the SOC (Summary)

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Status: Final Blueprint

Author: Shahab Al Yamin Chawdhury

Organization: Principal Architect & Consultant Group

Research Date: March 1, 2025

Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh

Version: 1.0

Part I: Strategic Foundations and Governance

This section establishes the strategic “why” for the SIEM & SOAR program, ensuring alignment with business objectives and clear governance.

  • 1.1 Executive Mandate:
    • Business Case: Evolve the Security Operations Center (SOC) from a reactive cost center to a proactive, intelligence-driven business protection unit.
    • Risk of Inaction: Address the operational inefficiency and burnout caused by manual responses to automated, machine-speed threats. Modern platforms can reduce breach risk by up to 60%.
    • Strategic Approach: Adopt a risk-driven implementation focused on protecting critical business assets (“crown jewels”) rather than a purely compliance-driven one.
  • 1.2 Core Principles & Taxonomy:
    • SIEM (Security Information and Event Management): The “system of record” for security, providing visibility through data aggregation, normalization, and correlation.
    • SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response): The “action arm” of the SOC, operationalizing SIEM insights through automated playbooks and orchestrated workflows.
    • SOC Visibility Triad: A comprehensive monitoring model integrating SIEM, Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), and Network Detection and Response (NDR) for complete visibility.
  • 1.3 SOC Governance & Operating Model:
    • People, Process, Technology (PPT): A balanced framework ensuring skilled people, defined processes, and effective technology are integrated.
    • SOC Charter: A formal, executive-approved document defining the SOC’s mission, scope, and authority to act.
    • Operating Models:
      • In-House: Maximum control, highest cost and resource requirements.
      • Managed (MSSP/MDR): Lower cost, immediate expertise, less direct control.
      • Hybrid/Co-Managed: A balance of in-house strategic control and outsourced tactical monitoring.
  • 1.4 Program Governance (RACI):
    • A detailed Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RACI) is crucial to define roles (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) for all program phases, ensuring clear accountability and preventing project delays.

Part II: Architecture and Platform Design

This section defines the technical “what” and “how,” outlining a scalable and integrated platform.

  • 2.1 Reference Architecture:
    • A modular, data-centric design with distinct layers: Data Collection, Processing/Pipeline (Parsing, Normalization, Enrichment), Tiered Data Storage (Hot/Cold), Analytics & Detection (SIEM), and Orchestration & Response (SOAR).
  • 2.2 Technical Requirements:
    • Performance & Scalability: Defined Events Per Second (EPS) ingestion rates and query performance SLAs.
    • High Availability & DR: Defined uptime SLAs (e.g., 99.9%) with clear RTO/RPO objectives.
    • Security & Compliance: Must feature Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), end-to-end encryption, and hold key certifications (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001).
  • 2.3 Telemetry Strategy:
    • Prioritize critical data sources: Identity (Active Directory), Endpoint (EDR), Network (Firewall, DNS), and Cloud (Control Plane Logs).
    • Implement robust data quality management (Normalization, Enrichment) to avoid “Garbage In, Garbage Out”.
    • Establish a tiered data retention policy to balance cost and compliance needs.
  • 2.4 Integration Strategy:
    • Adopt an API-first principle for bi-directional communication.
    • Prioritize vendors with extensive pre-built connectors to accelerate deployment and lower TCO.
    • Develop a strategy for legacy systems using custom parsers or middleware telemetry pipelines.

Part III: Vendor Selection & Implementation Roadmap

This section provides a structured methodology for selecting a technology partner and planning the deployment.

  • 3.1 Product Landscape:
    • The market is consolidating, with leaders like Splunk, Microsoft, Exabeam, Securonix, and Google offering unified SIEM/SOAR platforms.
    • Use a formal, weighted scoring matrix for an objective, data-driven vendor selection process.
  • 3.2 Phased Implementation Roadmap:
    • Phase 1 (Months 1-3): Foundation & Visibility (Core SIEM deployment, critical log sources).
    • Phase 2 (Months 4-9): High-Fidelity Detection (Use case development, alert tuning).
    • Phase 3 (Months 10-15): Automation & Orchestration (SOAR integration, foundational playbooks).
    • Phase 4 (Months 16+): Optimization & Maturity (Advanced playbooks, KPI measurement).
  • 3.3 Agile Project Management:
    • Use an Agile methodology (e.g., Scrum) with time-boxed sprints to deliver value iteratively and adapt to changing priorities.
  • 3.4 Challenges, Risks, and Controls:
    • Proactively manage common risks like technical complexity, budget constraints, alert fatigue, and skills gaps through a formal risk register with defined control measures.

Part IV: Operationalization and Excellence

This section focuses on the people, processes, and continuous improvement required for a world-class SOC.

  • 4.1 SOC Team Structure:
    • Tiered Model: Tier 1 (Triage), Tier 2 (Incident Response), Tier 3 (Threat Hunting).
    • Specialized Roles: SOC Engineer, Detection Engineer, SOAR Engineer, Threat Intelligence Analyst.
    • Skills Matrix: Use a skills matrix to map required competencies to roles and industry certifications (e.g., GIAC, CompTIA) for hiring and professional development.
  • 4.2 Incident Response Lifecycle:
    • Adopt a standardized lifecycle based on NIST SP 800-61 or SANS frameworks: Preparation, Identification, Containment, Eradication, Recovery, and Lessons Learned.
    • Codify standard operating procedures into modular, human-in-the-loop SOAR playbooks for common scenarios like phishing and ransomware.
  • 4.3 Continuous Improvement:
    • Design role-based dashboards for actionable insights.
    • Establish a formal alert tuning process to reduce false positives and analyst fatigue.
    • Conduct blameless post-incident reviews to drive a cycle of continuous improvement.
  • 4.4 Performance Management (KPIs & SLAs):
    • Track key performance indicators (KPIs) like Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Respond (MTTR).
    • Define formal Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for alert triage and incident containment times.
  • 4.5 SOC Maturity Model (SOC-CMM):
    • Use the SOC-CMM to conduct a baseline assessment and develop a multi-year roadmap for improving maturity across Business, People, Process, and Technology domains.

Part V: Compliance, Frameworks, and Business Value

This section connects the program to its financial justification and external drivers.

  • 5.1 Regulatory Compliance:
    • Map platform capabilities directly to controls for key regulations like ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS to streamline audits.
  • 5.2 Threat-Informed Defense (MITRE ATT&CK):
    • Use the MITRE ATT&CK framework to map detections to specific adversary TTPs, perform gap analysis, and drive use case development.
  • 5.3 TCO & ROI Analysis:
    • Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Calculate all direct (licensing, hardware) and indirect (personnel, training) costs over a five-year period.
    • Return on Investment (ROI): Quantify benefits from operational efficiencies (analyst time saved) and risk reduction (avoided breach costs) to build a compelling business case.

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