The Difference between the Security Operations Center (SOC) & Network Operations Center (NOC)

Working in cybersecurity is full of surprises every day. In information security, just like on a football field, if you do not understand the lines, movements and trends of your opponents, you will not be able to understand the risks that your organization faces.

noc vs soc

Even after all of the recent data breaches and successful hacker attacks, many businesses and organizations continue to ignore key security guidelines. In addition, many organizations underestimate cybercriminals and hacktivists who are always at least two or three steps ahead.

Most companies have adopted the "security and surveillance" strategy. This strategy typically occurs in a Security Operations Center (SOC) or a Network Operations Center (NOC). In most organizations, SOC and NOC complement each other.

The roles of SOC and NOC are not subtly, but fundamentally different. SOC and NOC are responsible for identifying, investigating, prioritizing, escalating and solving problems, but the types of problems and the impact they cause are significantly different.

The NOC manages incidents and alerts that affect performance and availability. The NOC's job is to comply with SLAs (service level agreements) and manage incidents to reduce downtime. It focuses on availability and performance.

SOC focuses on incidents and alerts that affect the security of information assets. Its main function is to protect the intellectual property and confidential data of customers, with an emphasis on security.

While both are crucial to any organization, combining SOCs and NOCs in one entity and getting them to take on the tasks of the other can be a disaster, because their approaches are so different and the skills required to manage are different.

A NOC analyst must have proficiency in network, application, and system engineering, while SOC analysts must have security engineering skills.

Last but not least, the very nature of the adversaries each group faces is different. The SOC focuses on "smart opponents", while the NOC deals with events in the natural system.

Therefore, SOC and NOC are necessary to work side by side, but together.

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