For those outside the security industry, the workings of a GSOC or Global Security Operations Center may be unfamiliar. GSOCs play a vital role in providing threat intelligence and improving incident response to mitigate risks to an organization. The goal of a GSOC is simple: To provide real-time situational awareness that protects corporate assets and safeguards personnel around the world. But proper execution of this goal can be rather complex, especially if a company doesn’t have a GSOC and needs to stand one up. A successful GSOC balances three elements:
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): All corporate functions should have procedures in place that guide day-to-day activities. A GSOC is no different. They need SOPs including those that govern escalation and communication protocols for identified threats and disruptions.
Data Relevancy: Both internal and external data sources must serve a purpose. GSOC internal data (e.g., office locations, corporate events, traveling executives, etc.) must be sourced in an accurate and consistent fashion. This requires certain departments to be in sync with GSOC analysts. Externally, data sources must come from each level of the web (surface, deep and dark) but remain aligned with the primary goal of the GSOC.
Integration: Some large organizations have distributed security operations with no central command. In these cases, disciplines of security (e.g., executive protection, workplace security, emergency preparedness, incident reporting, etc. ) function independently of one another. GSOCs serve an important role in integrating risk monitoring and threat analysis for a global organization, thus unifying all data under one central system and set of SOPs. Without a GSOC that oversees data across locations and circumstances, vulnerabilities will exist between the silos.
Insite helps organizations advance the maturity of GSOC operations, even if that means starting them from scratch. Contact us to learn more.