SOC as a Service: Monthly Plans and Response Time Benchmarks

• 1. End devices 

• 2. Dedicated and Cloud servers 

• 3. Firewalls 

• 4. Cloud and SaaS platforms 

• 5. Email security appliances 

• 6. Identity and Access Management systems 

• 7. SIEM or extended detection and response platforms 

• 8. Network security logs 

The primary goal is to identify threats as early as possible, minimise false positives, and enable quicker response times to potentially inhibit serious incidents. 

SOC as a Service Monthly Plans 

SOCaaS options have different levels such as basic, standard, advanced, and enterprise. Costs each month involve how many assets are watched and the amount of response support is provided. 

How Pricing Models Work 

SOCaaS pricing could involve any of the following: 

• 1. Pricing per endpoint 

• 2. Pricing per user 

• 3. Pricing per server 

• 4. Pricing per asset 

• 5. Pricing per log source 

• 6. Pricing per cloud workload 

• 7. Set monthly pricing 

• 8. Custom enterprise contract pricing 

Always look over the pricing and the overall scope. Pricing at a lower tier may look appealing, but may not have the strongest offering. 

Response Time Considerations for SOCaaS 

You should always consider response time when analysing a SOCaaS provider. “Constant monitoring” isn’t enough. They should be clear on how quickly they would respond. 

Important SOCaaS Metrics 

• 1. MTTD: Mean Time to Detect 

• 2. MTTA: Mean Time to Acknowledge 

• 3. MTTR: Mean Time to Respond 

• 4. Escalation Time: Time taken to alert the customer 

• 5. Containment Time: Time taken to stop threat spread 

A strong SOCaaS provider should share these metrics in monthly reports. 

SOCaaS vs MDR vs MSSP 

SOCaaS is ideal when a company wants full security monitoring without hiring a complete internal SOC team. 

Benefits of SOC as a Service 

1. 24/7 Security Monitoring 

Without SOCaaS, providing nonstop monitoring means hiring security staff for day and night shifts. Cyber threats can happen anytime. 

2. Faster Threat Detection 

Monitoring cloud systems, enterprise networks, and identity systems can still be coupled with SOC analyst monitoring for identifying and investigating suspicious activity. 

3. Reduced Alert Fatigue 

False positive alarms are filtered by the service provider, so the internal IT team has more time and energy to focus on actual threats. 

4. Lower Operational Cost 

Costs of SOCaaS are predictable, whereas having an in-house SOC incurs costs for the purchase of systems, hiring analysts, and providing them with training and shift management. 

5. Better Compliance Support 

SOCaaS can assist in the preparation of compliance documentation and provide support in the preparation of security monitoring, audit logging and incident reporting. 

6. Expert Incident Support 

A quality service provider assists during attacks of malware, phishing, ransomware, as well as during account takeover and data breach incidents. 

Limitations of SOC as a Service 

SOCaaS does not provide solutions for all cybersecurity concerns. 

Some more common limitations are: 

• 1. Fewer offerings may only include alert forwarding. 

• 2. Cost of incident response may be additional. 

• 3. Detection may be impacted by poor log visibility. 

• 4. Remediation must be executed by internal teams. 

• 5. Quality of response is heavily dependent on the analyst team of the service provider. 

• 6. Lower-priced offerings may exclude monitoring for cloud and identity systems. 

SOCaaS is most beneficial when an organisation has established contact points for escalations and an asset inventory as well as internal ownership. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid 

1. Selecting Based on Cost Alone 

Inexpensive SOCaaS offerings frequently exclude critical features including 24/7 incident response, SIEM tuning, and threat hunting. 

2. Overlooking Response SLAs 

It is critical to verify how quickly service providers will triage and escalate critical incidents. 

3. Not Including Cloud and Identity Logs 

Most attacks today will include a combination of a cloud misconfiguration or stolen credentials. 

4. No Escalation Matrix 

During a serious incident, the SOC team needs to know who will be contacted. 

5. Not Reviewing Monthly Reports 

To improve detection and mitigate false positives, reviewing reports on a monthly basis is needed to understand the current risk posture and establish requirements. 

Best Practices for Choosing a SOCaaS Provider 

While choosing a SOC as a Service provider, see whether: 

• 1. Monitoring is 24/7. 

• 2. Alert reviews are done by human analysts. 

• 3. Response time SLAs are defined. 

• 4. Management of SIEM or XDR is included. 

• 5. Cloud and identity monitoring is included in the plan. 

• 6. Threat hunting is included. 

• 7. Monthly reports are given. 

• 8. Guidance for incident response is included. 

• 9. Compliance reports are included. 

• 10. Pricing is reasonable. 

A desirable provider will state what is included and excluded and their processes for a live cyber incident. 

Real-World Example 

A mid-size SaaS company with Microsoft 365, AWS, and endpoint security, and multiple admin accounts, most likely does not have a SOC team. Without SOCaaS, the company’s IT team will probably miss concerning logins, admin activities, or cloud misconfigurations. 

With SOC as a Service, monitoring of Identity, endpoint, log, and cloud activity is possible in all managed services. If a critical situation occurs, the SOC team has the capability to investigate, and containment will be guided through the response process. 

Key Takeaways 

• 1. SOC as a Service provides managed security services with a monthly contract. 

• 2. Response time benchmarks are as critical as pricing. 

• 3. Basic plans work for small businesses. Advanced plans support SIEM, MDR, cloud, and threat hunting. 

• 4. Good SOCaaS providers will include transparent SLAs and monthly reports and will have seasoned personnel for escalation. 

• 5. SOCaaS will take care of a lot of the security burden, but not the internal responsibility. 

Conclusion 

SOC as a Service is a sensible choice for those businesses needing round-the-clock security monitoring and not wanting a full-fledged in-house SOC. The ideal monthly plan will cover all the above, include SLAs for human intervention and response, escalation, and helpful reporting. 

Compare, before choosing a provider, not only the monthly cost but also the speed of response, the breadth of monitoring, the level of the analysts, and how they deal with incidents.