Become a SOC Analyst: Job role, expectation, and salary
A SOC Analyst’s career begins from entry level SOC role where the primary duty is ensuring security of the organization’s digital assets from unauthorized access. A SOC Analyst is responsible for mitigating risks, identifying suspicious activity, and protecting online and on-site IT infrastructures. SOC Analysts stand as the first line of defense, counter-attacking an incident. Additionally, SOC Analysts generate reports for IT administrators to contribute to the effectiveness of current security protocols. To do this, the SOC Analyst must have up-to-date knowledge and skills of the latest hacking practices and tactics, current intelligence, and methods to prevent threats and breaches.
What does SOC stand for?
| “A security operations center (SOC) is a facility that houses an information security team responsible for monitoring and analyzing an organization’s security posture on an ongoing basis. The SOC team’s goal is to detect, analyze, and respond to cybersecurity incidents using a combination of technology solutions and a strong set of processes. Security operations centers are typically staffed with security analysts and engineers as well as managers who oversee security operations,” – Digital Guardian |
The salary of a SOC Analyst
The minimum salary of a SOC Analyst is $50k and the maximum is $97k; the average salary of a SOC Analyst is $71k.
Roles and responsibilities of an entry-level SOC Analyst
- Perform threat analysis
- Monitor network for malicious activity
- Perform risk analysis, security assessments, and vulnerability testing
- Maintain log analysis
- Application/ mobile security
- Vulnerability scanning in software and hardware
- Coordinate with other analysts and departments for network security
- Investigate, document, and report all security issues
- Implement and maintain security protocols
- Involved in security audits – internal and external
- Anticipate threats and alerts to avoid their occurrence
- Coordinate with vendors on security plans
- Analyse breaches to determine their root cause
Pre-requisite to get into SOC Level 1 –
| Claim skills | Technical skills | Jobs to apply | Certifications |
| Knowledge of security policies
Administrating network firewalls Training other network users on security protocols Troubleshooting skills Flexibly available when required Identifying security areas that need to be improved |
SQL
TCP/IP, routing and switching Knowledge of programming languages like C, C++, Java, PHP, C#, etc. Windows, Unix and Linux operating systems Knowledge of anti-virus Security information and even management (SIEM) Firewall prevention protocols |
SOC Analyst
Information Security Analyst IT Security Analyst Cyber threat analyst |
A technical degree
Certified SOC Analyst (C|SA) |
Those looking to pursue their career as SOC Analysts must have analytical and good communication skills. They must be up to date with the latest technology and security trends. The candidates should be prepared to sift through a vast amount of information flowing in and out of the organization to identify threats or fix security issues.
Do you want to become a SOC Analyst?
Join Certified SOC Analyst program from EC-Council. This program acts as the first step to joining the Security Operations Center (SOC) team. C|SA is a three-day program that covers the fundamentals of SOC operations and other related processes that are mandatory to match the job profile. The program focuses on creating new career opportunities through extensive, meticulous knowledge to contribute to a SOC team with enhanced level capabilities.
Faqs
