FEATURE : SECURITY OPERATIONS CENTRE communication skills are needed in any SOC . These skills , he added , are also the most difficult to teach , whereas using a specific tool or technology is relatively straightforward . “ To meet this demand , security and IT executives are developing talent pipelines in higher education and adjacent disciplines like network management or IT user support . While these strategies can be very effective , high demand in the cybersecurity job market favours the candidate . Organisations must provide opportunities for meaningful work and continued career growth in order to attract and retain skilled defenders ,”. He said .
“ At Axon Technologies , we have standardised by using the Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity , also known as the NICE Framework for Cyber Defence Analysis , for the areas of knowledge , skills , and abilities ,” he said . “ In short , you want people who have a strong understanding of networking and information systems , and IT infrastructure , along with knowledge of attack vectors and methodologies . These fundamentals need to be supported by the analyst ’ s ability to communicate and collaborate .”
He observed that in the Middle East , personnel with these knowledge , skills , and abilities are minimal , much like everywhere else , there is a global skill shortage .
“ Most cyber defence analysts are from outside the region as it ’ s the only way to meet the current capacity needs . Larger organisations can and should look at internal programmes to upskill current staff to move into cybersecurity and local university internships .
There is no denying that SOC adoption in the Middle East is highest in government , critical infrastructure , and other highly regulated industries which tracks with global trends . “ However , we are seeing increased demand for security operations support across all verticals where key business processes have been digitised or are heavily reliant on Information Technology ,” Orlando said .
Brown said traditionally , critical infrastructure and finance sectors have led the way , with manufacturing closely behind them . We have seen a growing trend with healthcare and media verticals seeking SOC services . One of the genuinely positive trends we have been involved with is managed services providers ( MSPs ) and Cloud Services Providers ( CSPs ) wanting security operations centres . This deployment of SOCs improves the security posture of the MSP / CSP , but they also want to provide it as a service to their clients . This concept allows small , medium and non-technical organisations to have complete SOC services as part of their managed or hosting cost ,” he said . p
www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO MIDDLE EAST 43