Sherlocked Security – SOC Triage & Alerting

Efficient and effective management of security alerts, ensuring timely identification, investigation, and response to potential threats.

1. Statement of Work (SOW)

Service Name: SOC Triage & Alerting
Client Type: Organizations of all sizes requiring real-time security monitoring and incident response
Service Model: Managed SOC service that focuses on rapid alert triage, analysis, escalation, and response
Compliance Alignment: ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, NIST CSF

Scope Includes:

Real-time detection of threats using automated tools and manual intervention
Alert triage to prioritize incidents based on severity and impact
Investigation of potential threats, including root cause analysis
Automated alert classification and escalation
Integration of threat intelligence feeds to enhance detection accuracy
Continuous tuning and optimization of alert rules and detection models
Reporting on triaged alerts, incident statistics, and trends

2. Our Approach

[Receive] → [Classify] → [Analyze] → [Escalate] → [Respond] → [Resolve] → [Report]

Alert Reception: Collection of raw alerts from multiple sources (SIEM, IDS/IPS, EDR, firewalls)
Alert Classification: Categorization of alerts into false positives, low, medium, and high severity
Incident Analysis: Detailed investigation into potential security incidents, including event correlation and root cause analysis
Escalation: Automated or manual escalation based on predefined thresholds and severity levels
Response: Initiating response actions based on the severity of the incident (containment, mitigation, eradication)
Resolution: Ensuring full resolution of the incident and any necessary recovery measures
Reporting: Detailed analysis and summary of triaged alerts, with a focus on trends and security posture improvements

3. Methodology

Alert Collection: Continuous data collection from network devices, endpoints, applications, and cloud services
Automated Classification: Use of machine learning and heuristics to filter out false positives and reduce alert fatigue
Incident Correlation: Identifying related events and incidents through SIEM rules and machine learning to discover hidden patterns
Prioritization: Triaging alerts based on risk, impact, and the organization’s business context
Escalation Protocols: Clear, predefined escalation paths for high-severity incidents
Continuous Tuning: Fine-tuning alert rules and detection models to adapt to evolving threats and improve response efficiency

4. Deliverables

Triage Process: Defined workflow for receiving, classifying, and investigating alerts
Alert Management Platform: Integration with SIEM and other alerting tools (Splunk, QRadar, SentinelOne, etc.)
Automated Classification and Filtering: Use of automated systems for classifying and filtering out low-value alerts
Incident Escalation Playbooks: Predefined procedures for escalating incidents based on severity
Detailed Reports: Monthly summaries and incident reports, highlighting trends, incidents, and improvements
Alert Trends: Identifying and reporting recurring alerts to facilitate further tuning and mitigation

5. Client Requirements

Log and Data Source Integration: Connectivity to security data sources (SIEM, EDR, IDS/IPS, firewalls, cloud platforms)
Incident Severity Criteria: Custom thresholds and rules for alert severity and escalation
Predefined Escalation Paths: Defined internal escalation contacts and procedures for high-priority alerts
Alerting Configuration: Setup of alerts, filters, and rules based on your environment’s risk profile
Historical Incident Data: Past incident data for improving triage and alert filtering accuracy
Collaboration Channels: Clear communication channels for incident response, including emails, ticketing systems, and chat integrations

6. Tooling Stack

SIEM: Splunk, QRadar, LogRhythm, Sumo Logic, ELK
Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR): CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Carbon Black
Network Detection & Response (NDR): Darktrace, Vectra AI, ExtraHop
Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR): Cortex XSOAR, D3 Security, Swimlane
Threat Intelligence Feeds: ThreatConnect, MISP, IBM X-Force, OpenDXL
Ticketing Systems: ServiceNow, Jira, PagerDuty for managing and tracking incidents

7. Engagement Lifecycle

Onboarding: Integration of all alerting sources (SIEM, EDR, NDR, etc.) and customization of alert rules
Tuning: Fine-tuning alerting thresholds and classification rules to minimize false positives and optimize triage
Alert Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of incoming alerts to identify potential incidents
Triage & Investigation: Real-time classification, investigation, and initial response to detected threats
Incident Escalation: Escalating high-severity incidents according to predefined escalation procedures
Reporting: Monthly and quarterly reports that summarize triaged alerts, incidents, trends, and recommendations
Optimization: Continuous refinement of alert classification and triage processes to adapt to evolving threats

8. Why Sherlocked Security?

Feature	Sherlocked Advantage
Real-time Alert Management	Instantaneous triage and classification of alerts, reducing investigation time
Automated Filtering	Use of machine learning and heuristics to automate alert classification and reduce noise
Scalable Triage Workflow	Scalable workflows that adapt to high volumes of alerts without compromising accuracy
Clear Escalation Protocols	Predefined escalation rules and escalation playbooks to streamline response times
Integration with Leading Tools	Seamless integration with industry-leading SIEM, EDR, and NDR solutions
Continuous Improvement	Ongoing tuning of alert rules and processes for better detection and faster response
Reporting & Analytics	Detailed incident reports and alert trend analysis to optimize security posture

9. Use Cases

Use Case 1: DDoS Attack Detection

Alert: Multiple alerts triggered for unusual traffic spikes and SYN flood patterns from multiple IPs
Triage: Alerts classified as high-severity, indicating a potential DDoS attack
Incident Handling: Traffic rate limiting and upstream provider notification initiated
Escalation: Incident escalated to network security team for further mitigation actions
Resolution: Traffic surge reduced, attack mitigated with no service disruption
Reporting: Incident report highlighting the attack vectors and actions taken

Use Case 2: Phishing Email Alert

Alert: Detection of a potential phishing email based on unusual sender patterns and embedded URLs
Triage: Low-severity alert generated, flagged for investigation by SOC analyst
Incident Handling: Analyst investigates the email content, identifies a known phishing attempt, and isolates the affected user account
Escalation: No escalation required as this was resolved through user account isolation and awareness training
Resolution: Phishing email blocked, user account secured, and awareness training for the user initiated
Reporting: Incident report on phishing attack with recommendations for user education

10. SOC Triage & Alerting Readiness & Ops Checklist

Telemetry Readiness

[ ] Access to SIEM for real-time alert collection from various security tools (EDR, IDS, firewalls)
[ ] Integration of log sources from cloud, network, endpoint, and application platforms
[ ] Configuration of alerting rules and filters to minimize false positives and noise
[ ] Clear thresholds for severity classification (low, medium, high, critical)
[ ] Up-to-date threat intelligence feeds integrated for enriching alert context

Triage Process

[ ] Customizable classification model for alert severity based on business impact
[ ] Real-time alert triage workflow for rapid response to incidents
[ ] Automated incident classification and initial investigation based on predefined rules
[ ] Predefined playbooks for common alert types (e.g., malware, phishing, unauthorized access)
[ ] Alert correlation to identify larger patterns across alerts and prevent alert fatigue

Incident Escalation

[ ] Predefined escalation procedures for high-severity incidents
[ ] Clear escalation paths with defined roles and contact points for each severity level
[ ] Manual and automated escalation options for urgent incidents
[ ] Regularly updated escalation protocols based on evolving threat landscape

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

[ ] Monthly triage and alert management reports, with key metrics (e.g., MTTR, number of false positives, etc.)
[ ] Quarterly trend analysis on alerts and incidents, focusing on detection performance and optimization needs
[ ] Incident review meetings to evaluate response efficiency and suggest process improvements
[ ] Ongoing tuning of alert classification, correlation rules, and filtering mechanisms
[ ] Feedback loops with SOC analysts for refining alerting and triage processes

SOC Triage & Alerting