Imagine a security operations center. Do you picture a dimly lit room with huge, wall-sized screens showcasing live threat data? Do you visualize stadium-style seating and rows of desks supporting large monitors, with the eyes of observant and attentive analysts affixed upon them?

Aside from the aesthetics and activity, you probably also think of this room as an insular entity, segregated from the larger business in more ways than strict physical access control. Alerts come in, buttons are pressed, and outcomes happen – but interaction and collaboration remains inaccessible to anyone not physically present.

For years, your vision was likely spot on. After all, with businesses of all types experiencing rampant cyberattacks, there needed to be a central entity charged with detection and response to digital threats.

What changed?

But over time, the SOC scene shifted, with two factors playing significant roles in the transformation. First, the surge and comfortability of remote work has made these traditionally in-house institutions more distributed and federated than ever. And two, with cybersecurity now inherent to virtually every business process and no longer an "after the fact" consideration, priorities have changed and more stakeholders require involvement.

As a recent Google paper on Autonomic Security Operations calls out: “Whether you call your team a detection & response team, security operations team, or you are a SOC, we believe that the future of security operations demands that we solve challenges with distributed workforces who integrate with cross-functional teams across organizational risks to achieve a state of autonomic and operational fusion. Focusing on the skills needed to creatively develop and engineer scalable solutions to modern threats is paramount to protecting organizations against their risk categories in today's day and beyond.”

Which brings us to a new infographic illustrating how specific teams and business groups are connecting, in very defined ways, with today’s modern SOC and vice versa. As you will see, bridges have replaced moats.

Next steps

• Take a few minutes to browse the infographic (below) or click here to view the PDF.
• Read our paper on “Autonomic Security Operations,” which addresses many of the principles this infographic illustrates.
• Download a new guide from ESG, which examines the people-process-technology tenets of the modern SOC.