SOC, SIEM, XDR - What is the difference?

The NIS2 directive, which comes into force in October, will make an attack detection system mandatory for affected companies. Anyone who takes a closer look at the topic will quickly stumble across the terms SOC, SIEM and XDR. But what do they actually mean and what is the best way to use the systems in combination?

What does SOC mean?

A Security Operations Center (SOC) is a central unit within an organisation that is responsible for identifying and dealing with IT security incidents. It consists of security experts who monitor a company’s entire IT infrastructure around the clock. This allows incidents to be recognised in real time and dealt with quickly and effectively.

The advantage of a SOC lies in the standardisation and coordination of security tools, procedures and incident response. The SOC team deals exclusively and at all times with the emerging security-relevant systems. This enables a faster, more efficient and more cost-effective response to security threats. Another task of the SOC team is to analyse vulnerabilities. This allows applications, systems and security guidelines to be adapted and optimised according to the threat situation.

How do SIEM, SOAR & XDR differ?

A SIEM is a security information and event management system that is the essential platform in many SOC environments. It provides a central dashboard that summarises security information and events from the entire IT infrastructure. It focuses on collecting, correlating and analysing log data from all systems in an infrastructure, provides comprehensive reports and usually requires a manual response to threats.

In contrast, the automatic response to the data correlated by the SIEM is usually realised by a SOAR (Security Orchestration Automation and Response). SOAR is a technology that aims to optimise and automate security operations. SOAR systems integrate various security tools and processes in order to recognise, respond to and eliminate threats more efficiently.

An Extended Detection and Response (XDR) system, on the other hand, offers a fully integrated and automated solution for detecting and responding to threats. It combines data from various security sources and improves response time through automation. In contrast to SIEM, an XDR platform focuses on connecting the relevant systems of a security infrastructure. The aim is to reduce complexity while maximising the level of security. The essential pillars of the infrastructures to be considered are the endpoint (EDR), the network (NDR), the identities and the monitoring of cloud resources and applications.

SIEM and XDR can complement each other with their information and functionalities. When setting up an attack detection system, an XDR system represents the lowest entry hurdle and can be professionalised over the course of the life cycle through a SIEM.

avodaq IDR – customised security service

The avodaq Incident Detection and Response (IDR) service is our in-house SOCaaS (SOC as a Service) for companies. Based on an XDR platform, our security experts classify, analyse and evaluate anomalies that occur in the IT infrastructure.

We support the customer with structured escalation and communication management in responding to and resolving security incidents and implementing the necessary changes. In this way, our analysts ensure continuous improvement of the systems. Our service can also be supplemented with modules in the areas of endpoint detection, network detection and email security, providing a complete “out of the box” solution if the existing security infrastructure does not yet cover these core areas satisfactorily or at all.

SOC, SIEM and XDR – they all form an important cornerstone for an attack detection system. The extent to which the systems are used individually or in combination depends on the respective use case. The Europe-wide NIS2 directive makes an attack detection system mandatory for all affected companies. It is important to develop a strategy for implementation in advance.