Further Contributor: Pradnya Padaki
Stepping right into a Safety Operations Centre (SOC) at Cisco Dwell Melbourne for the primary time was an expertise charged with pleasure and barely nervous. Beforehand, my solely understanding of SOCs got here from listening to buyer tales and dealing with their challenges—I had identified the strain, urgency, and teamwork required solely via their eyes, by no means having been in these footwear myself.
Onboarding: Fast and Welcoming
Opposite to my expectations of a drawn-out onboarding, the method was surprisingly swift (taking lower than 10-20 minutes). Due to Duo, I used to be shortly given entry to all of the important instruments: Cisco XDR, Splunk, firewall dashboards, and extra from the duo listing. This seamless entry calmed my nerves and made me really feel immediately welcome.
After that, it was all about getting comfy with the instruments and escalation processes. As a Tier 1/Tier 2 analyst, my each day routine revolved round Cisco XDR, which introduced collectively incident alerts from each nook of the community. Every alert got here filled with context and intelligence, making investigations a lot much less overwhelming.
Discovering Endace
One in every of my highlights was utilizing Endace for the primary time. This software gave me the flexibility to dive into packet-level particulars, filter information quickly, and transition from high-level incidents to granular packet captures. Correlating metadata and community flows grew to become easy and even fulfilling, serving to me resolve issues with way more confidence.
Candid Conversations
Through the occasion, I used to be incessantly placed on the spot to share my firsthand expertise of working in a SOC for the primary time, notably reflecting on my day two investigations. This inspired me to look at fastidiously and assume deeply in regards to the operational realities. Many purchasers confirmed eager curiosity, recognizing that my expertise may quickly mirror their very own, which made these interactions particularly useful and motivating.
Day 1: Studying the Ropes
The primary day was all about orientation: understanding the workflow, attending to know the instruments, and creating the mindset wanted for efficient investigations. With assist from skilled colleagues, I discovered to triage incidents, test risk intel, dive into logs, and seek the advice of with the workforce earlier than making selections. By the day’s finish, my preliminary nervousness had remodeled into pleasure.
Day 2: Main My Personal Investigation
On day two, I took on incidents independently, performing full triage and drafting escalation studies myself.
Case Research: Investigating Suspicious Community Connections
Background: Throughout my preliminary SOC project, an alert was generated by Cisco XDR highlighting that an inner endpoint was making connections to a number of IP addresses identified for malicious exercise.
Detection: Cisco XDR flagged the suspicious conduct, visualizing the connections between one inner asset and a number of other high-risk exterior hosts. This raised instant issues about potential malware or command-and-control exercise (see Cisco XDR investigation beneath).
Investigation: To validate and additional analyze the incident, I used Endace for in-depth packet inspection. Filtering for the precise IP and utility revealed a constant circulation of site visitors matching file switch patterns. Additional evaluation confirmed that the site visitors was generated by a BitTorrent utility working on the endpoint (see Endace screenshot beneath).
Response motion: From the primary alert in Cisco XDR, I carried out a complete investigation to shortly confirm the violation of insurance policies. As a Tier 2 analyst, my response included correlating information from a number of sources, conducting packet captures with Endace to rule out malware, and assessing the broader impression on the setting. As soon as the investigation confirmed Bittorrent utilization because the supply of suspicious site visitors, the case was formally escalated to make sure applicable follow-up, together with person training and enhanced community controls to mitigate recurrence. The affected endpoint was flagged for additional monitoring, and the appliance was disabled to stop ongoing peer-to-peer file sharing. An in depth incident report was compiled, outlining dangers corresponding to malware publicity, bandwidth consumption, and privateness vulnerabilities related to unauthorized Bittorrent exercise.
Consequence & Reflection: Seeing the investigation via preliminary alert to root trigger dedication—leveraging each Cisco XDR and Endace—marked a significant milestone in my SOC journey. This end-to-end incident dealing with not solely bolstered procedural self-discipline however considerably boosted my confidence in dealing with real-world threats.
Reflections and Takeaways
By the tip of the occasion, I spotted the true essence of a SOC isn’t nearly instruments or dashboards. It’s about folks: collaboration, belief, shared curiosity, and supporting one another. Whilst a newcomer, I used to be welcomed, trusted, and inspired—which made a world of distinction.
In abstract, my first SOC expertise turned preliminary nerves into real confidence. I entered as an observer and left feeling like a part of the workforce—a journey outlined by assist, studying, and the joys of fixing real-world safety challenges.
Take a look at the opposite blogs by my colleagues within the Cisco Dwell Melbourne 2026 SOC.
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