Goals of TSOC

TSOC provides an opportunity for senior undergraduate and graduate students to obtain a valuable working experience in an operational SOC while supporting real-world clients. This experience informs students about how various concepts, protocols and practices from cybersecurity classes are utilized in practice for tackling real-world cyber attacks.

Students will go through the onboarding and complete required training for how to manage TSOC services and support clients before start their work at TSOC.

TSOC training is organized into two courses. During each term, registered students are assigned three working shifts per week and are required to be present at TSOC and manage the tasks associated with their assigned function under the supervision of assigned instructors and engineers. Students rotate between different functions during the term to gain experience with all aspects of TSOC operations.

Program Structure

Students in the TSOC program will be assigned shifts that are structured to simulate the demands of a real-world SOC.

• TSOC Structure: TSOC will be offered as a 2 semester (quarter) program, over the course of which students will rotate through the major set of services offered to clients.
• Pre-requisites: Students are required to complete certain courses as part of their curriculum along with vendor's online trainings that introduce the SOC tools used in TSOC.
• Hours of Operation: TSOC will operate from 9am to 5pm local time (Monday to Friday) to provide services to clients.
• Shift Structure: Each student will work 3 shifts per week, each lasting 3 hours, which totals to 9 hours per week. The shifts are structured to overlap to develop a work hand-off culture between two shifts.
• Shift Duties: During shifts, students will monitor alerts, investigate potential incidents and escalate as necessary. Throughout the length of their semester students will be exposed to scenarios, both real-world and sometimes simulated attacks, that cover the functionalities of a SOC along with their learning outcomes.
• Team Collaboration: Students will collaborate in teams, mirroring the environment of a SOC. This will help build communication skills both with teammates and with clients.
• Services: The list of services provided to clients includes network monitoring, incident response, vulnerability management, threat intelligence and much more.

Learning Outcomes

Students can enroll in TSOC program via three course offerings, constituting a college year. Students will spend about 9-10 hours per week based on a shift system, engaging with clients to provide necessary services. The key learning outcomes are,

• Log Analysis
• Incident Response
• Network Monitoring
• Risk Assessment
• Threat Intelligence
• Penetration Testing (Future Offerings)
• Threat Hunting (Future Offerings)
• Ethics and Compliance (Future Offerings)