Experienced UK-based SOC Analysts see all kinds of things while they work. This blog looks at the top ten common incidents for SOC analysts that we’ve seen, for your enjoyment … or as a warning – how you interpret it is your call.
A Glorious (and Slightly Hilarious) Tribute to the Adventures of Our Experienced UK-based SOC Analysts
Picture this: You’re sitting comfortably in a dimly lit room, staring at an endless sea of flashing screens filled with alerts, logs, and more data than you could shake a stick at. But in that moment, amidst the chaos, you’re calm. Because if you’re part of the SOC (Security Operations Center), you’ve seen it all. Or should I say, you’ve “SIEM” it all? . . . i’ll see myself out.
Yes, that’s right. The SOC analysts have lived through it. They’ve triaged it, debugged it, and occasionally—when things got really weird—had to call in the actual police. If there’s one thing they can agree on, it’s that no two days in the world of cybersecurity are the same. But over the years, certain types of incidents just keep popping up like an endless loop of hilarious yet hair-raising scenarios. From disgruntled employees trying to steal company secrets to cloud infrastructure being wide open for all the wrong reasons (and we mean all the wrong reasons), our SOC analysts have survived it all.
They’ve SIEM it all
Grab your popcorn, folks, as we walk you through the Top 10 Most Exciting Common Incidents our SOC analysts have handled, and sprinkled in some courtroom drama for extra flair.
Top 10 Most Exciting Common Incidents for SOC Analysts
1. The Disgruntled Employee Who Tried to “Steal” the Company to Dropbox
You know the type. They’ve been stewing in the corner of the office for months, grumbling about that promotion they didn’t get, or that Zoom meeting where they weren’t on mute (you know the one). So, what do they do? They attempt to sneak out an entire treasure trove of company secrets by uploading it to their personal Dropbox. As if Dropbox is some kind of cyber cloak of invisibility. Spoiler alert: It’s not. Our SOC spotted the abnormal data transfer almost instantly. From there, it was a short but dramatic journey to the HR department—and eventually to the courtrooms.
Pro Tip: Use the company’s approved file-sharing app, not your personal cloud!
2. The “Phantom” Login Attempt at 3 A.M.
Sure, a 3 A.M. login attempt could just be someone burning the midnight oil, but when the login is coming from a country halfway across the world, one in which that customer does not have a presence, it’s a whole other thing. Our SOC was on it quicker than you can say “I’m in.” Turns out, an attacker had compromised an account through phishing. And, of course, they tried to be sneaky. But the SOC wasn’t fooled. This one had a happy ending, with the hacker being unceremoniously kicked off the network before they could do much damage.
Nice try, though!
3. The Cloud Misconfiguration Fiasco
Imagine leaving your house unlocked with the keys on the porch, a “please rob me” sign in the front yard. Sounds like a bad idea, right? Well, that’s exactly what happened when a cloud infrastructure was left wide open for the world to see. Some poor soul had neglected to adjust the security settings, and just like that, the world had access to sensitive data. Luckily, the SOC analysts were able to spot this when the SIEM went live.
Lesson learned: Always secure your cloud!
4. The Great Staff “Hide the Evidence” Drama
Ever have one of those days where you accidentally break something (we’re talking about something BIG), and instead of owning up to it, you try to sweep it under the rug? Well, one well-meaning employee tried to hide their mistake by deleting logs of a security mishap. Guess who found out? The SOC, of course. After a quick investigation, they uncovered the truth. Spoiler alert: It didn’t end well. Not only did the logs get restored, but the whole thing ended up as a “what-not-to-do” case study for future training.
Moral of the story: It’s always better to own your mistakes than try to hide them in a digital black hole.
5. The Fileless Malware That Couldn’t Stay Hidden
Sometimes, cyber attackers get creative. Enter fileless malware—the sneaky, no-file-needed type that resides in the memory. It was one of those moments where the SOC thought they had a ghost on their hands. No files. No traces. Nothing. But when you’ve seen enough, you start to recognise the patterns. After some digging (and a bit of sleuthing), the SOC found that a certain user had downloaded something… suspicious. And that’s when the chase began.
Spoiler: The malware was taken down, but it certainly gave the analysts a run for their money.
6. The Unintentional Insider Threat
7. The All-Hands-On-Deck False Positive
You know that moment when your heart skips a beat because an alert looks too bad? The network is being pounded with data exfiltration, there are strange login attempts, and encrypted files are popping up like they’re on sale. It’s like someone just declared cyberwar on an unsuspecting retailer.
The SOC team is in full panic mode. Engineers are locked in meetings, the incident response team is huddling for action, and the CEO just got woken up. You’re about to call in the cavalry when…you remember the customer has a red team assessment kicking off today 😑
8. That Confusing Phishing Campaign
9. The Crypto Miner That Was Hiding in Plain Sight
It started with a strange spike in CPU usage—nothing too dramatic, just a little “huh?” moment. The servers were running hotter than usual, and performance was sluggish. So, the SOC team dove into the processes and logs, and there it was: a sneaky crypto miner silently hijacking resources and mining away in the background. All while the customer’s infrastructure was obliviously churning through power and processing cycles. Turns out, someone had figured out how to make their crypto dreams come true on someone else’s dime.
Lesson learned: Always keep an eye on those CPU spikes—sometimes it’s not a glitch, it’s a miner making bank off your hardware.
10. The Ex-Employee Who Didn’t Get the Memo About Leaving
Our customer faced a disgruntled employee who was dismissed but they never got their access fully revoked. So, after peacefully leaving the company, they decided to sneak back in and rummage through some sensitive files. The root cause? A failed JML (Joiners, Movers, Leavers) process. Apparently, no one remembered to pull the plug on their account.
Moral of the story: If you’re going to kick someone out, make sure their access is actually gone—before they come back for seconds.
So, there you have it. A few of the most exciting (and terrifying) common incidents for SOC analysts to deal with. They’ve triaged, tracked, and solved more problems than a superhero in a cyber-suit, with underpants on top.
You may never know what kind of cyber drama is lurking behind the scenes, but you can bet that your SOC has seen it all. Or, as they prefer to say… they’ve SIEM it all. And they’ll be ready for the next one.
We have no doubt that our experienced SOC analysts can assist your organisation, why not take a few minutes to try our SOC Selector and see which service may be best for you?
