This SOC Analyst training course is designed to be hands-on, lab-driven, and industry-aligned. It provides students with real-world SOC experience, ensuring they can step into a SOC role with practical skills in SIEM, threat detection, incident response, and compliance auditing.

Course Overview

Course Title:

Security Operations Center (SOC) Analyst Training

Duration:

8 Weeks (Hands-on Practical Training and Assessments)

Delivery Mode:

Instructor-led training

Hands-on lab-based exercises

Live simulations

Assessments and final certification project

Target Audience:

Aspiring SOC Analysts

IT Professionals transitioning into cybersecurity

Network administrators and IT support staff

Security professionals looking to enhance incident response skills

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

Set up and operate a SOC using Microsoft Sentinel, Defender XDR, and other security tools

Perform threat hunting, log analysis, and incident response

Understand compliance requirements (ISO 27001, GDPR, Cyber Essentials)

Conduct malware analysis, phishing investigations, and forensic analysis

Deploy and configure security controls following Zero Trust and IAM principles

Set up SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) for real-world scenarios

2. Course Breakdown by Weeks

Week 1: SOC Fundamentals & Security Tools

Objective: Understand SOC operations, key concepts, and set up security tools.

Introduction to SOC, Security Operations, and Analyst Roles

Cyber Kill Chain and MITRE ATT&CK Framework

Set up Microsoft 365 & Assign Licenses

Deploy Microsoft Sentinel & configure data connectors

Deploy Windows 365 Cloud PCs for SOC testing

Assessment: Short quiz on SOC fundamentals and initial lab setup

Week 2: Access Management & Zero Trust

Objective: Implement security policies and access control.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Identity Management

Conditional Access Policies & Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Microsoft Intune: Device security and compliance

Cloudflare Zero Trust: Securing access to corporate resources

Lab: Configure Conditional Access, RBAC policies, and deploy Cloudflare Zero Trust.

Assessment: Review of access policies and security hardening

Week 3: Vulnerability Management & Threat Intelligence

Objective: Deploy and manage a vulnerability scanning program and integrate threat intelligence.

Vulnerability Management Overview and CVSS Scoring

Deploy Qualys Agent for vulnerability scanning

Analyze Qualys Findings & Prioritization

Threat Intelligence Overview: MITRE ATT&CK, MISP

Integrate Threat Intelligence into Microsoft Sentinel

Lab:

Deploy Qualys in a lab environment and analyze scan results

Integrate Threat Intelligence feeds into SIEM

Assessment: Report on vulnerability findings and risk mitigation plan

Week 4: Threat Detection & Log Analysis

Objective: Detect security incidents using log analysis and advanced SIEM techniques.Introduction to Threat Detection & IOC (Indicators of Compromise) Hunting

Microsoft Defender XDR: Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Write KQL Queries for SIEM log analysis

Create Detection Rules & Alerts in Microsoft Sentinel

Investigate Alerts in Sentinel and Defender XDR

Lab:

Use KQL queries to detect suspicious activity

Correlate logs from different sources (Defender, Sentinel, Qualys)

Assessment: SIEM investigation exercise

Week 5: Incident Response & Forensics

Objective: Handle security incidents and analyze digital forensic artifacts.

Live Cyber Attack Simulation (Recon & Endpoint Compromise)

Introduction to Digital Forensics (Disk & Memory Analysis)

Use Autopsy & Volatility for memory analysis

Perform a Mock SOC Incident Handling Exercise

Lab:

Investigate a simulated attack scenario and identify compromised systems

Conduct disk and memory forensics on a breached system

Assessment: Investigative report on a security incident

Week 6: Compliance Audits & SOC Reporting

Objective: Learn security compliance frameworks and auditing techniques.

Introduction to ISO 27001, GDPR, Cyber Essentials compliance

Perform a Cyber Essentials Audit

Learn GDPR Compliance Requirements & SOC Responsibilities

Conduct an ISO 27001-2022 Audit using Microsoft Compliance Manager

Understand SOC Metrics & Reporting (MTTD, MTTR, SIEM Dashboards)

Lab:

Audit a security environment based on Cyber Essentials & GDPR standards

Configure Microsoft Compliance Manager to generate reportsAssessment: Compliance audit report

Week 7: Lab Setup & Configuration

Objective: Students build their own SOC environment and test configurations.

Deploy Microsoft Sentinel, Defender XDR, and configure log ingestion

Set up custom detection rules, dashboards, and alerts

Tune SIEM correlation rules for false positive reduction

Lab:

Full SOC setup and fine-tuning of security monitoring

Assessment: Instructor review of SOC lab setup

Week 8: Audit, Incident Response, and Mock Testing

Objective: Conduct a full SOC audit and respond to simulated attacks.

Perform a SOC audit to ensure compliance and security best practices

Phishing Incident Response: Investigate email security breaches

Malware Investigation: Analyze an endpoint malware infection

Final Security Incident Handling Report

Lab:

Conduct a full SOC investigation of a phishing attack

Simulate and analyze malware execution logs and response

Assessment: Final security report on phishing and malware attack response

3. Lab Setup Requirements

Cloud-based Lab Infrastructure:

Microsoft 365 with Azure AD, Intune, and Compliance Manager

Microsoft Defender XDR (Endpoint, Email, Identity)

Microsoft Sentinel SIEM with Log Analytics

Qualys Cloud Platform for vulnerability management

Cloudflare Zero Trust for network security

Tools & Resources:

Windows 365 Cloud PCs for each student

Autopsy & Volatility for forensic analysisKQL for SIEM log analysis

AlienVault OTX, MISP for Threat Intelligence

4. Assessment and Certification

Assessment Criteria:

Weekly quizzes and lab exercises (30%)

Practical SOC audit and incident response (40%)

Final project: Phishing and Malware Incident Response Report (30%)

Certification Requirements:

Completion of all lab exercises and SOC setup

Passing final assessment (minimum 70%)

Submission of a detailed SOC Investigation Report