SOC_Analyst_Mastery

✅MASTERY
VERIFIED SOC ANALYST COMPLETE
TRACKER (2025)
🎯 Goal: Be 100% eligible and job-ready for Tier 1 / Tier 2
SOC Analyst roles in 1 year

I. 🧠
FOUNDATIONAL CYBERSECURITY
KNOWLEDGE
Understand TCP/IP Stack & OSI Model (7 Layers)

Practice IP Addressing & Subnetting (CIDR, VLSM)

Learn DNS, DHCP, ARP protocols in depth

Configure & test Firewall Rules (Stateless vs Stateful)

Understand Proxy, NAT, VLAN, VPNs

Memorize Common Ports (FTP, SSH, DNS, HTTPS, etc.)

Analyze Packet Structure using Wireshark

II. 🖥 OPERATING SYSTEMS & LOG ANALYSIS

Explore Windows Event Viewer (4624, 4625, 4670, 4688)

Practice using Sysmon + basic config

Simulate PowerShell & WMI Event Triggers

Analyze Linux [Link], syslog, secure logs

Review Bash history, auditd, /etc/passwd

Use auditctl/aureport for activity review

Correlate Logs across multiple sources manually

III. 🌐 NETWORK MONITORING & IDS/IPS

Capture & Analyze Packets using Wireshark, tcpdump, Tshark

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 Setup & Tune Snort IDS (write basic rules)

Setup Suricata & interpret alerts

Perform PCAP Analysis (Ping flood, Port Scan, Brute force)

Simulate Attacks in a Lab to generate alerts

IV. 📊 SECURITY MONITORING & SIEM TOOLS

Install & Ingest Logs in Splunk

Build Dashboards + Setup Alerts in Splunk

Setup ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana)

Configure & Use Wazuh SIEM

Explore IBM QRadar console

Investigate failed logins, USB usage, login times

Create 3 Detection Use Cases in any SIEM

V. 🛡 ENDPOINT DETECTION & RESPONSE (EDR)

Understand & Monitor with CrowdStrike Falcon

Use Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Setup & simulate threats in SentinelOne trial/lab

Handle real EDR alerts (malware, lateral movement)

Follow Threat Detection Playbooks for alerts

VI. 🚨 INCIDENT RESPONSE (IR) & FORENSICS

Memorize IR Lifecycle: Prepare > Detect > Contain > Eradicate > Recover

Use Autopsy & FTK Imager for disk analysis

Run Memory Forensics with Volatility

Extract IOCs from PCAPs

Write a Sample Technical + Executive IR Report

Practice Case Management with ServiceNow / TheHive

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 VII. 🧩 THREAT HUNTING & INTELLIGENCE
Monitor OTX, AbuseIPDB, VirusTotal feeds

Map Attacks using MITRE ATT&CK Framework

Extract IOCs: IPs, Hashes, Domains, URLs, Registry Keys

Manually Hunt Logs using queries (Splunk/ELK/Wazuh)

Try Sigma/YARA Rules (Optional but valuable)

Practice Red Team vs Blue Team roles in lab

VIII. ⚙️ SCRIPTING & AUTOMATION

Learn Python basics (Log parsing, Regex, JSON)

Write PowerShell scripts (Get-EventLog, Task Scheduler)

Use Bash for Linux monitoring, cron jobs

Create basic automation scripts for alerts

Try simple SOAR flow (Splunk Phantom or TheHive automation)

IX. 🗂 PROFESSIONAL SKILLS & REPORTING

Practice Daily Security Summaries

Follow Email Etiquette for team reporting

Write clear IR Reports (format, language)

Use Jira, Slack, MS Teams for updates

Maintain documentation/playbooks/wiki

Create a Dashboard or Report on a real alert

Mock Interviews (HR + Technical every month)

X. 🎓 CERTIFICATIONS & COURSES

Complete CompTIA Security+ Course

Start CompTIA CySA+ or EC-Council CSA

Earn Certified SOC Analyst (EC-Council)

(Optional) Explore CISSP or GCIH basics

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 Finish Snort NIDS Project (Rules + Reports)

Finish APT Detection Lab Project

Practice Labs: TryHackMe, BlueTeamLabs, RangeForce

XI. 🔧 ADDITIONAL & INTEGRATION TOOLS

Manage tickets in Jira / ServiceNow (incident workflows)

Practice threat sharing with MISP (community IOCs)

Use GitHub for automation script backups

Analyze Email Headers (identify spoofing, phishing)

Learn Azure Logs / AWS GuardDuty basics

Set up labs using Docker / VirtualBox / VMware

🏁Mastery
FINAL DAILY PRACTICE TRACKING (1-Year
Plan)
Do Daily Log Analysis Practice (15–30 mins)

Simulate & Document Weekly Incidents

Bi-weekly Threat Hunt Exercise

Mock Interview Practice Monthly

Maintain & Document 2 Major Projects

Update Resume & GitHub Portfolio Monthly

Weekly Real Job Description Comparison

Review + Adjust Skill Plan Monthly

✅ Once all boxes are ticked → YOU ARE 100% SOC ANALYST READY

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