The Purple Team Journey: My Cybersecurity Chronicles.

The day begins early for the Junior Security Analyst, stepping into the office or logging into their remote workstation. The quiet hum of servers and the glow of multiple screens set the stage for another day at the heart of the cybersecurity battlefield. Their first task is to review the handover notes from the previous shift or the daily briefing. This update includes summaries of unresolved incidents, ongoing investigations, and any notable changes in the organization’s threat landscape. Equipped with this crucial information, the analyst prepares to navigate a world where even the smallest anomaly could signify a major threat. Logging into the array of tools—a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platform, endpoint detection systems, firewalls, and intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS)—the analyst is immediately immersed in the flow of alerts. Every beep, flash, and log entry represents a potential threat. The first challenge is triage. Like a digital detecti...

Why SOC Analyst L1 is Considered a Triage Specialist. A Level 1 Security Operations Center (SOC) Analyst is often regarded as a triage specialist because they are the first responders to cybersecurity alerts. Much like how a triage nurse assesses patients' conditions in a hospital, a Level 1 SOC Analyst evaluates and categorizes alerts generated by security tools to determine their severity and prioritize response efforts. Their primary focus is to: Filter Noise: Modern networks generate massive amounts of data, with many false positives. SOC L1 analysts must sift through this data to identify real threats. Categorize Alerts: Assign severity levels to incidents, such as low, medium, or high priority. Initial Response: Perform basic investigations (e.g., checking IP addresses, scanning logs) and decide whether to escalate incidents to Level 2 or 3 analysts. This role is vital because it ensures that high-priority threats are addressed quickly and resources are allocated ...