Ever wonder what SOC analysts do day-to-day in their work? When people think of a security operations center, the mental image is often giant screens around a command center. But in our remote work world, SOCS are more distributed than you think!

In this episode, we learn about the world of SOC analysts from Alberto Rodriguez. Alberto works both as a SOC lead and offensive security lead and shares his valuable insights from years of experience. In this interview, we talk about technical leadership, building home labs, modern offensive and defensive toolkits.

Join Alberto as he shares his career progression from being an IT help desk guy at a small shop to becoming a SOC lead at a security company.

===== HOME LAB SPECS =====

CPU - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700K CPU @ 3.70GHz
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/...

MOTHERBOARD - B360M-ITX/ac
https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/B360M...

RAM - G.SKILL Aegis 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2666 (PC4 21300) Desktop Memory Model F4-2666C19D-32GIS
https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-32gb-2...

STORAGE -
Samsung - 860 EVO 500GB Internal SATA Solid State Drive
Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM008 2 TB 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - SATA
https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barrac...

CASE - APEX MI Series MI-008 Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 250W Power Supply
https://www.newegg.com/black-apex-mi-...

FAN - Noctua NH-L9i, Premium Low-profile CPU Cooler for Intel LGA115x (Brown)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

EXTRA - Ethernet to USB3 (For physical port mirroring)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

00:00 Introduction - Alberto Rodriguez
01:44 Working as a SOC Lead and Offensive Lead
02:52 What is a SOC Lead?
03:36 How do security operations centers work?
05:12 Day in the life of a security analyst
08:35 The offensive security client engagement process
10:26 Mindset differences between cyber attackers and defenders?
12:25 Tools of the trade for offensive and defensive security
15:51 Tips for keeping track of cyber tools and resources
17:23 Common cyber security pitfalls for organizations
19:58 What does a security operations team look like?
21:48 What are the skills and salaries of security analysts?
23:04 Salary ranges for tier 1, 2, and 3
24:07 What are people in the SOC like?
24:47 How to lead technical people
26:21 Words of advice for non-technical leaders?
27:24 What’s the job interview process for a cyber security lead?
29:13 Tips for the technical interview
31:03 Starting off in cyber security
32:45 The hardest part of learning cyber security
33:32 How long it takes to feel confident learning?
34:00 What resources are useful for learning cyber security?
35:30 Useful Capture-the-flag and practical cyber labs?
36:36 Cyber security training as a beginner
37:29 Building a home lab
41:22 How much does a home lab cost?
42:20 How important are certifications really?
45:45 Hobbies and interests
46:45 Cyber security advice for family members
48:18 Main interview closer
48:39 Get in touch with Alberto

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