Simulating a SOC Environment Using Virtualbox

A Security Operation Center (SOC) is the facility where the information security team constantly monitors and analyzes the security of an organization. The main purpose of the SOC team is to detect, analyze and respond to cyber security incidents by using technology, people and processes.

Motivation for setting up a home lab

In today's digital age, cybersecurity has become a critical concern for individuals and organizations alike. With the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber threats, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of cybersecurity concepts and practices and one effective way to enhance one's knowledge and skills in this field is by building a home lab dedicated to cybersecurity.

The home lab will provide me with a controlled environment where I can simulate real-world scenarios, test various security tools, and experiment with different techniques without compromising the security of my personal or professional networks hence allowing me to gain hands-on experience in identifying vulnerabilities, conducting penetration testing, and implementing effective security measures.

Laptop Features - Host Machine

Fortunately for me, I had a laptop that was functioning well, so didn't bother to build a host PC from scratch. Below are the features of the host machine.

• Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-10300H CPU @ 2.50GHz 2.50 GHz

• Brand: Lenovo IdealGaming 3

• Installed RAM: 24.0 GB (8GB at first and increased to 24GB)

• System type: Win 11 Pro 64-bit operating system

• Storage: 500GB SSD

Network Topology

I will be using virtualbox for virtualization instead of VMware workstaion.

Setup

This whole setup will be broken down into the following series

• Installation of VirtualBox