What’s the Difference Between SOC and NOC?

Many people confuse SOC and NOC because both are “operations centers,” but their roles are completely different.

SOC (Security Operations Center):
The SOC focuses on protecting systems and data from cyber threats and attacks.
Key responsibilities include:
• Monitoring for security threats in real time
• Analyzing alerts generated by tools like SIEM
• Responding to incidents such as data breaches or malware infections
• Investigating suspicious activity and preventing social engineering attacks

NOC (Network Operations Center):
The NOC ensures the health and performance of the IT infrastructure.
Key responsibilities include:
• Monitoring network and server performance
• Identifying and fixing outages or service interruptions
• Maintaining uptime and system availability