performing-soc-tabletop-exercise

name	performing-soc-tabletop-exercise
description	Performs tabletop exercises for SOC teams simulating security incidents through discussion-based scenarios to test incident response procedures, communication workflows, and decision-making under pressure without impacting production systems. Use when organizations need to validate IR playbooks, train analysts, or meet compliance requirements for incident response testing.
domain	cybersecurity
tags	["soc","tabletop","exercise","incident-response","training","nist","playbook-validation"]
subdomain	soc-operations
mitre_attack	["T1566","T1486","T1078"]
version	1.0
author	oyi77
license	Apache-2.0
nist_csf	["DE.CM-01","DE.AE-02","RS.MA-01","DE.AE-06"]

Performing Soc Tabletop Exercise

Overview

Cybersecurity skill for performing soc tabletop exercise. Follows industry best practices and security standards.

When to Use

Trigger phrases:

• "performing soc tabletop exercise"
• "Annual or semi-annual incident response testing is required (NIST, ISO 27001, PC"
• "New SOC analysts need exposure to major incident scenarios in a controlled envir"
• "Updated playbooks need validation before next real incident"

Use this skill when:

• Annual or semi-annual incident response testing is required (NIST, ISO 27001, PCI DSS compliance)
• New SOC analysts need exposure to major incident scenarios in a controlled environment
• Updated playbooks need validation before next real incident
• Cross-functional coordination (SOC, IT, Legal, PR, Executive) needs rehearsal
• Post-incident reviews reveal gaps requiring scenario-based training

Do not use as a replacement for technical purple team exercises — tabletop exercises test processes and decision-making, not technical detection capabilities.

When NOT to Use

• When you lack proper authorization for testing
• For production systems without change management
• When the task requires legal or compliance expertise beyond technical scope

Prerequisites

• Exercise facilitator with incident response experience
• Participant list: SOC analysts (Tier 1-3), SOC manager, IT operations, Legal, HR, Communications
• Conference room or video call with screen sharing capability
• Printed or digital scenario injects with timed release schedule
• Evaluation scorecard for assessing participant responses
• Existing incident response plan and playbooks for reference during exercise

Workflow

# Example: IOC detection
import re

IOC_PATTERNS = {
    "ip": r"\b(?:\d{1,3}\.){3}\d{1,3}\b",
    "domain": r"\b[a-z0-9-]+\.[a-z]{2,}\b",
    "hash_md5": r"\b[a-f0-9]{32}\b",
    "hash_sha256": r"\b[a-f0-9]{64}\b",
}

def extract_iocs() -> :
     {k: re.findall(v, text)  k, v  IOC_PATTERNS.items()}