Computer Engineering and Consulting (CEC)
Leading the Way against Cyber Threats

The cybersecurity domain in Japan has witnessed significant advancements in the past few years. There is, however, still a tendency to confuse Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and Security Operations Center (SOC). While MDR is limited in responding to threats within the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) scope, SOC supports root cause analysis, impact assessment and permanent remediation to prevent recurring data breaches.

CEC, emerges as the guiding light to avoid this misconception by offering expertise in SOC and ensuring robust security measures. The company’s approach is based on proactive digital defense, going beyond reacting to cyber-attacks—it predicts and neutralizes them before they strike.

“We aim to enhance the risk management culture within endpoints, networks and cloud environments by leveraging SOC. In Japan, SOC services are slowly booming and almost 20 IT vendors have introduced it to their customers. What makes us distinct is our potential to support 13 different types of EDR and acquire equipment from more than 40 security product vendors,” says Fumikazu Furuyama, SOC manager at CEC.

CEC’s SOC services prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats around the clock, facilitating the growth of the Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT). It supports CSIRT in various aspects, alleviating clients’ burdens and reshaping the cybersecurity domain. For instance, organizations in the Japanese automobile industry adheres to JAMA/JAPIA cybersecurity guidelines, establishing security levels one, two and three to support the supply chain for inter-company transactions. The security levels need to meet the standards for seamless transactions to occur.

“We provide security services with back-office infrastructure to ensure smooth and secure inter-company transactions for industrial systems and embedded products,” says Furuyama.

The security services are offered to a broad spectrum of organizations, ranging from small companies with ten employees to large corporations with over 30,000 employees.

The services encompass everything from consultation and requirement establishment to implementing security measures and ongoing SOC operations. It also provides special options like ‘Ticket-based SOC Service,’ which allows incident analysis and resolution support under critical conditions, relieving clients from 24*7 monitoring.

CEC stands out for its highly personalized approach. Its exclusive methodology ensures optimal results within a time frame of two to three months. The foremost step is to understand clients’ security requirements and identify the gap between their needs and the available security equipment. This helps in finalizing the client’s IT environment diagram. Eventually, the operational design document is created and assessed for the SOC trial, resulting in a full-fledged SOC operation.

The company ensures that every security service aligns with industry guidelines, even if they evolve constantly. For instance, CEC adheres to international standards like the Information Security Management System (ISMS) and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS). This helps the company develop execution plans accompanied by internal audits and external assessments to confirm seamless compliance.

We aim to enhance the risk management culture within endpoints, networks and cloud environments by leveraging SOC. In Japan, SOC services are slowly booming and almost 20 IT vendors have introduced it to their customers. What makes us distinct is our potential to support 13 different types of EDR and acquire equipment from more than 40 security product vendors

In one instance, many employees accessed unreliable websites during work hours and were vulnerable to virus attacks and information leaks. This issue was addressed after establishing a third-party investigation agency, which took a lot of time. CEC SOC conducted automated investigations and analyzed web access logs by utilizing AI technology. The problem was permanently resolved after a report on the history of non-work-related web browsing was sent to the client.

CEC is leading efforts to empower businesses to protect digital assets within the cybersecurity world, driving growth and innovation. The company is unleashing the broader scope of SOC in the ever-evolving business landscape, where cyber threats are escalating daily.