Owning a SOC is an important status symbol for many organizations. Although the concept of a 'SOC' can be considered a hype, only a few of them are actually effective in counteracting cybercrime and IT abuse. A literature review reveals that there is no standard framework available and no clear scope or vision on SOCs. In most of the papers, specific implementations are described, although often with a commercial purpose. Our research was focused on identifying and defining the generic building blocks for a SOC, to draft a design framework. In addition, a measurement method has been developed to assess the effectiveness of the protection provided by a SOC.