Cybersecurity open-source tools are famous among IT professionals because they allow them to try new things or test out their ideas. Cybersecurity tools hold a special place in the IT industry because they fulfill most enterprise-grade security requirements. These tools are often combined with paid open-source cybersecurity tools to meet specific business needs. Although many tools don’t offer the same capabilities as the paid versions, many professionals use the free version of cybersecurity tools to test and learn before purchasing the full version. You can also customize them if you have the skills required to modify the public source code. This article includes the most popular 10 open-source cybersecurity tools that businesses around the globe can use to combat snooping jacks.
1. Open Source HIDS SECurity (OSSEC)
OSSEC is the world’s most widely used open-source (HIDS) host-based intrusion detection system. It was created in 2008 and is now owned by Trend Micro, a cybersecurity company. It includes compliance auditing, log-based intrusion detection, file integrity monitoring, malware, rootkit detections, etc. The tool’s unique feature is incorporating machine learning into its enhanced version, which allows it to learn from the previous operations and create new threat detection guidelines.
2. Network Mapper (Nmap)
This (Nmap) Network Mapper is a free network scanner created in 1997. It was initially designed for Linux. Because of its usefulness has been made more accessible for macOS, Unix, Windows, and other operating systems. It is now available in C++, C, Python, and Lua with graphical user interfaces on the top of source code. Nmap allows you to map network activity using a variety of signatures, scripts, and traffic protocols.
3. Wireshark
Wireshark is the world’s leading and widely-used network protocol analyzer. It was launched in 1988. This tool can examine hundreds of protocols even though hundreds of more protocols are added daily. This network sniffing software features the most advanced market filters, which convert every captured packet into a readable format, allowing users to identify cybersecurity problems and detect possible cyberattacks.
4. Kali Linux
Kali Linux is an advanced penetration auditing and testing tool. It has several features that allow security research, reverse engineering, computer forensics, and pen-testing. The Kali Linux helps in ethical hacking, network security assessment, and penetration testing in Linux. Its peculiarity lies in its customizable nature, and it can be used on three computers. You can also carry it in your pocket with a bootable USB flash drive. Its multilingual support allows users to use it to find the best tools for their business.
5. OpenIAM
OpenIAM is a comprehensive identity and access management tool used in the cloud or on-premises. It was launched in 2008, and this tool is available in paid editions and community editions. It is the most popular and demandable tool across a variety of industries. In addition, apart from its versatility across operating systems, OpenIAM can be applied to the cloud systems via Identity as the Solution (IDaaS). This tool allows you to create automation scripts using a powerful business rule builder. It smoothens your access and identity workflow.
6. Tripwire
A tripwire is a free tool that offers data integrity and security monitoring. It is a file monitoring software that quickly detects any critical changes made to a file. You can find malicious or regular code changes that cause file system changes. Although it was initially designed for Linux, it can also be used on Windows. It’s the most popular open-source file monitor software because it can generate Syslog reports for each transaction.
7. John the Ripper
John the Ripper is an open-source password recovery and password security auditing tool available for several operating systems. It was initially developed for hackers, but it is now widely used in password auditing by businesses globally. This tool supports several algorithms and can brute-force using a video card and CPU. Furthermore, John the Ripper comes with (AMI) Amazon Machine Image for Amazon web services implementations. It can be used for cloud computing efficiently. It is the most popular and demanding open-source cybersecurity tool for password auditing in.
8. KeePass
KeePass is open-source software that allows you to store all of your passwords in one place and that requires only one master key. The majority of data is encrypted with keywords. It can be challenging to remember all the keywords. ChaCha20, Twofish, and AES256 are the most common encryption algorithms mainly used to encrypt the database. KeePass can also encrypt the entire database, including accompanying notes, usernames, etc.
9. Metasploit
Metasploit is open source Ruby-based pen-test software which allows testing through GUI or command line modifications. It was developed in 2003 to be a portable network analysis software. Rapid7 Software Company acquired it in 2009 and redesigned it as a framework for penetration testing. The current version of the Metasploit tool is 6.1.7.
Metasploit works as a network port scanning and auditing tool. It scans approximately 250 ports that are exposed to external vulnerabilities. In addition, the exploits can be identified through vulnerability references, cross-referencing open services, fingerprints, etc. It can automate all phases of a pen test, allowing security professionals to focus on security auditing and one strategy formulation.
10. Comodo OpenEDR
Comodo OpenEDR is a versatile tool that can detect and respond to endpoint threats. Comodo is a United States-based cybersecurity firm. The company opened-sourced its EDR solution in Nov. 2020 with several projects. It can not only provide the basic functionalities of an EDR tool, but it can also monitor workstation file systems, create custom detection rules, detect fileless threats, etc. It includes a recommendation engine for the system to help you devise a strategy to detect possible threats.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity Open-source tools can be used by startups, independent security professionals, and even medium-sized to large businesses who desire to hyper-customize their security infrastructure. They can serve as the foundation for security innovation with added in-house software code and security automation scripts.
Moreover, cybersecurity tools can be used by managed service providers to deliver profitable and high-quality services to their clients. There are many options available- you just need to ensure that the source code is safe, improve technical skills, and use online communities to exploit the open-source product potential fully.
