10 Open-Source Cybersecurity Tools in 2024

The Open-source tools are the dynamic force in the technological landscape that embodies innovation, enhances security architecture, collaborates, and improves stability.

These tools are developed with transparency and community-driven principles, and permit users and organizations to scrutinize, modify, and customize security framework according to their unique needs.

In the cybersecurity realm, open source tools are invaluable to organizations, acting like assets that power or fortify their defense against cyber threats and vulnerabilities.

In this article, we compiled a list of open-source cybersecurity tools that can help to fortify and enhance security solutions, which every technological firm must know.

Key Takeaway

Open-source cybersecurity tools are highly recommended for independent security professionals, experts, enterprises and even mid sized to large organizations that wants to tighten their security infrastructures. They act as a dynamic force for security innovation, with in-houses security automation tools and software codes added.

Organizations of various kind can adopt open source tools to deliver effective and satisfactory solutions. There's an untapped potentials - organizations only need to strengthen technical security, ensure safe use of source codes, and utilize the massive advantage of using online communities to maximize the potentials of open source tools.

Top Open-Source Cybersecurity Tools in 2024

The use of open source tools is for organizations to utilize it's added security and strengthen their infrastructure with little to no capital expenditure.

They provide great avenue to customize security framework if the user possess the right skillset, as publicly available source code. Here are 10 open source cybersecurity tools you might want to know.

1. Nemesis: Open-source offensive data enrichment and analytic pipeline

Analyzing the details of an individual file

Nemesis is a centralized data processing platform that ingests, enriches, and deploys analytics on offensive assessment data. That means data collected during penetration testing and red team management. Nemesis was created by three security experts from SpecterOps, Lee Chagolla-Christensen, Will Schroeder, and Max Harley.

Nemesis attempts to address three key problems:

• Knowledge about offensive tradecraft is difficult to engage due to the rapid way in which new techniques and strategies are being deployed, the best array of technological firms, and the time required to understand new tradecraft.

• Offensive data is not unified: it is crafted inside specific tools and machines instead of being modeled and analyzed historically.

• File and tool arrangement is inconsistent due to various factors like experience, training, knowledge, tedium, and time.

File triage view

Cybersecurity Analysis

Nemesis collects data from several C2 platforms including Cobalt Strike, Mythic, Sliver, and to mention a few of them to a central location where it then analyzes, enriches, and provides a supportive UI interface for the data.

Right now, Nemesis focuses on analyzing downloaded files and critical features like:

1. Document processing: can convert all documents into a PDF accessible in a browser, extract text from documents, then make searchable, scan the text in a document for credentials, and attempt to crack password-protected documents.

2. Automatic decryption of sensitive data: automatically scan all files for data encrypted using Windows' data protection API, which includes data like saved passwords in most of the popular browsers. Also, locate and crack cryptography keys used to protect data, and then automatically decrypt the file to reveal sensitive data.

2. SessionProbe: Open-source multi-threaded pen testing tool

SessionProbe was designed to evaluate user activities in web applications. It evaluates a user's session, checks through a list of URLs if access is possible then highlights potential authorization issues.

It evaluates the URL list and provides real-time analysis of the user's logs and progress.

SessionProbe Features:

• Test for authorization issues

• Automatically evaluate URLs

• Sorts the URLs by response status code and extension (e.g., .css, .js), and provides the length

• Multi-threaded

• Proxy functionality to pass all requests e.g. through Burp

3. Mosint: Open-source automated email OSINT tool

Mosint is written in Go designed to facilitate quick and easy investigation of target emails. It also collaborates with multiple services, providing security researchers with enough access to a wide range of sensitive information. Mosint was created by Alp Keskin, who previously worked on the application and offensive security subjects. It can be downloaded on GitHub.

Mosint' Key Features:

• Fast and simple email-based scanning

• Optimized for ease of use and lightweight on resources

• Email verification and validation

• Checking Social Media Accounts

• Checking data breaches and password leaks

• Finding related emails and domains

• Scanning Pastebin dumps

• Google Search

• DNS/IP Lookup

• Output to JSON file

4. Vigil: Open-source LLM security scanner

This open-source security scanner can detect prompt injections, jailbreaks, and other serious threats to large language models (LLMs). Prompt injection arises when cyber attackers manipulate an LLM using specially designed inputs, which leads to the LLM carrying out the objectives set by the attackers.

This tool also opens the door for other developers and researchers to start experimenting with existing LLM inputs and outputs safety measures and even create their own from scratch.

Vigil was created by Adam M. Swanda and is available to download on GitHub.

Key Features:

• Modular and extensible design

• Supports YARA (heuristics), vector DB similarity, a transformer model, prompt-response similarity

• Custom scanners can be added with little code

• Self-hosted or use OpenAI

• Embedding datasets and YARA signatures provided

• Vector DB can auto-update with detected prompts when a threshold of scanners match

• Very configurable (enable/disable scanners, modify thresholds, use different embedding models, etc.)

• Easily extensible by adding custom scanners, new YARA signatures, or updating the vector DB

5. AWS Kill Switch: Open-source incident response tool

AWS Kill Switch is an incident response framework that can quickly shut down AWS accounts and IAM roles during a security breach. The framework also includes Lambda function and proof of concept client, which allows you to either integrate with this client or create your automation that calls the Lambda function.

AWS Kill Switch was developed by Jeffery Lyon, a former senior Director of Security Engineering at Robinhood who resigned from the role to contribute his skillset to the security industry. This open-source tool is available to download free on GitHub.

6. PolarDNS: Open-source DNS server tailored for security evaluations

PolarDNS specializes in authoritative DNS server that allows the operator to build custom DNS servers suitable for DNS protocol testing purposes. It is a tool that could provide a more comprehensive and versatile set of capabilities.

What can you do with PolarDNS?

It can be used for testing:

• DNS resolvers (server-side)

• DNS clients

• DNS libraries

• DNS parsers and dissectors

Any software handling DNS information

DNS Response PolarDNS Can Produce

Here's a list of examples of DNS response that PolarDNS can produce:

• Alias (CNAME) chains and alias loops

• DNS header malformations (ID, Flags, number of sections)

• Injection of unsolicited records (cache poisoning)

• Injection of arbitrary bytes of arbitrary lengths

• Incomplete / empty / NULL byte(s) responses

• Compression issues (loops, invalid pointers)

• Slowly transmitted chunked responses

• Illegal labels or domain name lengths

• An arbitrary number of TXT records of arbitrary size

• Packet length manipulations (TCP)

All these DNS responses can lead to the discovery of various threats and vulnerabilities.

What makes PolarDNS unique?

PolarDNS was created by OryxLabs, and the internal security team gave some great responses on what makes PolarDNS unique, which include key features like:

• Ability to act as a rogue authoritative DNS server for server-side attack scenarios

• Ability to craft custom DNS responses

• Ability to have complete control over the DNS layer as well as the underlying UDP and TCP protocols to have a comprehensive coverage of the essential functionalities.

7. k0smotron: Open-source Kubernetes cluster management

k0smotron is an enterprise-ready for developing Kubernetes cluster management with two support options.

1. Kubernetescluster management

Management and workers' planes do not have to operate on the same infrastructure provider, making k0smotron a preferred consolidating Kubernetes control planes for edge, hybrid, and multi-cloud developments. It also makes it possible to set up Kubernetes control planes as ephemeral pods that can be operated anyhow as the workload requires change.

2. Cluters

This is the separation between control planes and workers, along with Cluster API integration and the ability to provide bare metal, which also makes it possible to promote worker nodes that supports a wide range of use cases.

Temporary cluster can be created for software development and continuous integration, along with existing processes.

k0smotron also support multiple clouds deployment with the control plane management cluster in a public or private environment.

To get started with k0smotron is very easy. Check this tutorials for easy installation.

8. Kubescape 3.0 elevates open-source Kubernetes security

Targeted at the DevSecOps practitioner or platform engineer, Kubescape, the open-source Kubernetes security platform has reached version 3.0.

Vulnerability scan results

Kubescape 3.0 Features:

It added new features that make it easy for organizations to manage and customize their Kubernetes clusters. Some of the features include;

• Compliance and container scan results stored as Kubernetes resources inside API objects

• Scanning container images for vulnerabilities from the CLI (command line interface)

• Reporting on the vulnerabilities of all the images in a cluster

• New overview security scan, which helps you set a baseline for cluster security

• Improved display output

These and many other features can be found in version 3.0 when you download it free from GitHub.

9. Logging Made Easy: Free log management solution from CISA

CISA has launched a new version of Logging Made Easy (LME), a robust management solution tool for Windows-based devices, which can be downloaded and self-installed for free.

What can be used with Logging Made Easy?

It can:

• Show where administrative commands are being run on enrolled devices.

• See who is using which machine.

• In conjunction with threat reports, it is possible to query for the presence of an attacker in the form of Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs).

Who is Logging Made Easy for?

It is for any IT administrator or organization who falls under this category:

• You don’t have a SOC, SIEM, or any monitoring in place at the moment.

• You lack the budget, time, or understanding to set up your logging system.

• You recognize the need to begin gathering logs and monitoring your IT.

• You understand that LME has limitations and is better than nothing – but no match for a professional tool.

• If any, or all, of these criteria fit, then LME is a step in the right direction for you.

10. Wazuh: Free and open-source XDR and SIEM tool

 

Wazuh is an open-source tool created for thread detection, prevention, and incidence response. It can safeguard organizations in on-premises, virtual, container, and cloud environments.

It comprises an endpoint security framework installed on monitored systems and a management server that examines and enforces the data. Some of its key features include:

• Intrusion detection

• Log data analysis

• File integrity monitoring

• Vulnerability detection

• Configuration assessment

• Incident response

• Regulatory compliance

• Cloud security

• Container security

The platform is available to download on GitHub.

Conclusion

Open source tools can be a great way and cost effective approach for organizations and individuals looking to enhance their security architectures against threats. They are typically developed and created by community of volunteers and are often updated and improve on a regular basis to keep up with the emerging trends of cyber threats. They can easily be customized into existing systems and frameworks, and offer a lot capabilities to meet specific needs of various types of organizations.