Security Onion vs Snort

October 10, 2024 | Author: Michael Stromann
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Security Onion
Security Onion is a free and open Linux distribution for threat hunting, enterprise security monitoring, and log management. The easy-to-use Setup wizard allows you to build an army of distributed sensors for your enterprise in minutes.
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Snort
Snort is the foremost Open Source Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) in the world. Snort IPS uses a series of rules that help define malicious network activity and uses those rules to find packets that match against them and generates alerts for users.

Security Onion and Snort are a bit like an intergalactic hitchhiker’s guide to cybersecurity, each with their own quirks and eccentricities. Security Onion, for instance, is more of a digital Swiss Army knife—an all-in-one NSM platform that’s determined to throw every tool in the book at network mischief. It recruits Snort, Zeek (once known as Bro, but that’s a story for another time) and a merry band of other software to scrutinize your network's every packet and mutter. It’s not just looking for trouble; it’s looking for the trouble behind the trouble, aiming to give you a panoramic view of the network cosmos.

Snort, on the other hand, is a bit like the detective who only wants to solve one very specific type of mystery—namely, network intrusions. It sniffs through packets with the diligence of a dog searching for contraband sausages, using its vast library of rules and signatures to sniff out anything that looks remotely dodgy. If it had a catchphrase, it would probably be, “I only do network threats, darling,” and it does them rather well, even if it's a bit single-minded in comparison to Security Onion’s multifaceted approach.

Then there’s the whole deployment conundrum. Security Onion likes to think big—it can scatter sensors across your network like breadcrumbs through the galaxy, giving you a constellation of insights into your network’s behavior. Snort, meanwhile, is more of a lone ranger, often deployed as a standalone sensor, keeping its gaze fixed firmly on network traffic like a cybernetic border guard. It’s perfect for those who just want a focused eye on their data streams, while Security Onion invites you to unravel the whole tapestry of your network’s mysterious goings-on.

See also: Top 10 Intrusion Detection Systems
Author: Michael Stromann
Michael is an expert in IT Service Management, IT Security and software development. With his extensive experience as a software developer and active involvement in multiple ERP implementation projects, Michael brings a wealth of practical knowledge to his writings. Having previously worked at SAP, he has honed his expertise and gained a deep understanding of software development and implementation processes. Currently, as a freelance developer, Michael continues to contribute to the IT community by sharing his insights through guest articles published on several IT portals. You can contact Michael by email stromann@liventerprise.com