Suricata vs Wazuh

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Suricata
Suricata is a high performance, open source network analysis and threat detection software used by most private and public organizations, and embedded by major vendors to protect their assets.
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Wazuh
Wazuh is a free and open source security platform that unifies XDR and SIEM protection for endpoints and cloud workloads.

Suricata and Wazuh are two distinct cybersecurity solutions that serve different purposes and have unique functionalities. Suricata is an open-source network intrusion detection and prevention system (NIDS/NIPS) designed to monitor and analyze network traffic in real-time. It offers powerful capabilities for deep packet inspection, enabling it to detect and respond to various types of network threats efficiently. Suricata specializes in network-based security monitoring, making it an excellent choice for organizations seeking to enhance their network security posture and identify potential threats traversing the network.

Wazuh, on the other hand, is a host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS) and security information and event management (SIEM) platform. It is designed to monitor and analyze security events on individual hosts or endpoints in real-time. Wazuh provides real-time threat detection, file integrity monitoring, and log analysis, offering valuable insights into host-level security events and activities. While Suricata focuses on network-based threat detection, Wazuh specializes in detecting and responding to security incidents at the host level, making it an ideal choice for organizations seeking to protect their servers and workstations from potential threats.

Another significant difference is in their deployment and management. Suricata is typically deployed as a network sensor, capturing and analyzing network traffic in real-time. It can be deployed as a standalone sensor or as part of a network security monitoring platform like Security Onion. On the other hand, Wazuh's architecture revolves around agents installed on individual hosts, sending security event data to a central manager for analysis and response. This distributed architecture allows Wazuh to provide detailed insights into host-level security events and activities, making it suitable for larger environments with multiple hosts.

See also: Top 10 SIEM software
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