The increasing penetration of the internet has escalated the risks of cyberattacks and violations. This has resulted in the growing demand for cybersecurity skills. With business data and organizational assets facing an enhanced risk of cybercrimes, businesses must equip themselves with suitable skills to develop an efficient cybersecurity strategy.
What Are the Top Cybersecurity Tools?
Cybersecurity tools include several free, paid, or open-source tools that enable the protection of important and sensitive business or individual data. Following are the top cybersecurity tools:
1. Kali Linux
It is one of the leading penetration tools used for ethical hacking, assessing network security, system scanning, etc. This tool can be easily executed by cybersecurity analysts possessing different levels of understanding, making it an ideal choice for entry-level professionals. Kali Linux permits security auditing using nearly 600 penetration-testing programs.
2. Burp Suite
It is a powerful cybersecurity tool used by professionals worldwide to ensure network security by scanning their networks and identifying critical vulnerabilities. It is used by more than 15,000 organizations for improving web security and software delivery. Burp Suite has the following versions - Community, Enterprise, and Professional. Although the Community version is free, it only provides necessary manual tools and has several restricted features which cannot be used. Both Enterprise and Professional are paid versions intended for commercial use. Even though the price of the Burp Suite can be a little costly for small businesses, it provides good protection against security attacks and zero-day threats.
3. WebGoat
It is a by-design insecure application that allows developers/users to assess vulnerabilities found in Java-based applications using common open source applications. This application, developed by OWASP, is a demonstration of usual server-side application glitches, and it is intended for teaching about web application security. It can be used by individuals who wish to understand application security and penetration testing methods.
4. Nmap
Network Mapper (Nmap), a free, open-source cybersecurity tool, is used for checking IT systems and networks for identifying security threats and vulnerabilities. It helps professionals take suitable security measures by allowing them to outline potential areas of attack track host operational performance and service. Nmap can operate on almost every popular operating system and can help in tracking vulnerabilities on the web, regardless of the network size. It offers an analysis of the network attributes, including the type of packet filters and firewalls deployed for network security, connected hosts, the operating system, etc.
5. Cuckoo Sandbox
It is an open-source tool for automatically detecting malware. It launches the malware in an isolated and realistic environment and fools the malware into thinking that the malware has infected a host. It then records the activity of the malware and generates a detailed report. Cuckoo helps users not only identify and remove malware but also understand the operation, motive, context, and goals of the attack. It is free software that automates the task of assessing a malicious file under Windows, Linux, Android, and macOS. Cuckoo allows users to take advantage of its design and open-source nature to customize attributes of the analyzing environment, result processing, and reporting phase. It also lets users integrate sandbox into their current infrastructure and backend in their desired way, format without any licensing requirements.
6. Metasploit
It is one of the leading cybersecurity software that offers numerous tools for effective penetration testing. It enables professionals to match multiple security objectives like identifying vulnerabilities of both systems and networks, enhancing system security by developing suitable cybersecurity strategies, managing and monitoring security assessment, etc. The penetration tools offered by Metasploit aid in analyzing different security systems, including, but not limited to web-based applications, networks, and servers. It offers top-notch security by continuously identifying even the emerging vulnerabilities and threats.
7. Nessus
Nessus is an open-source and subscription-based vulnerability scanner that is used for vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. It works by checking each computer port, identifying the operating service, and testing the service to detect potential vulnerabilities that hackers might exploit. Nessus deals with software errors, missing patches, malware, and misconfiguration errors across a wide range of OS (operating systems), applications, and devices. It is suitable for pen testers, consultants, and security professionals.
8. Open VAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment Scanner)
Open Vas, a vulnerability scanner possessing a wide range of features, facilitates authenticated and unauthenticated assessing, performance tuning for extensive scans, implementation of all kinds of vulnerability tests using a powerful internal programming language. Open VAS detects vulnerabilities in IT infrastructure, analyzes possible risks, and accordingly recommends security enhancement measures. It is operated and distributed by Greenbone Networks. It acquires the tests for detecting vulnerabilities from the feed of Network Vulnerability Tests (NVTs), which contains daily updates. OpenVas is designed to operate in a Linux environment. Users can either install it as a self-contained virtual machine or from the source code provided under GPL (General Public License).
9. Ubuntu
Ubuntu Advantage and Ubuntu Pro enable professionals to utilize an operating system for protecting assets and data efficiently. They are designed considering the current security requirements of the digital landscape. They include a complete cybersecurity-focused stack with bits and bytes of the operating system along with software management security controls. Ubuntu Advantage and Ubuntu Pro offer minimal attack surface, malware defenses, extended security maintenance, automated secure configuration guidelines, Kernel live patching, enterprise-grade security support, and a plethora of other security measures. They provide a software base for cybersecurity management.
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