Cyber security tools are a must for businesses or individuals interested in ensuring their privacy and safety. Given the rising importance of software solutions, tools, and security to protect companies and persons from possible online threats — it is hardly surprising.
Cyber security tools often have several objectives. Using them, you can:
- Analyze infrastructure data to detect anomalies and even understand vulnerabilities from the hacker’s point of view,
- Better automate cybersecurity workflows,
- Build secure web-based services, and
- Monitor network operations and user activities.
Now, any CSO or CIO worth their salt will invest a great deal of time and consideration into picking the right tools for the job for 2023.
A general lack of public information and disregard for security protocols among employees is certainly not helping. Likewise, more than half of internet users still utilize public Wi-Fi. This is happening regardless of the fact over 50 percent know that public Wi-Fi is not safe even when its password-protected.
But what about our devices and networks at home? We now have more devices out there transmitting data from home networks. To ensure safety, company cybersecurity and popping firewalls might provide adequate protection in the office.
These environments necessitate revisiting the cyber security tools and solutions in place. Additionally, it stresses the need to re-educate users on the most current cybersecurity best practices.
Key Features of Cyber Security Tools
Enterprises need tools well-suited to their use cases, digital maturity, and budget to effectively support their cybersecurity strategy. To find the right cyber security tools for the job of keeping your company and employees safe, ensure that it has the following five key capabilities:
Scalability: A good tool should protect many endpoints and devices spread across a wide perimeter, like volume and diversity.
Integration: To enable a holistic cybersecurity workflow without disruption, security tools must integrate with upstream and downstream systems.
Well-supported: Cybersecurity is a fast-evolving discipline where support is a critical parameter. Including a premium support option when implementing a product is always a good idea.
Purpose-built: Tools with a unique design to address different scenarios effectively.
Compatible: The tool must be compatible with different device variants, operating systems, and cloud vendors. Hint: The best choice will be compatible with current and future tech investments.
Keeping in mind the full range of responsibilities of modern security teams, let’s check out the best cybersecurity software and tools for 2023:
- Wireshark
- SolarWinds Security Event Manager
- Kali Linux
- AxCrypt
- Aircrack-ng
- Nikto
- Forcepoint
- Nessus Professional
- KisMAC
- Splunk
Wireshark
As the name suggests, Wireshark is an open-source console-based tool that analyzes network protocols. This tool is a type of harvester solution (credential harvester attacks are a type of cyberattack in which the malicious actor acquires sensitive information) that monitors your network in real-time and traffic at different levels.
Professionals use it to identify network security weaknesses by capturing and analyzing data packets.
Key features:
- A cross-platform tool,
- An open-source architecture that drives relatively easy integration,
- Real-time data capture and analysis,
- Decryption protocol supports multiple networks and various output formats,
- Compatible with Windows, Linux, OS X, FreeBSD, etc.
SolarWinds Security Event Manager
The SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is a network monitoring platform. It has a network packet analyzer capable of capturing data from over 1,200 applications out of the box.
With it, you can measure packet transfer in real-time and view services with the top response times on a graph. But also, it allows you to see traffic types as categories such as destination IP address, port usage, and application type.
To avoid false positives, SolarWinds utilizes dynamic baselines to detect genuine performance deviations without overwhelming you with fake alerts.
Key features:
- Smarter scalability for large environments,
- Multi-vendor network monitoring,
- Advanced alerting system,
- Monitor end-to-end network paths,
- Cross-stack network data correlation.
Kali Linux
Kali Linux is one of the most common and readily available cyber security tools. It provides over 300 tools companies use to scan their networking systems for vulnerabilities. The main advantage is that the platform is amended for experts with different levels of understanding.
In other words, it’s great for entry-level professionals. In fact, Kali Linux allows them to monitor the company’s network security systems with a single click.
Key features:
- Can be used across multiple devices and environments,
- Open-source product for easy integration,
- Ideal for penetration testing and highly useful in security auditing,
- Massive community of users,
- Compatible with almost all environments.
AxCrypt
AxCrypt Premium offers advanced encryption features in a superbly simple setting. You just drag a file onto its window, and that file gets encrypted.
Similarly, it goes beyond just encryption. You can also decrypt and securely delete files from AxCrypt’s right-click context menu. The only way to breach it is by hacking the endpoint. But then, any software can be compromised in this manner. Also, breaking an AxCrypt file will take approximately a billion years.
Key features:
- 256-bit encryption to secure data that is simple enough for anyone to use,
- User support via e-mail, forum, and second-level support via chat,
- View automatically and keep files secure using public key cryptography,
- Secure file deletion,
- Supports Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.
Aircrack-ng
Aircrack-ng is a must-have comprehensive suite of wireless tools used to analyze the weaknesses of Wi-Fi network security. This package of tools’ main benefit is capturing, analyzing, and exporting packet data, spoofing access points, and cracking complex Wi-Fi passwords.
Did we mention it? All of it is free and open source.
Key features:
- Open-source architecture for ease of integration,
- Works with most wireless network interface controllers,
- Includes a suite of programs like Airdecap-ng, Airodump-ng, Airtun-ng, and Packetforge-ng,
- All tools are command line, which allows for heavy scripting,
- Works primarily on Linux but also Windows, macOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, as well as Solaris and even eComStation 2.
Nikto
This is one of the best cybersecurity open-source tools available. As you can guess, this software focuses on scanning the web for vulnerabilities. In fact, Nikto‘s database consists of approximately 6,400 distinct types of security threats covering both web servers and networks.
Key features:
- Software tool designed to cover both web servers and networks,
- Easily updatable CSV-format checks database,
- The tool is updated continuously, supporting users to easily recognize threats and vulnerabilities,
- Ultimate lightweight web application vulnerability scanner,
- Various plugins are created regularly to make them compatible with different systems.
Forcepoint
Network and security admins use Forcepoint to customize SD-Wan. This way, users are restricted from accessing specific resource contents. In layperson’s terms, it helps them track malicious acts (or problems) within the network. As a result, users can apply the required techniques to fix them later.
Furthermore, it can be installed on the premises or accessed from the cloud. Actually, when in the cloud, it warns or blocks cloud servers that pose security risks to the systems. Such a feature is vital for companies with growing numbers of remote workers.
Key features:
- A high level of security in other applications with significant data,
- Seamless integration for policies, fingerprints, and classifiers across all channels,
- High level of customization to block intrusions and the probable exploitation of vulnerabilities,
- Provides real-time content analysis and classification,
- Cross-portfolio and third-party global shared threat intelligence network.
Nessus Professional
A handy cybersecurity software for improving the integrity of a network. The pro version of Nessus Professional allows admins and security staff to use a free, open-source vulnerability scanner to identify potential exploits. The main benefit of the tool is that its database is updated daily with new threat data.
Key features:
- Remote scanning tool with high-speed asset discovery,
- Easy to deploy, easy to use,
- Support of Tenable’s expert vulnerability research team,
- Automates point-in-time assessments to help quickly identify and fix vulnerabilities,
- Nessus supports Mac, Linux, and Windows operating systems.
KisMAC
KisMAC was created to provide wireless network security in MAC operating systems. It scans wireless networks that are supported on Wi-Fi cards, like Airport.
Because it’s a network-defined tool, the endless high-end features are geared to be used by experts in the field. Still, KisMAC uses different but effective techniques to crack the security of WPA and WEP keys.
Key features:
- PCAP import and export capabilities,
- Exclusively MAC OS software,
- Kismet drone support (capture from a Kismet drone),
- Uses brute force attacks and the exploitation of weak scheduling to improve network security,
- Supports many third-party USB devices: Intersil Prism2, Ralink rt2570, rt73, and Realtek rtl8187 chipsets.
Splunk
This is a fully automated web vulnerability scanner. In fact, it’s perhaps one of the best tools for monitoring network security due to its versatility and speed. Splunk is used to conduct real-time network analysis and perform historical searches to look for threat data.
Key features:
- Splunk collects data from virtually any source and location,
- User-friendly tool with a unified user interface,
- The power of Splunk lies in its ability to unlock data across all parts of the business,
- Uses a cloud-based platform and on-premise deployment.
The Take-Away
We have reviewed some of the top Cybersecurity software tools on the market to aid in identifying, predicting, alerting, and managing cyberattacks. The market is rich with endless options for different cyber security tools, it’s hard to know what to choose.
There are free, paid, or open-source tools that enable the protection of sensitive data. With that in mind, we hope that this article provided you with the right cyber security tools for the job of keeping yourself, and your organization safe in 2023.