Preface

Hi there! Welcome to Security Monitoring Using Wazuh. In this book, we will explore the realm of security operations and management using Wazuh - an open source security platform that unifies Security Incident and Event Management (SIEM) and Extended Detection and Response (XDR) capabilities - to enhance threat detection, incident response, threat hunting, and compliance management within your organizations.

Wazuh combines powerful features such as intrusion detection, log analysis, file integrity monitoring, vulnerability detection, and security configuration assessment into a unified solution.

I will provide relevant information and guide you through the deployment of the Wazuh system, its integration with several third-party security tools, and practical use cases. My expertise in open source derives from two primary sources:

• A decade of experience in consulting and constructing open-source security solutions within enterprise networks
• Insights gleaned from podcasts, interviews, and discussions with industry experts

The demand for open-source security tools such as Wazuh is fueled by their affordability, community support, and flexibility, helping organizations to enhance threat detection, incident response, security monitoring, threat intelligence, and compliance management. Learning and gaining hands-on experience with tools such as Wazuh can significantly help aspirant security analysts or professionals in enhancing their skills in intrusion detection, log analysis, incident response, vulnerability management, and custom scripts, directly from a single platform. Engaging with open source communities helps you develop network opportunities and continuous learning, positioning you to become a valuable individual in the cybersecurity industry.

Who this book is for

Security analysts, SOC analysts, and security architects can gain practical insights into how to set up a Wazuh platform and leverage it to improve an organization's security posture.

The three main target audiences for this book are as follows:

• Security engineers: For security engineers, this book offers comprehensive guidance on deploying and configuring Wazuh for intrusion detection, malware detection, security monitoring, and so on.
• Security architects: They will gain information on designing security infrastructure with Wazuh as a core component, enabling them to build a scalable and compliant security solution that effectively mitigates risk and delivers real-time alerts.
• SOC analyst: They will benefit from practical insights and real-world use cases on the Wazuh platform. They will learn to analyze security alerts, create custom Wazuh rules and decoders, and respond promptly to threats.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Intrusion Detection System (IDS) Using Wazuh, provides fundamentals on IDSs and Suricata and its capabilities and features, installing Wazuh and setting up Suricata, utilizing Suricata in threat detection, handling network scanning probes, identifying Metasploit exploits, simulating web-based attacks with DVWA, and measuring NIDS effectiveness with tmNIDS.

Chapter 2, Malware Detection Using Wazuh, introduces you to malware, using FIM for detection, integrating VirusTotal for enhanced analysis, and integrating Windows Defender and Sysmon.

Chapter 3, Threat Intelligence and Analysis, discusses enhancing Wazuh capabilities by integrating threat intelligence and analysis tools such as MISP, TheHive, and Cortex. This chapter includes real-world examples of threat intelligence in a variety of contexts, as well as instructions on configuring and utilizing TheHive, Cortex, and MISP for cooperative threat analysis and response.

Chapter 4, Security Automation and Orchestration Using Shuffle, covers the integration of Security orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) with the Wazuh platform that can be utilized to streamline and enhance incident response processes. The chapter focuses on the implementation of automated workflows, playbooks, and response actions using Wazuh and Shuffle.

Chapter 5, Incident Response with Wazuh, focuses on Wazuh's Active response capability to remediate threats in real time, covering several practical use cases such as blocking brute-force attempts and automatically isolating Windows machines.

Chapter 6, Threat Hunting with Wazuh, delves into the methodology of proactive threat hunting using Wazuh, focusing on log analysis, attack mapping, Osquery utilization, and command monitoring.

Chapter 7, Vulnerability and Configuration Assessment, explores vulnerability and policy assessment using Wazuh. It will cover the important parts of finding vulnerabilities, monitoring configurations, and following standard compliance frameworks in a business. This chapter also covers the basics of vulnerability assessment and compliance standards such as PCI DSS, NIST 800-53, and HIPAA. It also provides ideas on how to use Wazuh's features to make sure your organization follows all of its security rules and policies.

Chapter 8, Appendix delves into a list of custom Wazuh rules to enhance security monitoring. It explores the creation of custom PowerShell rules to detect suspicious activities within Windows environments. Additionally, the chapter discusses the implementation of custom Auditd rules for auditing Linux systems, bolstering defense against potential threats. Moreover, it provides insights into crafting custom Kaspersky endpoint security rules, enabling comprehensive threat detection and response. Finally, it covers custom Sysmon rules mapped to certain MITRE ATT&CK® techniques.

Chapter 9, Glossary, provides a comprehensive glossary covering key terms and concepts essential for understanding security monitoring and Wazuh functionality. From active response, which automates response actions, to Amazon EC2 instances and beyond, each entry offers concise explanations. Terms such as compliance, IDS, and vulnerability detection module are elucidated, aiding you in grasping crucial security concepts. Additionally, tools such as PowerShell, Docker, and YARA are defined, highlighting their significance in modern cybersecurity practices. This glossary serves as a valuable reference for both novice and experienced security professionals who are navigating the complex landscape of security monitoring and threat detection.

To get the most out of this book

You need to have a basic understanding of cybersecurity concepts such as malware, network scanning, web application attacks, and security compliance.

Software/hardware covered in the book

Operating system requirements

Wazuh OVA

Windows and Ubuntu Linux

Suricata IDS and Osquery

VirusTotal

Download the example code files

You can download the code mentioned in the book from the GitHub repository here: https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Security-Monitoring-using-Wazuh

We also have other code bundles from our rich catalog of books and videos available at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/. Check them out!

Disclaimer on images

This book contains many horizontally long screenshots. These screenshots provide readers with an overview of Wazuh's execution plans for various operations. As a result, the text in these images may appear small at 100% zoom. Additionally, you will be able to examine these plans more thoroughly in the output of Wazuh as you work through the examples.

Conventions used

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

Code in text: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: "Copy the curl command to download the Wazuh module and start the Wazuh agent service as mentioned in the following diagram."

A block of code is set as follows:

When we wish...