When starting a new company, you are playing a high-stakes game. Imagine a real-time strategy game where you need to manage all your resources in the development stage carefully, or otherwise, you don’t stand achance. It’s the phase where you have to make the most impactful decisionsl ong-term while staying agile and adaptive to your current context, and you have limited time and resources. As a company that works with startups and SMBs, we can find some parallels here.
A 2016 RAND study [1]said startups still in their infancy should spend around 10-15% of their IT budget on cybersecurity, including employee training, software and a security audit. Fast-track to today, and the landscape has changed so dramatically that this figure is well overdue for some rewriting. Considering also that this budget, in many cases, might not even be enough to cover the robust security measures in terms of software needed in today's complex cybersecurity landscape,we understand that devoting 10% of the IT budget upfront to cybersecurity mayfeel like ordering a five-star meal on a fast-food budget.
It is little surprise, then, that some of those extravagant-seeming costs tend to get axed in the calculus of cost-cutting, sometimes all at once. This decision is often driven by needing to learn more about the available open-source options that you can integrate to help you safeguard your business or wrong assumptions about the person-hours or specialised knowledge needed for their customisation.
Also, open-source cybersecurity options can definitely help, especially when you are starting. These tools are adaptable, flexible, and free. They can support you in achieving a base-level security that can be cranked up or tuned down according to the peculiar needs of your organisation, whether to serve as an interim solution or a long-term ally, depending on the extent of the efforts you are willing to put in for their customisation.
In this blog post, we would like to offer a breakdown and avery high-level guide to get you started with the integration of open-sourcesecurity tools. So, if you're wondering whether you should cut your cybersecurity budget, are curious about open-source options, or are simply trying to see how you can stretch your security dollar further, you're in the right place.
In every textbook on information security, you will see that the first step to improving your security posture is almost always assessment – at least if you approach your organisation’s security proactively and you are not struggling with an ongoing security incident, for instance. This is important as understanding and mitigating threats before they translate into attacks is among the smartest things to do when you have limited resources and low margins of error. This is the concept of proactive security – because cybersecurity is not about plugging holes, perse, but, rather, about knowing your terrain, understanding your weaknesses, and reinforcing your defences to consistently build a resilient security posture that grows with your business.
Start with some brainstorming with your experts who know your systems, like developers and tech managers. Make together an asset inventory from top to bottom from databases through user interfaces and trace the flow of data across those systems. This blueprint maps out the landscape that needs to be defended. You can consider using tools such as attack tree diagrams [3] to model how someone could break into your network. We find this article [2] a useful starting point if you are interested in making threat modelling yourself.
Even if you consider seeking professional help with this step, you will need to think and be able to explain and document the following:
If you are not in the beginning stage of building and running your startup, please keep in mind that your security needs will inevitably change and evolve as you grow the number of assets you have or build more complex infrastructures. Like maintaining fitness, your security posture will require ongoing efforts and adaptation, which will require some budget. So, if you have done this in the past, don’t assume that you are off the hook.
In any case, those steps should bring you some insight into where and what you can do better. Some improvements might not require specialised software, but some might. Depending on which category you find yourself vulnerable in, some open-source security solutions can help you.
Based on the steps identified in the previous chapter regarding the identification of your needs, below we offer a breakdown of some security controls you can implement, as well as some open-source tools which can help you or that you need to be aware of.
We want to stress, however, that open-source tools can fill in crucial gaps, undoubtedly, but as powerful as they are, they seldom arrive at the full functionality, let alone a beautiful finish or the user-friendliness, of a proprietary counterpart. Also, it would be best if you kept in mind that they would generally require more maintenance on your side as opposed to paid instruments, so at the beginning of their integration, you might feel like taking a paddle boat to a yacht race. This is not a nice feeling, but at least not swimming, and you have enough flexibility to tailor the solutions to your own needs.
Conducting a complete inventory of all physical and digital assets, including hardware and software components, might feel like a daunting task. However, this will help you classify data based on sensitivity and compliance requirements to apply appropriate security controls.
Some open-source tools which can help you in this step include:
Understanding how data enters, moves through, and exits within your organisation is what will help you identify and secure critical transaction points. Besides integrating open-source software at this point, you can definitely start by implementing strong encryption protocols for data in transit and at rest to protect sensitive information and establish protocols to secure API endpoints against unauthorised access and attacks.
Some open-source tools that can help in the process:
Scanning and monitoring of the networks is the first and continuous step to identify the shortcomings in network devices and examine the abnormal flows of traffic that could indicate security breaches. Firewalls and IDS could be implemented, thus acting as the first layer of defence to facilitate monitoring and access control for both incoming and outgoing network traffic in order to block unauthorised access and potential threats. Secondly, network segmentation, meaning segregating critical data systems by segmenting the network into distinct parts, is important to restrict the scope of potential intrusion to a limited area and reduce the exposure of sensitive information in the event of a perimeter breach. Some open-source tools to contribute to enhancing the strength of the network's perimeter include:
When it comes to access control, best practices include the implementation of some basic security policies, such as the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP), which ensures that individuals are only given the necessary access roles to perform their jobs. The goal of such interventions is to minimise the risk of accidental data exposure as well as to limit the scope of a potential data leak. Enhancing access controls through basic actions such as implementing MFAs and password policies also helps. Most importantly, however, comes the ability to access, monitor and review the access logs. This supports the prompt detection and potential response to unauthorised actions. Some tools that might help you in the process include:
Effective security management within an organisation will inevitably require policy development and enforcement, as well as regular audits. Regardless of the size of your business, you will need some basic documentation on the dos and don’ts to help your colleagues do your job easier with security in mind. To ensure robust protection, it is critical to regularly update security policies and enforce them across the organisation, creating a secure and compliant operational environment. Finally, conducting regular audits will help you maintain a continuous improvement cycle regarding your security practices in the long run, thereby enhancing the overall security posture of the organisation. It all may seem like a large upfront commitment, but it will quickly pay off by cultivating sound cyber hygiene habits and escalation paths. Some tools that can help are:
Integrating open-source security tools into an existing IT infrastructure requires careful planning and execution to ensure compatibility, scalability, and security. A simple integration process will include, at the very least, the following steps:
Bear in mind, however, that your security needs will evolve with your business. This will be something that you observe within the monitoring and optimisation phase of your integration. This is why there are a few important considerations to keep in mind when integrating open-source instruments, namely compatibility, scalability, security and community health.
By compatibility, we mean not only ensuring that your open-source tools are compatible with your existing hardware and software but also considering dependencies, operating systems and other application interactions. Remember that compatibility does not only mean they are able to function alongside each other; we also consider the quality of their co-existence, whether performance is affected, and how.
Scalability, on the other hand, means that the solutions are able to keep up with the growth of your organisation, at least initially. Consider how these tools will perform as the volume of data or the network traffic increases. Do your research on whether these tools can be adjusted or expanded to fit your growing needs without significant reconfigurations. Our overall advice will be to implement security solutions that are modular and scalable. This allows for incremental upgrades or enhancements without needing to overhaul the entire system. And look for automation options to streamline security processes, such as patch management, threat detection, and response.
Furthermore, make sure that you carefully assess the security features of the tools themselves and whether they are a good fit for your current and proposed needs. What are the security implications of adding new tools, and what are the known vulnerabilities that these tools might introduce? Consider the overall impact on the security architecture of your organisation and make your choice wisely.
Last but definitely not least, you should consider the health of the community that is involved in the tools that you plan to implement. An active community will mean more vibrant support and more frequent updates. Choosing an obsolete open-source security tool could negatively impact the longevity of your overall implementation and increase the resources you will need for the maintenance of the solution, which will likely result in compatibility issues and struggles.
As businesses grow and evolve, so too must their security measures. Scaling security practices effectively ensures that as the organisational footprint expands, its defences remain robust and adaptive to new threats. Introduction to Advanced Security Practices and Tools
A few further points to take as best practices or points of consideration:
As a point of principle, sleep with one eye open when it comes to any new technology that you implement, as there is invariably turbulence in your security procedure. Take the necessary time for its adoption and be mindful that the tech teams will need to take sufficient time for research, integration and follow-up. Rushing the process will only prevent you from maximising the benefits of the new addition to your digital infrastructure and will increase the cost of non-conformance, likely through maintenance time and employee dissatisfaction.
Open source tools provide the flexibility, transparency, and feature updates driven by communities that are crucial in maintaining a good cybersecurity posture, especially in the development phase of your company, when your security budget you have available might not be able to provide you with the safeguards you need.
Moreover, open-source tools are not just a compromise. They allow you to customise and expand the security solution to suit its needs without being constrained by proprietary licensing agreements, which could be a lasting benefit for your particular case. You can review their code against particular security requirements and standards you might have while helping you to remain flexible and adaptive. This makes it particularly important for companies with unique or still-evolving IT infrastructures. From endpoint detection with tools such as Wazuh and osquery right through to identity management using Keycloak or FreeIPA, there's almost no facet of cybersecurity that doesn't have an open-source suite of tools available.
Proactive cybersecurity requires a full-scale approach of pre-emptive measures rather than reacting to any incident after its occurrence. With open-source tools, you are empowered to do so. However, remember that the bigger your business gets, the bigger your digital footprint becomes, and thereby, the attack surface for cyber threats becomes. It follows that the adoption of open-source security tools goes beyond a strategic decision and into investing in maintenance and, potentially, into an upgrade down the line, which might not be as cost-effective and open.
In any case, if you are a startup or an SMB and are wondering where to start, we encourage you to explore these tools, engage with the community, and invest in a proactive security strategy that not only protects your assets but will also support your growth and innovation in a secure environment. And if you struggle with finding the right open-source tool for you or configuring it to fit your needs best, we remain here to help.
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