Lynis
Lynis is an open source security auditing tool for Linux and UNIX-based systems. It performs an in-depth security scan to detect vulnerabilities, provide tips for system hardening, and monitor compliance status.
security
auditing
hardening
compliance
vulnerabilities
Lynis: Open Source Security Auditing Tool for Linux and UNIX-based Systems
Lynis is an open source security auditing tool for Linux and UNIX-based systems. It performs an in-depth security scan to detect vulnerabilities, provide tips for system hardening, and monitor compliance status.
What is Lynis?
Lynis is an open source security auditing tool for Linux and UNIX-based systems. It was created by security researcher and author Michael Boelen to perform automated security auditing, vulnerability detection, and system hardening.
Some key features of Lynis include:
- Comprehensive security scans - Lynis scans system settings, files, processes and more to detect vulnerable components.
- Compliance testing - The tool can test systems against common security baselines like CIS, ISO27001 and PCI DSS.
- Suggest security improvements - Lynis provides tips to further harden and optimize the security of systems.
- Extensible plugins - Custom tests and plugins can be added for specialized audits.
- Lightweight and fast - It runs from a shell without agents or clients for efficiency.
Lynis generates a detailed report at the end of a scan highlighting areas that need improvement. It focuses on preventative security measures to proactively make systems more secure. The tool is commonly used by system administrators, security professionals, auditors and penetration testers.
Lynis Features
Features
- Performs security auditing and vulnerability scanning
- Checks for system hardening and compliance with standards
- Scans for malware, rootkits, suspicious files/processes
- Analyzes system configuration and services
- Provides suggestions for improving security
Pricing
- Open Source
Pros
Free and open source
Easy to use
Automates security auditing
Supports multiple Linux distributions
Customizable and extensible
Regularly updated and maintained
Cons
Command line only, no GUI
Can generate false positives
Limited support for non-Linux systems
Requires some Linux sysadmin knowledge to interpret results
Official Links
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