Security Onion: December 2020

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Security Onion 2 in 2020 and 2021

As 2020 comes to a close, we want to thank you, our community, for your overwhelming response to Security Onion 2! Let’s talk about the journey of Security Onion 2 and the guiding principles that are going to carry us into the first half of 2021.

Since its release in October, Security Onion 2 has seen many improvements in reliability of the install process on a wider scope of hardware and configurations. Taking multiple Linux distributions, multiple kernel versions, and endless hardware configs, then making it all work with a single install script has been a hefty challenge. We have already successfully reduced installation issues and will continue to improve our setup process with every release.

Along with improving the reliability of the install process we have added several features to improve the usefulness of the product. Some of the major features delivered were:

Hunt interface specifically designed for threat hunting
Alerts module for managing and escalating alerts
Grid interface that allows visibility of all nodes in the grid
Multiple Elasticsearch clustering options

We have been delivering these features via our regular release cycle, which has been on a monthly cadence since RC1. We plan to keep that same pace in 2021, with the exception of January, when there will be no major feature releases. We will take some time to catch our breath as well as improve some of our testing capabilities. Currently, we dedicate at least a week for testing between feature freeze and production release. Much of this testing is done manually and the more of this that we can automate, the more time we can spend fixing bugs and bringing new features to Security Onion 2.

Here are our first three major feature goals for 2021:

bring playbook functionality directly into the Security Onion Console (SOC) web interface
bring case management functionality directly into SOC
continued improvement of our SOC Grid interface so that you can more easily manage and maintain your sensor grid

These features will not only simplify the user experience, but also reduce overall complexity. In order to accomplish these goals, you will also see us begin to add other features such as Role Based Access Control (RBAC). RBAC has been a highly requested feature and will enable better control of how data is presented to users in SOC. We have some other exciting features in this space which we will add to the roadmap as we finalize the design.

Again, we want to thank the community for your continued support in 2020. Security Onion remains free and open source because of you. Hardware appliances, training, and professional services drive our business and allow us to keep bringing you all these great features. We are really excited for what 2021 will bring! Have a safe and relaxing holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Security Onion 16.04.7.2 ISO image now available featuring Zeek 3.0.11, Suricata 5.0.5, Snort 2.9.17.0, Elastic 7.9.3, and more!

First, please note that Security Onion 16.04 reaches EOL in less than 4 months:
https://blog.securityonion.net/2020/12/4-month-eol-notice-for-security-onion.html

Instead of downloading this 16.04.7.2 ISO image, most users should be downloading the new Security Onion 2:
https://blog.securityonion.net/2020/12/security-onion-2321-now-available.html

Our Security Onion 16.04.7.2 ISO image is now available! This will most likely be the last Security Onion 16.04 ISO image!

Security Onion 16.04.7.2 Boot Menu

Major Changes Since Last 16.04 ISO Image

Zeek 3.0.11
Suricata 5.0.5
Snort 2.9.17.0
Elastic 7.9.3

Thanks

Thanks to Chris Morgret for testing this ISO image!

Package Updates

This release also includes the following updated packages:

pinguybuilder - 20180514-1ubuntu1securityonion25

These packages resolve the following issues:

pinguybuilder: increment version to 16.04.7.2 #1805
https://github.com/Security-Onion-Solutions/security-onion/issues/1805

Issues Resolved

For a list of all issues resolved in this release, please see:
https://github.com/Security-Onion-Solutions/security-onion/projects/14

Release Notes

For more information about this release, please see:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/release-notes.html

Installation Guide

We've updated the Installation guide to reflect the download locations for the new Security Onion 16.04 ISO image:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/download.html

Existing Deployments

If you have existing Security Onion 16.04 installations, there is no need to download the new ISO image. You can simply continue using our standard update process to install updated packages as they are made available:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/upgrade.html

Documentation

You can find our documentation for Security Onion 16.04 here:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/

Support

Need support for Security Onion 16.04? Please see:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/support.html

Training

Security Onion Solutions is the only official authorized training provider for Security Onion. For more information about our training classes, please see:
https://securityonionsolutions.com/training

Hardware Appliances

We know Security Onion's hardware needs, and our appliances are the perfect match for the platform. Leave the hardware research, testing, and support to us, so you can focus on what's important for your organization. Not only will you have confidence that your Security Onion deployment is running on the best-suited hardware, you will also be supporting future development and maintenance of the Security Onion project!

https://securityonionsolutions.com/hardware

Thanks!

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Security Onion 2.3.21 now available!

We recently released Security Onion 2.3: 
https://blog.securityonion.net/2020/10/security-onion-2-has-reached-general.html

Today, we are releasing Security Onion 2.3.21, which resolves a few issues: 
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/2.3/release-notes.html#changes

Documentation

We've started migrating our documentation to 2.3: 
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/2.3/

However, this is a work in progress and some documentation may be missing or incorrect. Please let us know if you notice any issues.

Known Issues

Please review the Known Issues list:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/2.3/release-notes.html#known-issues

New Installations

If you want to perform a new installation, please review the 2.3 documentation and then you can find instructions here: 
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/2.3/download.html

Existing 2.3 Installations

If you have an existing Security Onion 2.3 installation, please see: 
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/2.3/soup.html

Security Onion 16.04 EOL

Ubuntu 16.04 reaches EOL in April 2021 and so therefore Security Onion 16.04 does as well. Please make plans to replace or upgrade any existing Security Onion 16.04 deployments before then: 
https://blog.securityonion.net/2020/12/4-month-eol-notice-for-security-onion.html

Upgrading from Security Onion 16.04

If you're currently running Security Onion 16.04, please see the following for upgrade options: 
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/2.3/appendix.html

Questions or Problems

If you have questions or problems, please see our community support forum guidelines: 
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/2.3/community-support.html

You can then find the community support forum at: 
https://securityonion.net/discuss

Thanks

Lots of love went into this release!

Special thanks to all our folks working so hard to make this release happen!

Josh Brower
Jason Ertel
Wes Lambert
Josh Patterson
Mike Reeves
Bryant Treacle
William Wernert

Training

Need training? Start with our free Security Onion Essentials training and then take a look at some of our other official Security Onion training, including our new Developing Your Detection Playbook class!

http://securityonion.net/training

Hardware Appliances

https://securityonionsolutions.com/hardware

Screenshot Tour

If you want the quickest and easiest way to try out Security Onion 2, just follow the screenshots below to install an Import node and then optionally enable the Analyst Workstation. This can be done in a minimal VM with only 4GB RAM!

Security Onion 2.3.21 ISO Boot Menu

ISO Installer

ISO Install Complete

Welcome to Setup

Choose the Setup type

Choose Standard or Airgap

Set hostname

Select management NIC

Configure management NIC

Configure networking

Initialize networking

Configure HOME_NET

Create user account

Set password

Confirm password

Choose how you want to access the web interface

Optionally run so-allow

Specify IP address or range to allow through firewall

Confirm options

Setup complete

After rebooting and logging in, optionally run so-analyst-install

so-analyst-install complete

Enter username to login to GNOME

Enter password to login to GNOME

GNOME Desktop

Analyst Workstation includes Chromium, NetworkMiner, Wireshark, and many other analyst tools

SOC Overview Page

Use so-import-pcap to import one or more pcap files

Use the hyperlink provided by so-import-pcap to view all alerts and logs

SOC's right-click menu has been updated and now includes a new Correlate option to find related logs

Correlate found several related logs

PCAP overview

Download the pcap and open directly in NetworkMiner for file extraction

PCAP transcript

All this in a minimal VM with only 4GB RAM!

Monday, December 21, 2020

Developing Your Detection Playbook with Security Onion 2 - On-Demand Training

This course is geared for those wanting to understand how to build a Detection Playbook with Security Onion 2. Students will gain both a theoretical and practical understanding of building detections in Security Onion, reinforced with real-life examples from network and host datasources.

Code ONION2021 is good for $50 off through March 1.

For more information and to register, please see:

https://onlinetraining.securityonionsolutions.com/courses/enrolled/1221556

Thursday, December 17, 2020

securityonion-web-page - 20141015-0ubuntu0securityonion110 now available for Security Onion 16.04!

First, please note that Security Onion 16.04 reaches EOL in less than 4 months. Instead of applying this update, most Security Onion 16.04 users should upgrade directly to Security Onion 2:
https://blog.securityonion.net/2020/12/4-month-eol-notice-for-security-onion.html

If you do decide to proceed with this update for Security Onion 16.04, please be reminded of the recent Docker Hub rate limit changes:
https://blog.securityonion.net/2020/10/docker-hub-rate-limits-effective.html

The following update is now available for Security Onion 16.04!

securityonion-web-page - 20141015-0ubuntu0securityonion110

This update resolves the following issue:

Update docs and cheat sheet for 16.04.7.2 #1806
https://github.com/Security-Onion-Solutions/security-onion/issues/1806

Thanks

Thanks to Chris Morgret for testing and QA!

Updating

Please see the following page for full update instructions:

https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/upgrade.html

Support

Need support? Please see:

https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/support.html

Thanks!

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

4 month EOL notice for Security Onion 16.04

On 10/16/2020, we released Security Onion 2 and announced a 6-month EOL notice for Security Onion 16.04:
https://blog.securityonion.net/2020/10/security-onion-2-has-reached-general.html

Ubuntu 16.04 reaches EOL in April 2021 and so therefore Security Onion 16.04 does as well. We will not provide any support for Security Onion 16.04 after April 16, 2021. Please plan to upgrade or replace any existing 16.04 systems before then. If you have existing installations of Security Onion 16.04, you can upgrade to Security Onion 2:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/2.3/appendix.html

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

securityonion-setup - 20120912-0ubuntu0securityonion330 now available for Security Onion 16.04!

First, please note that Security Onion 16.04 reaches EOL in less than 5 months. Instead of applying this update, most Security Onion 16.04 users should upgrade directly to Security Onion 2:
https://blog.securityonion.net/2020/11/5-month-eol-notice-for-security-onion.html

The following update is now available for Security Onion 16.04!

securityonion-setup - 20120912-0ubuntu0securityonion330

This update resolves the following issue:

sosetup-network: Empty hostname set when running automated installs #1783
https://github.com/Security-Onion-Solutions/security-onion/issues/1783

Thanks

Thanks to Chris Morgret for testing and QA!

Updating

Please see the following page for full update instructions:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/upgrade.html

Support

Need support? Please see:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/support.html

Thanks!

Snort 2.9.17.0 now available for Security Onion 16.04!

The following update is now available for Security Onion 16.04!

securityonion-snort - 2.9.17.0-1ubuntu1securityonion1

This update resolves the following issues:

Snort 2.9.17.0 #1802
https://github.com/Security-Onion-Solutions/security-onion/issues/1802

Thanks

Thanks to the Snort team for Snort 2.9.17.0!

Thanks to Chris Morgret for testing and QA!

Updating

Please see the following page for full update instructions:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/upgrade.html

Support

Need support? Please see:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/support.html

Thanks!

Monday, December 14, 2020

Suricata 5.0.5 now available for Security Onion 16.04!

The following update is now available for Security Onion 16.04!

securityonion-suricata - 5.0.5-1ubuntu1securityonion2

This update resolves the following issues:

Suricata 5.0.5 #1651
https://github.com/Security-Onion-Solutions/security-onion/issues/1651

Thanks

Thanks to the Suricata team for Suricata 5.0.5!

Thanks to Chris Morgret for testing and QA!

Updating

Please see the following page for full update instructions:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/upgrade.html

Support

Need support? Please see:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/support.html

Thanks!

Solarwinds Supply Chain Attack

FireEye released a great blog post about the SolarWinds supply chain attack:
https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2020/12/evasive-attacker-leverages-solarwinds-supply-chain-compromises-with-sunburst-backdoor.html

They also published some countermeasures:
https://github.com/fireeye/sunburst_countermeasures

The countermeasures include NIDS rules, network based indicators, file hashes, and yara rules. Each of these are broken out into separate sections below. Each of the sections includes a very quick high-level overview for how you might use those indicators in your Security Onion 16.04 or Security Onion 2.3 deployment.

NIDS Rules

https://github.com/fireeye/sunburst_countermeasures/blob/main/all-snort.rules

This file contains NIDS rules. If you are currently running the Emerging Threats (ET) ruleset, it should be noted that it's possible that these NIDS rules will be merged into the ET ruleset soon. You might want to go ahead and add them manually for immediate coverage. If and when they are added to ET, you may then want to remove your local additions.

UPDATE 2020-12-14 2:38 PM Eastern
The ET ruleset now includes these rules, so ET ruleset users should get these automatically as part of their normal daily download:
http://lists.emergingthreats.net/pipermail/emerging-updates/2020-December/004981.html

Security Onion 16.04

https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/local-rules.html#adding-local-rules

Security Onion 2.3

https://docs.securityonion.net/en/2.3/local-rules.html#nids

Network Based Indicators

https://github.com/fireeye/sunburst_countermeasures/blob/main/indicator_release/Indicator_Release_NBIs.csv

This file contains domain names and IP addresses.

Security Onion 16.04

You might want to retroactively search for these domain names and IP addresses using Kibana.
You might want to add them to Zeek Intel:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/zeek.html#intel

Security Onion 2.3

You might want to retroactively search for these domain names and IP addresses using Hunt or Kibana.
You might want to add them to Zeek Intel:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/2.3/zeek.html#intel

File Hashes

https://github.com/fireeye/sunburst_countermeasures/blob/main/indicator_release/Indicator_Release_Hashes.csv

This file contains file hashes.

Security Onion 16.04

You might want to retroactively search for these file hashes using Kibana.
You might want to add them to Zeek Intel:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/16.04/zeek.html#intel

Security Onion 2.3

You might want to retroactively search for these file hashes using Hunt or Kibana.
You might want to add them to Zeek Intel:
https://docs.securityonion.net/en/2.3/zeek.html#intel

Yara Rules

https://github.com/fireeye/sunburst_countermeasures/blob/main/all-yara.yar

This file contains yara rules.

Security Onion 2.3

These yara rules have already been added to Florian Roth's signature-base Github repo as apt_solarwinds_sunburst.yar, so assuming your Security Onion 2.3 deployment has Internet access, it should have already downloaded apt_solarwinds_sunburst.yar as part of the normal daily download.
Going forward, Strelka should scan any newly extracted files using these yara rules.
You might want to retroactively scan previously extracted files by copying them to /nsm/strelka/ on a sensor.

Friday, December 11, 2020

Security Onion 2 and the Future of CentOS

Security Onion 2 currently supports both Ubuntu 18.04 and CentOS 7. The CentOS project recently made an announcement about their shift from CentOS Linux to CentOS Stream:
https://blog.centos.org/2020/12/future-is-centos-stream/

While the article talks about major changes for CentOS 8, it's important to note that CentOS 7 will continue to be supported. From the article:

Meanwhile, we understand many of you are deeply invested in CentOS Linux 7, and we’ll continue to produce that version through the remainder of the RHEL 7 life cycle.

Security Onion 2 will continue to support both CentOS 7 and Ubuntu 18.04 for the time being. We are monitoring this situation closely and when it comes time to migrate off of CentOS 7, we'll consider our options at that time including the new Rocky Linux:
https://rockylinux.org