‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ is a highly relevant motto for cybersecurity. If you wait until bad actors strike before responding to threats, your organization will be vulnerable to compliance crackdowns, financial penalties, and a loss of customers’ trust.
Surprisingly, only 14% of businesses are prepared to defend themselves against cyber attacks, and 45% say their existing processes are ineffective at mitigating them. As a solution, threat detection tools help you harness automation to stay one step ahead of attackers and prioritize security.
What are Threat Detection Tools?
Threat detection tools are software systems designed to identify, analyze, and manage malicious activities such as malware infections, unauthorized access attempts, and phishing attacks.
Threat detection tools continuously scan and monitor your computer systems and networks for any signs of security threats or malicious activities. Here’s how threat detection and response works:
Monitor: Continuously watch over the network and system for unusual activities.
Identify: Compare activities against known threats to find potential dangers.
Update: Regularly update the knowledge base with the latest threat information.
Respond: Automatically take action, like isolating threats or alerting security teams.
Automate: Use predefined rules to quickly deal with identified threats, reducing the need for manual intervention.
Threat detection tools are essential for any organization that handles or shares important information, whether you're running a small business or a large enterprise.
Types of Threat Detection Tools
Web Application Firewalls (WAFs): Act as gatekeepers to filter out malicious traffic and prevent attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting.
Vulnerability Scanners: Scan systems and networks for weaknesses that attackers could exploit.
Fraud Detection Tools: Focus on financial transactions, identifying patterns and anomalies that might indicate fraudulent activity.
Endpoint Threat Detection and Response (EDR): Monitor devices (laptops, servers) for suspicious activity, offering tools to isolate and stop threats.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): Centralize security data (firewalls, IDS) for real-time analysis and threat detection.
Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR): Automate repetitive incident response tasks.
Benefits of Threat Detection Tools
Proactively address vulnerabilities, strengthening your security posture.
Monitor suspicious activities 24/7.
Streamline threat response with automation.
Identify hidden threats and understand the scope of potential attacks.
Early threat detection minimizes financial losses.
Key Features to Look For in a Threat Detection Tool
Broad Threat Coverage: The tool should identify a broad spectrum of threats, including malware and emerging vulnerabilities – ideally zero-day.
24/7 Monitoring & Fast Response: Choose a tool that continuously monitors for threats.
Actionable Insights and Threat Intelligence: The tool should provide clear information on security incidents, plus auto-remediation or remediation suggestions.
Scalability: Choose a tool that can scale to accommodate your network size, data volume, and user base growth.
11 Top Threat Detection Tools
Web Application Firewalls (WAFs)
WAFs act as security shields for your web applications, constantly filtering incoming traffic for malicious content and activity. They can block common attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS).
1. open-appsec
open-appsec is an open-source WAF that leverages contextual machine learning to protect web apps & APIs. It identifies and blocks zero-day attacks in real time, including those that bypass traditional signature-based defenses (like Log4Shell, Text4Shell, Spring4Shell, and WAF bypass).
Main features:
Continuously monitors and safeguards against the OWASP Top 10 web application and zero-day vulnerabilities automatically using its ML engine.
Continuously learns user and application behavior to improve threat detection accuracy.
Integrates effortlessly with popular platforms like Kubernetes, NGINX, GraphQL, and HELM.
Incorporates an NSS Labs-certified IPS for comprehensive protection against over 2,800 web vulnerabilities (CVEs).
Best for: Protection against OWASP Top 10 and zero-day attacks.
Pricing: open-appsec is one of the best free WAF tools.
2. AWS WAF
AWS WAF is a cloud-based web application firewall offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS WAF relies on a rule-based system to detect and block threats. These rules can be managed by AWS (AWS Managed Rules) or custom-defined by users.
Main features:
Offers pre-built rules (AWS Managed Rules) to block common web application attacks (SQL injection, XSS).
Users can also create and deploy custom rules tailored to their specific security needs.
Uses Web ACLs (Web Access Control Lists) to define the rules that govern application traffic flows.
Seamless integration with AWS services (CloudFront, Load Balancers).
Best for: Organizations seeking a user-friendly, managed WAF solution within the AWS environment.
Pricing: Web ACL is $5/month, along with a $1/WAF rule and request.
Vulnerability Scanning
Vulnerability scanners systematically scan for security issues like outdated software, misconfigurations, and missing patches.
3. Spectral
Spectral is a data loss prevention (DLP) and code security solution. Unlike traditional DLPs, Spectral offers automated code security and vulnerability scanning.
Main features:
Automated vulnerability detection to find misplaced API keys, tokens, credentials, and security misconfigurations.
Tailors security checks to your specific needs by creating custom detectors that target unique vulnerabilities within your codebase.
Integrates with development pipelines for seamless security checks.
Best for: Teams needing automated code security and continuous vulnerability management across all environments.
Pricing: By inquiry.
4. Coverity by Synopsys
Coverity by Synopsys stands out as a leading static application security testing (SAST) tool.
Main features:
Performs in-depth static analysis for vulnerabilities, even in unused sections.
Analyzes over 22 languages and supports popular frameworks.
Help organizations to meet various coding standards and security compliance requirements.
Integrates with development tools and CI/CD pipelines.
Minimizes false positives and handles large codebases.
Best for: Large organizations with complex codebases seeking deep static analysis.
Pricing: By inquiry.
Fraud Detection
Fraud detection tools continuously analyze user behavior and transaction patterns to identify suspicious activities such as unauthorized access attempts, credit card theft, or money laundering schemes.
5. Memcyco
Memcyco is a leading real-time website spoofing protection solution. Unlike traditional takedown approaches, Memcyco utilizes AI to provide real-time protection against website spoofing.
Main features:
Use AI to block website spoofing attacks in real time, minimizing damage.
Embeds an active sensor within the legitimate website to provide continuous attack visibility and real-time protection.
Displays a unique watermark on the authentic website, visually confirming its legitimacy.
Offers post-attack insights for investigation and response.
Best for: Organizations seeking real-time protection against website spoofing attacks.
Pricing: By inquiry.
6. Kount
Kount is a data-driven fraud management solution for online businesses. It uses AI and global data networks to prevent fraud in real time, ensuring a great customer experience while protecting your organization.
Main features:
Minimizes disruptions for legitimate customers by streamlining the authorization process.
Protects user accounts from unauthorized access attempts.
Provides financial protection against fraudulent chargebacks.
Best for: Online businesses (mainly e-commerce) seeking a data-driven, AI-powered fraud management solution.
Pricing: By inquiry.
Endpoint Threat Detection and Response(EDR)
EDR tools continuously monitor endpoints like laptops, desktops, and mobile phones for suspicious activity that might indicate malware, ransomware, or other cyber threats and take automated actions accordingly.
7. CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon stands out for its cloud-native architecture and focus on real-time threat prevention. It utilizes machine learning to monitor endpoints continuously.
Main features:
Blocks even novel attacks (including zero-day threats) through advanced behavioral analysis.
Protects a wide range of endpoints, including laptops, desktops, servers, and mobile devices.
Isolates threats and integrates with threat intelligence feeds.
Best for: Organizations seeking a cloud-based EDR solution with real-time threat prevention.
Pricing: Has several subscription plans starting from $4.99/device/month.
8. Microsoft Defender XDR
Microsoft Defender XDR offers comprehensive endpoint detection and response using Microsoft's security intelligence.
Main features:
Provides comprehensive protection across endpoints, identities, email, applications, and cloud workloads.
Delivers real-time threat visibility and enables swift response actions.
Automates security processes to isolate threats and minimize damage.
Simplifies deployment and management through a cloud-based approach.
Best for: Organizations heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem seeking a unified XDR platform.
Pricing: By inquiry.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
SIEM tools continuously collect log data from various security sources, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and endpoints. SIEM solutions provide insights into potential security incidents by centralizing and analyzing this data in real time.
9. SolarWinds SIEM
SolarWinds SIEM empowers security teams with real-time threat intelligence, security automation, and compliance assistance.
Main features:
Provides up-to-date threat data for informed decision-making.
Automates tasks to streamline security workflows.
Assists with meeting security compliance requirements.
Simplifies security management for easier use.
Best for: Budget-conscious teams that need a user-friendly SIEM with real-time threat intelligence and automation.
Pricing: By inquiry.
10. Splunk Enterprise
Splunk Enterprise stands out for its versatility and extensive data analytics capabilities. It goes beyond log management, offering a powerful platform to analyze security & IT data from diverse sources.
Main features:
Collects and indexes data from a wide range of security and IT sources.
Analyzes data in real-time to identify and alert potential threats.
Generates reports for compliance and provides audit trails for investigations.
Scales to handle large data volumes and integrate with various security tools.
Best for: Security pros needing advanced analytics and real-time threat detection.
Pricing: By inquiry.
Security Orchestration (SO) tools
SO tools automate routine security tasks, streamline workflows, and centralize the management of various security solutions.
11. Jit
Jit stands out as a user-friendly security orchestration platform designed to simplify DevSecOps practices. It offers pre-built security toolchains for code and cloud security.
Main features:
Offers pre-configured toolchains for common security tasks like code scanning and cloud security assessments.
Enables defining and automating custom security policies for tailored workflows.
Easy integration with development tools and CI/CD pipelines.
Best for: DevSecOps teams needing easy SO, pre-built chains, and CI/CD security.
Pricing: Offers a free plan, then pricing is by inquiry.
open-appsec is an open-source project that builds on machine learning to provide pre-emptive web app & API threat protection against OWASP-Top-10 and zero-day attacks. It simplifies maintenance as there is no threat signature upkeep and exception handling, like common in many WAF solutions.
To learn more about how open-appsec works, see this White Paper and the in-depth Video Tutorial. You can also experiment with deployment in the free Playground.
