Difference between Lynis and Lynis Enterprise
People wonder about the main differences between Lynis and the Lynis Enterprise version. In this article we have a look on what both products are and how you can choose between the two.
Lynis
Lynis is a security auditing tool for Linux and Unix based systems. With its GPLv3 license it’s open source and freely available. The tool was first released in 2007 and has undergone a lot of development during the years. Lynis is a popular tool (1000+ downloads in just a few weeks after each release) and used by many system administrators, security professionals and auditors.
The focus of Lynis is performing a technical audit of Linux systems and helping the auditor discover what might be improved. To some extent it will also help by providing tips on how to solve the related findings.
Lynis Enterprise Suite
As you might expect, the Lynis Enterprise version is more extended than Lynis. Actually, it is not just Lynis with some extra’s, but more a full suite. The suite itself is a solution for auditing, hardening and securing Linux and Unix based systems. It even includes Lynis as one of the core components.
Lynis Enterprise Suite consists of the following components:
- Web based management interface
- Dashboard and extensive reporting
- Customized implementation plan (effort/risk based)
- Code snippets to solve findings and harden systems
- Lynis scanner
- More in-depth scans with usage of plugins
With these options Lynis Enterprise is much more powerful than just Lynis. Main focus of the suite is helping companies to perform continuous audits and directly implement measures. No more waiting on your yearly security audit, but ongoing scans and improvement. When a new system is deployed lacking the required hardening, it will be discovered in a matter of a day, so it can be reviewed directly.
Audience for Lynis Enterprise Suite
Especially security professionals and auditors will benefit from the additional tools the suite has to offer. Also system administrators will save a lot of time with the available code snippets and being able to perform self initiated audits. No more specialized trainings or auditing experience needed to perform a technical audit yourself!
