pfSense

Building a Minimal Open Source Security Stack for Infrastructure Protection

The article outlines a practical approach to assembling a basic cybersecurity stack using open source tools for organizations with limited budgets. It covers endpoint protection with ClamAV, network perimeter defense via pfSense including Snort and Suricata integration, centralized logging with ELK Stack or Wazuh, and identity management through Keycloak. The guide emphasizes that these solutions provide foundational capabilities but require careful configuration, regular updates, and community validation to avoid risks from unmaintained projects. Detailed installation steps, rule configuration examples, and integration advice are provided for each component. The author stresses that open source options serve as an entry point rather than a full replacement for commercial platforms like Kaspersky or Symantec.