In today's digital age, network security is paramount for protection against cyber threats and unauthorized access. One effective tool for network monitoring and threat detection is Suricata, an open-source Network Security Monitor (NSM) and Intrusion Detection System (IDS). This article provides a detailed guide on how to install Suricata on Ubuntu to enhance the security of your network.

Prerequisites

Before installing Suricata, it's essential to ensure that your system meets the following prerequisites:

• Clean installation of Ubuntu (we recommend the latest stable version)
• Internet connectivity
• Superuser privileges (sudo)

Step 1: Update Your System

Before proceeding with Suricata installation, it's crucial to ensure your system is fully updated. This ensures that all dependencies will be correctly installed. Open a terminal and enter the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Suricata requires several dependencies for its operation. Install them using the following command:

sudo apt install libpcre3 libpcre3-dbg libpcre3-dev build-essential autoconf automake libtool libpcap-dev libnet1-dev libyaml-0-2 libyaml-dev pkg-config zlib1g zlib1g-dev libcap-ng-dev libcap-ng0 make libmagic-dev libjansson-dev libjansson4

Step 3: Download and Compile Suricata

Download the latest version of Suricata from the official project website. Compile and install it using the following commands:

wget https://www.openinfosecfoundation.org/download/suricata-$(curl -s https://www.openinfosecfoundation.org/download/ | grep tar.gz | sed -n 's/.*href="\(.*\)".*/\1/p' | head -1)
tar -xvzf suricata-*.tar.gz
cd suricata-*
./configure --sysconfdir=/etc --localstatedir=/var --enable-nfqueue --prefix=/usr --with-libnss-includes=/usr/include/nss --with-libnss-libraries=/usr/lib
make
sudo make install
sudo make install-conf
sudo make install-rules

Step 4: Configure Suricata

After installation, Suricata needs to be configured. The configuration file can be found at /etc/suricata/suricata.yaml. Open this file in a text editor and customize the configuration to suit your network's requirements.

Step 5: Start Suricata

Once the configuration is complete, you can start Suricata using the following command:

sudo suricata -c /etc/suricata/suricata.yaml -i eth0

Replace eth0 with the name of your network interface. Suricata will now monitor all traffic on this interface.

 

Installing and configuring Suricata on Ubuntu is relatively straightforward and can significantly contribute to securing your network. Regularly updating Suricata rules and the system itself can ensure protection against the latest threats.