Corelight
Unleash powerful network security and analytics with Zeek-based insights.
Key Takeaways
- What it is
- Unleash powerful network security and analytics with Zeek-based insights.
- Best for
- Zeek®-based Network Evidence
- Advanced Analytics and Detections
- Comprehensive Visibility
- Rating
- 4.5/5
What is Corelight?
In the realm of cybersecurity, Corelight emerges as a formidable force, specializing in evidence-based Network Detection and Response (NDR) and threat hunting. Leveraging the power of the widely respected open-source framework, Zeek® (formerly known as Bro), Corelight provides deep network visibility, advanced analytics, and robust data integrations to enhance the operational effectiveness of Security Operations Centers (SOCs). Designed for cybersecurity professionals, Corelight simplifies the complexities of network monitoring, ensuring faster threat detection and response, thereby fortifying the digital defenses of organizations.
Corelight stands out with its foundation in the open-source Zeek® platform, renowned for its powerful network traffic analysis capabilities. This unique aspect not only ensures robust security and visibility but also fosters a community-driven approach to continuous improvement and feature enhancements.
Corelight excels in providing robust network security solutions, making it an indispensable tool for large organizations and security-conscious enterprises. Its foundation on the Zeek® platform offers unmatched network visibility and data analysis capabilities. With strong integration options and a comprehensive support structure, Corelight is a strategic choice for enhancing cybersecurity postures in today's complex digital landscapes.
Who is Using Corelight?
Large Enterprises
Employing Corelight for comprehensive network monitoring and advanced threat detection.
Government Agencies
Utilizing the platform for securing sensitive data and ensuring national cybersecurity.
Financial Institutions
Leveraging Corelight to protect against sophisticated financial cybercrimes.
Healthcare Providers
Using Corelight to secure patient data and hospital network infrastructures.
Uncommon Use Cases
Academic institutions integrate Corelight into cybersecurity curriculum; Legal firms use Corelight to ensure client data integrity and compliance.
Key Features
Rating Breakdown
Pricing Plans
Custom Pricing Model
- Corelight tailors pricing based on specific customer needs and deployment scales
Contact Sales for Quote
- Potential users need to contact Corelight directly to obtain detailed pricing information based on their specific requirements
Which Corelight plan should you pick?
Start with Corelight@Home for free home-network learning; contact Corelight sales for production deployment and paid Investigator or Sensor subscriptions.
Corelight@Home
Good for home users who need a free way to learn Corelight network visibility using a Raspberry Pi.
Standard plan
Good for customers who need subscription support with telephone and email assistance.
Enterprise plan
Good for mission-critical environments that need 24/7 support, executive visibility, and a one-hour P1 response SLA.
Corelight Use Cases
Network visibility
Transform raw network traffic into structured logs, detections, and correlated evidence.
Outcome: Improved visibility into enterprise, cloud, and encrypted network activity.
Threat detection
Use Zeek, Suricata, threat intelligence, signatures, machine learning, and curated detection collections.
Outcome: Higher-confidence detection coverage.
Incident response
Investigate alerts by pivoting into related entities, logs, payloads, and session context.
Outcome: Faster, more evidence-based investigations.
Threat hunting
Search network logs and examine historical activity for suspicious behaviors and indicators.
Outcome: More effective retrospective analysis and hunting.
Automated alert triage
Use Agentic Triage to analyze, prioritize, and recommend responses for high-risk entities.
Outcome: Reduced manual triage effort and faster prioritization.
Workflow Ideas with Corelight
Automated alert triage
- 1Ingest network telemetry and detections into Investigator
- 2Run Agentic Triage on high-risk entities
- 3Review findings and recommended responses
Incident investigation
- 1Open a detection or alert
- 2Pivot through correlated entities, logs, payloads, and session context
- 3Export or contain the investigation using an integrated response tool
SIEM enrichment
- 1Generate an Investigator API key or configure an alert exporter
- 2Send detections and network evidence to a SIEM or XDR platform
- 3Investigate enriched alerts using Corelight evidence
How Corelight fits into your stack
Splunk Integration
Direct support for Splunk, enhancing data analysis and incident response capabilities.
CrowdStrike Partnership
Integrates with CrowdStrike for enhanced endpoint and network security solutions.
Google Cloud Compatibility
Ensures seamless operation in Google Cloud environments, facilitating cloud security.
Microsoft Azure Integration
Supports deployments in Microsoft Azure, allowing for flexible cloud adaptations.
Pros
- +Enhanced Detection Speed: Reduces mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR) to cyber threats.
- +Scalable Solutions: From appliances to cloud services, Corelight's flexible deployment options cater to various organizational sizes and needs.
- +Expert-Level Training and Support: Provides extensive training modules and expert support to ensure users can leverage the platform to its full potential.
- +Strong Partner Ecosystem: Collaborates with industry leaders to enhance product capabilities and ensure cutting-edge security solutions.
Cons
- −Premium Pricing: The advanced features and benefits come at a premium cost, which might be a consideration for smaller organizations.
- −Complexity for Beginners: The depth of data and range of features require a steep learning curve for those new to network security or the Zeek® framework.
- −Hardware Dependency: For certain deployments, specific hardware requirements must be met, which could add to the initial setup cost.
Limitations & when to consider alternatives
Known limitations
- Capacity-based licensing. Investigator usage is measured on a Gbps and/or GB basis, with customers limited to their purchased capacity entitlement.
- Retention is plan-dependent. Access to historical logs is limited by the retention period purchased for the Investigator subscription.
- AI output may contain errors. Corelight warns that AI-generated content may contain errors or omissions and should be verified.
- AI processing can involve third-party infrastructure. When enabled, selected telemetry or payload data may be sent to OpenAI for one-time inference.
- Microsoft Entra sign-in coverage is limited. The Entra integration currently supports interactive sign-ins and may not display certain non-interactive RDP sign-in events.
Look elsewhere when
- You need a native mobile application.
- You need a downloadable desktop application.
- You need model fine-tuning on your own data.
- You need general-purpose file, image, or code processing.
How to Use Corelight
- 1
Discover a range of tutorials and resources on Corelight's website and YouTube channel, covering everything from basic setup to advanced features and best practices.
Who is Corelight For?
Security operations teams
Corelight helps security teams improve network visibility, detection, investigation, and response.
SOC analysts
Analysts can use entity workflows, detections, dashboards, AI-generated insights, and recommended next steps.
Incident responders
Incident responders can pivot from alerts to correlated network evidence, logs, payloads, and session context.
Threat hunters
Threat hunters can search network logs, investigate historical activity, and use curated detection content.
Large enterprises and government agencies
Corelight states that it serves large enterprises and government agencies across multiple countries.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Corelight?
Corelight provides an open Network Detection and Response platform that turns network and cloud activity into evidence for security teams.
What is Corelight Investigator?
Investigator provides searchable network data, dashboards, detections, entity workflows, and AI-assisted investigation.
What is Agentic Triage?
Agentic Triage uses AI-driven automated investigation to analyze and prioritize high-risk entities.
What AI models does Investigator use?
Investigator uses OpenAI GPT models accessed through the OpenAI API.
Is customer data used to train AI models?
Corelight states that submitted data and responses are not used to train, fine-tune, or improve AI models.
Which integrations are available?
Documented Investigator integrations include ServiceNow, CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Entra ID, Palo Alto, GPT integrations, and alert exports.
Community reviews
Be the first to share your experience.
Sign in to leave a review for Corelight.
Corelight Alternatives
Looking for alternatives to Corelight? Here are similar tools in the same category:
Learn to Master Corelight
With Skill Leap courses
Get in-depth training on Corelight and 50+ other AI tools with our expert-led video courses.
Start 7-Day Free Trial