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File Integrity Monitoring (OSSEC)

Detect intrusions and monitor log changes

Please note: In September 2026, rates will change for a small number of technology services provided by University IT. View FY27 rate changes.

OSSEC is an open-source file integrity monitoring application that records changes to a server's file system to help detect and investigate an intrusion or change. It logs changes to monitored files on the system, and those logs should then be forwarded to centralized logging. This change information can be extremely useful for investigating security incidents.  Additionally, OSSEC generates other security logs of system activity, which provide valuable insight to system administrators.

Designed for

Stanford administrative and academic departments

Requirements

  • A Linux server (compiler needed to build from source)
  • Also supported on other Unix variants

Data security

May be used with Low, Moderate, and High Risk Data, as defined by the Information Security Office

Rates

Free of charge

Get started

Linux Servers

Windows Servers

Get help

For assistance, submit a Help request

Learn more

OSSEC community documentation

See also

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