Suricata, free and open source since 2009.
The Suricata Open Source Manifesto
Open source means different things to different people. Here is what it means to us.
Freedom
Suricata is dedicated to and aligned with what we believe is the truest form of open source. That starts with our GPLv2 license, which is issued by GNU to organizations that offer free software (software that is free to use, not free in price).
Open source software awards you with four specific freedoms:
- The freedom to run the program as you wish
- The freedom to copy the program and give it away to others
- The freedom to change the program as you wish, by having full access to source code
- The freedom to distribute an improved version and thus help build the community
In abiding with this code, Suricata is truly open to use and tailor in the most meaningful ways to support threat detection.
Nonprofit Organization
Unlike many open source projects today, Suricata’s operations and support are also open. The copyright for the code is owned by the Open Information Security Foundation (OISF), a nonprofit organization specifically created to protect the interests of Suricata’s open source community. Without interference from a commercial enterprise, Suricata will remain open source, governed equally by the community and vendors who rely on and help maintain the engine.
Transparency
True to our open source roots, transparency is integral to our philosophy. Suricata’s bug tracker, development roadmap and code are available for all to see at any time. Project management and decisions are made by the community in the open. And true to the spirit of open source, if you have a need or an opinion, you have a voice. We welcome the input of our entire community.
Collaboration
Suricata supports and integrates with some of the world’s leading commercial solutions. Our non-GPL licensing, offered through OISF, empowers these organizations to use Suricata in their products without violating GPL. To inquire about a non-GPL license and join the OISF consortium, please contact [email protected].
Curious if you are GPL compliant?
Reference:
Our GPL Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page
GNU General Public License, version 2
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html
FAQs about version 2 of the GNU GPL
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0-faq.en.html