Alterix is a tool that converts Sigma, Yara rules, and IOCs (Indicators of Compromise) to the query language of CRYPTTECH's next-generation SIEM product.
Sigma is an open-source project that provides a rule format and a set of tools for the creation and sharing of detection rules for security operations. Yara is a tool aimed at (but not limited to) helping malware researchers to identify and classify malware samples. IOCs (Indicators of Compromise) are artifacts observed on a network or in an operating system that indicate a security breach. CRYPTTECH's SIEM product uses a proprietary query language for searching through logs and identifying security events. Alterix serves as a bridge between Sigma, Yara, IOCs, and CRYPTTECH's SIEM product, allowing security teams to leverage their existing Sigma and Yara rule sets, as well as IOCs, with the advanced capabilities of CRYPTTECH's SIEM product.
To use Alterix, you have two options for installation:
Alterix provides precompiled ZIP files for different platforms. You can download the appropriate ZIP file for your platform from the following links:
Once you have downloaded the ZIP file for your platform, extract it to a directory of your choice. The extracted files will include the Alterix executable.
Make sure the directory containing the Alterix executable is added to your system's PATH environment variable, so you can run Alterix from any location in the command line.
Please note that Alterix requires Go to be installed on your system. You can download and install Go from the official website: https://golang.org/dl/
Alternatively, you can use Docker to run Alterix in a containerized environment. Docker provides a convenient and consistent way to set up and use Alterix without worrying about dependencies or system configurations.
To install and set up Alterix using Docker, make sure you have Docker installed on your system. If you don't have it, you can download and install Docker from the official website: https://www.docker.com/get-started
Once Docker is installed, run the provided commands to create a Docker image for Alterix and start the container:
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Clone the Repository: If you haven't done so already, clone the Alterix repository to your local machine:
git clone https://github.com/mtnmunuklu/alterix.git
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Navigate to Docker Directory: Go to the docker directory inside the cloned repository:
cd tools/docker -
Build Docker Image and Start Container: Use the setup script to build the Docker image named alterix-image:
go run setup_docker_alterix.go -rules <rulesDirectory> -config <configFile> -output <outputDirectory>
This script will handle the building of the Docker image and starting the container for you.
That's it! You have successfully installed Alterix on your system. You can now proceed to the Usage section to learn how to use Alterix.
If you prefer to build Alterix from source, you can refer to the Build Instructions for detailed steps on how to build and install it on your platform.
To use Alterix, you will need Sigma rules, Yara rules, IOCs, and a configuration file for CRYPTTECH's SIEM product. Sigma rules are written in YAML format and can be found in the Sigma GitHub repository: https://github.com/Neo23x0/sigma/tree/master/rules. Yara rules are written in Yara's syntax and can be found in the Yara GitHub repository: https://github.com/VirusTotal/yara. IOCs are typically provided by threat intelligence platforms and can be formatted in various ways.
The configuration file for CRYPTTECH's SIEM product should be obtained from your system administrator.
To convert Sigma rules to the query language of CRYPTTECH's SIEM product in your local environment, follow these steps:
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Prepare Sigma rules and a configuration file.
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Convert Sigma rules to the query language of CRYPTTECH's SIEM product by running the following command:
./alterix -sigma -filepath <path-to-sigma-rules> -config <path-to-config> [-json] [-output <output-directory>]
or
./alterix -sigma -filecontent <content-to-sigma-rules> -configcontent <content-to-config> [-json] [-output <output-directory>]
To convert Yara rules to the query language of CRYPTTECH's SIEM product, follow these steps:
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Prepare Yara rules and a configuration file.
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Convert Yara rules to the query language of CRYPTTECH's SIEM product by running the following command:
./alterix -yara -filepath <path-to-yara-rules> -config <path-to-config> [-json] [-output <output-directory>]
or
./alterix -yara -filecontent <content-to-yara-rules> -configcontent <content-to-config> [-json] [-output <output-directory>]
To convert IOCs to the query language of CRYPTTECH's SIEM product, follow these steps:
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Prepare IOCs and a configuration file.
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Convert IOCs to the query language of CRYPTTECH's SIEM product by running the following command:
./alterix -ioc -filepath <path-to-iocs> -config <path-to-config> [-json] [-output <output-directory>]
or
./alterix -ioc -filecontent <content-to-iocs> -configcontent <content-to-config> [-json] [-output <output-directory>]
If you have installed Alterix using Docker, you can use the following command to run Alterix inside the Docker container:
docker exec alterix ./alterix -sigma -filepath <path-to-sigma-rules> -config <path-to-config> [-json] [-output <output-directory>]or
docker exec alterix ./alterix -sigma -filecontent <content-to-sigma-rules> -configcontent <content-to-config> [-json] [-output <output-directory>]For Yara rules:
docker exec alterix ./alterix -yara -filepath <path-to-yara-rules> -config <path-to-config> [-json] [-output <output-directory>]or
docker exec alterix ./alterix -yara -filecontent <content-to-yara-rules> -configcontent <content-to-config> [-json] [-output <output-directory>]For IOCs:
docker exec alterix ./alterix -ioc -filepath <path-to-iocs> -config <path-to-config> [-json] [-output <output-directory>]or
docker exec alterix ./alterix -ioc -filecontent <content-to-iocs> -configcontent <content-to-config> [-json] [-output <output-directory>]The filepath flag specifies the location of the Sigma, Yara, or IOC rules. This can be a file or directory path.
The filecontent flag allows you to provide the Base64-encoded content of Sigma, Yara, or IOC rules directly as a string.
The config flag specifies the location of the configuration file for CRYPTTECH's SIEM product.
The configcontent flag allows you to provide the Base64-encoded content of the configuration file directly as a string.
The json flag indicates that the output should be in JSON format.
The output flag specifies the directory where the output files should be written.
If the json flag is provided, Alterix will convert the Sigma, Yara, and IOC rules to JSON format. If the output flag is provided, Alterix will save the output files to the specified directory. If neither flag is provided, the output will be displayed in the console.
Check out a quick demo of Alterix in action:
Contributions to Alterix are welcome and encouraged! Please read the contribution guidelines before making any contributions to the project.
This project was inspired by the work of Bradley Kemp, whose original repository can be found here. We would like to thank Bradley for his valuable contribution to the community and for making his code available to us.
We also want to express our gratitude to the creators of the Sigma, Yara as their rule formats form the backbone of this project. More information about Sigma can be found here, about Yara here.
Additionally, we appreciate the efforts of the VirusTotal Yara parser project for their work on Yara parsing, which has been instrumental in the development of this tool.
Alterix is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for the full text of the license.