Defensia Database Security vs Free SQL Server Compliance Benchmark Tool

Defensia Database Security detects database ports exposed to the network and monitors authentication failures that may indicate brute-force attacks. Its agent monitors authentication logs for MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL and MongoDB, and checks Redis port exposure. At startup, it checks ports 3306, 5432, 27017 and 6379; a port bound to 0.0.0.0 creates a dashboard advisory. Repeated authentication failures can trigger IP blocking through iptables or nftables. The agent runs as a systemd service and detects MySQL, PostgreSQL and MongoDB log files automatically. It requires Linux kernel 4.x or newer, root or sudo access, and HTTPS access to the Defensia panel. Deployment options include Docker, Docker Swarm and Kubernetes, with a Helm chart for Kubernetes. The dashboard shows attack timelines, blocked IPs and port advisories. Free is free, with one server, 2,000 events/month, three days of log retention and monitor mode only. Pro is €9 a month, with unlimited servers and events and 90 days of retention.

Free SQL Server Compliance Benchmark Tool assesses SQL Server security and configuration against established best practices. It covers on-premises SQL Server installations and Azure SQL Managed Instances, with more than 80 checks across platform configuration, surface area reduction, authentication, encryption, and auditing. The tool can generate a SQL Server Security Compliance Benchmark output in PDF format. It uses core capabilities of the XIA Configuration compliance benchmarking platform and offers a trial of SQL Server documentation functionality found in XIA Configuration Express. The tool is free; requesting it requires a full name and business email address. CENTREL, the company behind the tool, is headquartered in Oxford, United Kingdom, and was founded in 2008. CENTREL says its technical support staff are based in the UK and that remote support requires the customer's explicit consent, using tools such as TeamViewer and Microsoft Teams. The stated deployment is hybrid, and cloud databases and compliance templates are listed as supported.