Beelzebub

Beelzebub is a security platform that places realistic decoys and canary credentials to help teams detect attacker movement and investigate activity. It supports decoys for HTTP, SSH, Telnet, MCP, and other protocols. Specialized agents investigate decoy sessions for triage, threat hunting, malware analysis, incident response, and reporting. Each session yields a plain-English report of actions, techniques, and captured artifacts connected to that session. APIs and webhooks route structured events and investigation context to listed SIEM, SOAR, identity, firewall, and cloud integrations. The platform runs through Docker or Kubernetes in cloud and on-premises environments, with local model options for restricted or air-gapped evaluation. Teams can confine active testing to approved scope; exploitation requires human approval, and evidence is retained for review. The core framework is open source and can be self-hosted for free. The managed platform lists a 14-day trial, and enterprise customers can request a 30-day proof of concept. Community support includes GitHub issues and documentation; enterprise support includes 24/7 phone and chat.

Beelzebub pairs decoy deployment with session investigation and review controls. The free self-hosted core and managed-platform trial are distinct options, so choose based on deployment and support needs.

It suits security teams looking for decoys and investigation context across multiple protocols. Self-hosting is an option for teams that want the open-source core or local model evaluation.

Beelzebub is a deception platform that places realistic decoys and canary credentials to expose attacker movement. It fits security teams that can operate their own infrastructure and want investigation context attached to honeypot sessions. The free self-hosted core makes it a practical entry point, while managed and enterprise options suit organizations that need guided evaluation or around-the-clock support.

Overview

Beelzebub combines multi-layer decoys, credential lures and cloud decoys rather than focusing on one honeypot protocol. That breadth is useful when a team wants to watch activity across varied services, but the open-source offering is self-hosted, so deployment, maintenance and monitoring remain the customer's responsibility.

Key features

Decoys and session analysis

The platform supports decoys for HTTP, SSH, Telnet, MCP and other protocols. Each decoy session yields a plain-English forensic report covering attacker actions, observed techniques and captured artifacts, with a link back to the original session. Specialized agents address triage, threat hunting, malware analysis, incident response and reporting. This emphasis on interpretation can shorten the path from an alert to an analyst-ready narrative, although teams still need people to validate conclusions and decide on response.

Integrations and deployment

APIs and webhooks expose structured events and investigation context to workflows involving SIEM, SOAR, identity, firewall and cloud systems. The maker says Docker and Kubernetes deployments can run in cloud or on-premises environments. Local model options are intended for restricted or air-gapped evaluation, which makes the architecture more suitable for organizations that cannot send investigative data to an external service.

Controls and governance

Active testing can be constrained to an approved scope, and exploitation requires human approval while evidence is preserved for review. Those controls are important for teams that need a defensible boundary around deception activity. Findings can be mapped to MITRE ATT&CK, NIST CSF, ISO 27001, DORA and NIS2, helping security and compliance staff connect observations to established frameworks. The site also lists ISO 9001:2015 and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certifications.

Pricing

Open source

free covers the core framework with self-hosted deployment. It includes multi-layer decoys, credential lures and cloud decoys, making this the appropriate choice for teams with Linux or API operations capability that can provide their own hosting and support. The trade-off is operational ownership: community help is through GitHub issues and documentation rather than a guaranteed service desk.

Managed and enterprise options

The managed platform includes a 14-day free trial with enterprise features. Enterprise customers can request a 30-day proof of concept with guided evaluation and dedicated technical support. Enterprise support includes 24/7 phone and chat assistance. Pricing for these managed or enterprise arrangements is custom, so they are better suited to organizations that value vendor involvement over the zero-cost self-managed route.

Platforms

Beelzebub is offered for API, Linux and self-hosted environments. The stated deployment choices include Docker or Kubernetes across cloud and on-premises infrastructure, with local model options for restricted and air-gapped evaluations.

Who it's for

Choose Beelzebub if your security team wants broad protocol coverage, canary credentials and automated investigation narratives in one deception program. It is particularly relevant to teams integrating decoy telemetry into existing SIEM or SOAR processes, or to organizations that need evidence and framework mapping for incident and compliance review. It is less suitable for buyers seeking a fully managed, fixed-price product from the outset, since the free core requires self-hosting and managed pricing is custom.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Decoys span HTTP, SSH, Telnet, MCP and other protocols, supporting broader observation than a single-purpose honeypot.
• Pro: Session-linked reports and specialist investigation agents turn captured activity into reviewable context for triage and response.
• Pro: APIs, webhooks and integrations with SIEM, SOAR, identity, firewall and cloud tools fit established security operations.
• Pro: Scope controls, human approval for exploitation and preserved evidence provide governance for active testing.
• Con: The free offering is self-hosted, so your team carries infrastructure and day-to-day operating work.
• Con: Managed and enterprise pricing is custom, making budget comparison harder than the free core.
• Con: Community support is limited to documentation and GitHub issues unless you move to enterprise support.

Alternatives

Canarytokens is the better pick when you want free hosted tokens or broader endpoint platform coverage, including Android, iOS, web and Windows, without a free trial.

Honeytrap suits teams wanting a straightforward Apache-licensed, self-managed Linux honeypot rather than Beelzebub's investigation and integration layer.

OpenCanary is a fit for a lightweight open-source deployment on Linux or macOS when multi-protocol deception does not require Beelzebub's session agents.

Cowrie is the focused choice for a free, BSD-licensed SSH and Telnet honeypot on Linux.

Endlessh is appropriate when an SSH tarpit is enough and its default maximum of 4096 clients fits your use case.

Honeyd is a GPL-licensed distributed option for Linux, self-hosted or Windows environments.

MedPot is an open-source Linux alternative for teams comfortable running software that requires Go 1.17 or newer.

Dionaea is a GPLv2+ open-source honeypot for Linux when you want a conventional self-hosted option rather than Beelzebub's investigation workflow.

For a wider comparison, see Honeypot Software.

Verdict

Beelzebub is a strong choice for security teams that can self-host and want decoy telemetry accompanied by automated, session-specific investigation context. Its main reason to choose it is the combination of broad decoy coverage, forensic reporting and workflow integrations at a free core price. Look elsewhere if you need a simple single-protocol honeypot or a fully managed product with transparent published pricing and no infrastructure burden.