Documents
DaemonEye Product Requirements Document
DaemonEye Product Requirements Document
Type
External
Status
Published
Created
Mar 8, 2026
Updated
Apr 3, 2026
Updated by
Dosu Bot

AI summary
DaemonEye is a stealth observability platform for defenders in restricted or air-gapped environments. It provides silent, sovereign observability without cloud connectivity, aiming to replace traditional EDR/XDR tools. Key features include full process and network visibility,
forensic traceability, and human-controlled escalation, all with a zero-egress telemetry model and a proxy tree architecture for scalability. It offers Business and Enterprise paid tiers, along with a free Community edition, emphasizing data sovereignty, stealth, and audit integrity.

1. Vision#

DaemonEye provides silent, sovereign observability for defenders in restricted or air-gapped environments. It enables organizations to **watch from the shadows—**tracing attacker behavior across systems without tipping off the adversary. Every endpoint becomes a stealth honeypot; every process chain a forensic record.

"We watch from the shadows, and our eyes never close."

Core Philosophy#

  • No cloud, no leaks: All telemetry stays under customer control.
  • Observe, don't disrupt: Human-in-the-loop tracing and containment.
  • Audit, don't guess: Every action is signed and verifiable.
  • Local-first architecture: Works entirely offline or within enclaves.

2. Problem Statement#

Traditional EDR/XDR tools depend on continuous connectivity, vendor-controlled cloud analytics, and active remediation logic. These traits make them unusable in classified, air-gapped, or
compliance-restricted environments.
Organizations need a **quiet, controlled hunt and response capability **that delivers:

  • Full process and network visibility across enclaves.
  • Forensic traceability with cryptographic integrity.
  • Human-controlled escalation without automated disruption.
    DaemonEye fills this gap by replacing external telemetry with internal trust --- sovereign detection and forensics under the operator's control.

3. Product Goals#

  1. Deliver continuous local observability of processes and network activity.
  2. Enable on-demand, stealth tracing of suspicious lineages.
  3. Maintain a zero-egress telemetry model (customer sees all, shares nothing).
  4. Scale through a proxy tree architecture, not a cloud backend.
  5. Preserve forensic fidelity with signed audit chains.
  6. Empower analysts to reconstruct attacker movement across hosts.
  7. Operate fully within air-gapped or restricted environments.

4. Target Users & Environments#

  • Defense, intelligence, and research networks.
  • Critical infrastructure and industrial control systems.
  • Incident response teams in sovereign or isolated environments.
  • Red/blue exercises requiring covert visibility.

5. Key Differentiators#

**Domain****DaemonEye Advantage**
**Data Sovereignty**No outbound telemetry; all operations within customer enclave.
**Stealth Operation**Silent rules and trace commands undetectable to adversaries.
**Focused Forensics**Trace-by-lineage, not bulk telemetry dumps.
**Scalable Architecture**Fanout-style proxy tree (Agents → Proxies → Security Center).
**Audit Integrity**Ed25519-signed logs with immutable ledger.
**Offline Operation**Fully functional in disconnected or classified environments.
## 6. Architecture Overview ### Components - **Agent (Procmond)** --- Captures process, file, and network metadata locally. - **Proxy Node (PX)** --- Store-and-forward buffer for agents; batches and compresses data to Security Center. - **Security Center (SC)** --- Central management and correlation point. Runs the rule engine, handles trace commands, and aggregates audit logs. ### Communication Model - **mTLS-only connections** using customer-owned certificates. - **Store-and-forward WAL design:** agents never push to the internet. - **Cross-host tracing:** SC links process chains across hosts using shared trace IDs. ## 7. Functional Requirements ### Core 1. Local process and connection collection (PID, PPID, cmdline, hash, IP tuples). 2. Rule engine for heuristic detections (SQL-based queries). 3. TraceCommand: focused tracing on process lineage upon trigger. 4. Signed audit ledger with per-event verification. 5. Multi-proxy store-and-forward architecture for scale. 6. Security Center web UI for alerts, traces, and forensic timeline. 7. Export capability for signed forensic packages. ### Advanced (Enterprise) 1. Federation across multiple Security Centers. 2. Kernel-level telemetry (eBPF, ETW, EndpointSecurity). 3. Behavioral analytics and drift correlation. 4. Compliance mapping (NIST, ISO, CIS). 5. STIX/TAXII threat intel exchange (offline sync). 6. SSO/LDAP and advanced RBAC. ## 8. Licensing Model DaemonEye offers **two paid tiers and a community edition **(non-commercial DIY build).
**Tier****Use Case****Features****Pricing (Baseline)**
**Business**Single Security Center, moderate fleetGUI, proxy tree, curated rule packs, connectors\~\$499/site (launch baseline) + brand buffer (+25%)
**Enterprise**Multi-site federation, regulated environmentsAll Business features + federation, kernel telemetry, compliance, SSO, SLA support\~\$8,000 baseline (+30% buffer) negotiable
**Community (Open Core)**Non-commercial DIYAgent, CLI rule engine, single nodeFree / Apache 2.0
### Notes - Community edition is not a paid tier; it serves ecosystem and visibility goals. - Licensing remains perpetual (no subscription required). Optional annual maintenance (updates/support) may be offered at \~25% of the base price. - Each tier enforces scale and feature boundaries (number of endpoints, federation, compliance modules). ## 9. MVP Deliverables 1. Linux agent with eBPF + /proc fallback collection. 2. Proxy node with WAL, compression, and replay. 3. Security Center backend + minimal UI. 4. TraceCommand and audit signing implementation. 5. Apache→bash→ssh cross-host trace demo. 6. Forensic export tool. 7. Documentation and test harness. ## 10. Non-Functional Requirements
**Category****Target**
**Performance**\<5% CPU utilization, \<100 MB RAM per host.
**Latency**\<1s event propagation within enclave.
**Scalability**500 agents per proxy node; horizontal scaling supported.
**Security**mTLS, customer PKI, signed rule packs.
**Auditability**All operator actions signed and recorded.
**Availability**Offline survivability via WAL; resilient to link outages.
## 11. Risks & Mitigations
**Risk****Mitigation**
Government or large buyers purchase Business tierEnforce scale & feature caps contractually; define clear upgrade triggers.
Brand unfamiliarityEarly-adopter discount in exchange for references; publish transparent design and audits.
Support overhead25% buffer baked into pricing; optional paid support add-on.
Customer data sensitivityZero-egress policy and cryptographic audit chain.
Feature creepStrict MVP roadmap, modular design.
## 12. Roadmap Snapshot **Phase 1 --- Shadow-Hunt MVP (Q1)**: Agent, Proxy, SC, tracing demo. **Phase 2 --- Business (Q2)**: GUI, proxy scaling, rule packs, connectors. **Phase 3 --- Enterprise (Q3-Q4)**: Kernel telemetry, federation, compliance modules. ## 13. Messaging & Positioning
**Tier****Message**
**Community**"Build your own observability. We give you the tools."
**Business**"Professional-grade monitoring you can actually run offline."
**Enterprise**"Sovereign observability for nations, defense, and critical infrastructure."
## 14. Summary DaemonEye is not an antivirus, a telemetry feed, or a cloud service. It is a **stealth observability platform** designed for defenders who can't rely on anyone else. Two paid tiers keep pricing simple and fair, while a community edition maintains transparency and trust. **Our promise:** You own the eyes, you control the data, and nothing leaves your walls.