The right cyber security solution for your business depends on your specific data and information technology needs. An IDS is good at raising the alarm when something goes wrong but doesn't stop the attack in real time. An IPS works differently, denying network traffic that is known to represent security threats or violate system security policies. Some systems combine IDS and IPS into a single solution.
Detection
In the constant digital tug-of-war, detection plays a crucial role. The sentinels are intrusion detection systems and intrusion prevention systems. IDS are watchful guardians, monitoring traffic for suspicious activity like malware signatures or port scans. They sound the alarm, alerting administrators to potential threats. But IPS takes it a step further, acting as digital bouncers. Upon detecting a threat, they can block malicious traffic, shield vulnerable systems, and even launch countermeasures, stopping the attack. IDS and IPS are vital tools, working together to create a layered defense against the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats.
A network intrusion detection system is a software application or hardware device that monitors incoming and outgoing data packets for signs of malicious activity. It assesses the network for things like open ports, malware signatures and other indicators of compromise and then alerts a security professional of suspicious activity. Some IDS detect threats by comparing system files against a known malware set. Others analyze the behavior of users to identify malicious intent. While IDS products can alert you of potential attacks, they cannot do anything to stop them.
Response
An IDS is a software application or hardware device that monitors network activity for threats and policy violations. It identifies anomalous behavior that may indicate an attack and alerts the administrator to take action. IDS solutions are passive, so they only report when something is detected, but some can also respond upon discovery, known as intrusion prevention systems (IPS). An IPS monitors traffic and prevents packet delivery based on what it knows to be malicious activity. It scans network packets and compares them to a database of known attacks. This enables the solution to quickly identify suspicious activity and block it from entering the network. IPSs are typically deployed at the perimeter of networks or in the firewalls of critical servers, routers and remote access servers.
Different types of IPS solutions exist, including network-based, host-based and application protocol-based. A network-based IPS (NIDS) monitors a whole network, while a host-based IPS (HIDS) is deployed on individual hosts. A HIDS can track files and compare them to snapshots, and it can also detect running processes and identify configuration changes. IPS can terminate suspicious TCP sessions and reconfigure the firewall to avoid future similar attacks, and it can even remove threatening content from the network following an incident. However, IPS can create false positives, so tuning the system to prevent bogus activity from slowing down the network for no reason is important.
Prevention
An IPS monitors the traffic that passes through your network and blocks data packets when it detects unusual or malicious activity. This prevents hackers from stealing information, carrying out a denial of service attack, performing reconnaissance for future episodes or spreading malware. Unlike IDS software that sits on your host and looks for suspicious behavior, an IPS tool sits inline (i.e., directly in the traffic path) and is often behind a firewall. An IPS can use signature-based detection, which compares incoming data against the signatures of known threats; anomaly-based, which searches for unexpected network behavior; or policy-based, which judges the data packets against security policies that administrators set in advance.
As its name suggests, an IPS can also help fend off distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, worms, viruses and exploits, including zero-day exploits. However, IPS tools are resource-intensive and can bog down your network when busy, slowing your business operations. IPS tools can also be vulnerable to false positives, which generate incorrect suspicious activity reports. This can result in your network being shut down for no reason, damaging your company's reputation and impacting productivity. A properly configured IPS will avoid false positives, but this task is challenging. Keeping your system up-to-date is critical to reduce vulnerabilities.
Impact
An IDS system monitors traffic and looks for malicious threats or policy violations. These threats and breaches are then collected, analyzed and reported using a security information and event management (SIEM) system. Some intrusion detection systems are configured to react to the detected threat upon discovery, known as intrusion prevention systems (IPS). There are two broad categories of IDS: network-based and host-based. The distinction speaks to where the sensors for these systems are placed: network-based IDSs are positioned at strategic points in your network infrastructure, such as firewalls, to monitor incoming and outgoing traffic. Host-based IDSs, on the other hand, are deployed at endpoints on your network to monitor activity at those hosts. While both kinds of IDS are incredibly useful in detecting and reporting suspicious activity, they cannot prevent attacks to your IT systems.
Cybersec Conclusion
As cybersecurity experts note, "IDS can detect traffic that is considered universally malicious or noteworthy, i.e., phishing attacks and exploits, port scans and packet injections." This kind of activity can be stopped with an IPS solution, which can block users or traffic based on the detected threat and reconfigure your network security settings to prevent further incidents.
An IPS is positioned between the firewall and the rest of your network to stop threats without a system administrator's intervention. This is essential for an ideal information technology system.
