An intrusion prevention system (IPS) monitors network data packets for suspicious activity and sends alerts to administrators. There are four types of IPS and three detection methods, including signature-based, anomaly-based, and stateful protocol analysis. IPS can detect various security breaches, log events, and perform assigned actions.
An intrusion prevention system (IPS) monitors a network’s data packets for suspicious activity and attempts to take action using specific criteria. It works somewhat like an intrusion detection system that includes a firewall to prevent attacks. Sends an alert to a network or system administrator when something suspicious is detected, allowing the administrator to select an action to take when the event occurs. Intrusion prevention systems can monitor an entire network, wireless network protocols, network behavior and traffic on a single computer. Each IPS uses specific detection methods to analyze risks.
Depending on the IPS model and its characteristics, an intrusion prevention system can detect various security breaches. Some can detect malware spreading across a network, copying large files between two systems, and using suspicious activities such as port scanning. After the IPS checks the problem against its security rules, it logs each event and documents its frequency. If the network administrator has configured the IPS to perform a specific action based on the incident, the intrusion prevention system performs the assigned action. A basic alert is sent to the administrator so that he can respond appropriately or view more information about the IPS if needed.
There are four general types of intrusion prevention systems, including network-based, wireless, network behavior analysis, and host-based. A network-based IPS scans various network protocols and is commonly used on remote access servers, virtual private network servers, and routers. A wireless IPS monitors for suspicious activity on wireless networks and also looks for unauthorized wireless networks in an area. Network behavior analysis looks for threats that could disrupt a network or spread malware and is commonly used with private networks that connect to the Internet. A host-based IPS runs on a single system and looks for strange application processes, unusual network traffic to the host, file system changes, and configuration changes.
There are three detection methods that an intrusion prevention system can use, and many systems use a combination of all three. Signature-based detection works well for detecting known threats by comparing an event to an already documented signature to determine if a security breach has occurred. Anomaly-based detection looks for activity that is anomalous from normal events occurring on a system or network and is especially useful for identifying unknown threats. Stateful protocol analysis looks for activity that goes against how a specific protocol is normally used.
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