What is an intrusion prevention system (IPS)?

With so many access points on a typical business network, it is critical to have a method to monitor for signals of potential breaches, accidents, and immediate threats. Today's network threats are becoming more sophisticated and capable of infiltrating even the most robust security solutions.

Intrusion prevention system (IPS)

An intrusion prevention system (IPS) is a type of network security that aims to detect and prevent dangerous attacks. IPS continuously monitors the network for potential harmful incidents and collects data. To avert future attacks, the IPS sends these events to system administrators and takes preventative measures such as shutting access points and configuring firewalls. IPS solutions can also detect corporate security policies' flaws, discouraging employees and network visitors from violating the rules.

Process

The IPS performs real-time packet inspection, thoroughly inspecting every packet that traverses the network. An IPS are typically installed inline, between the source and destination of network traffic, right behind the firewall.

When an intrusion detection system identifies malicious activity, it takes various automated measures. Some intrusion prevention systems additionally employ a "honeypot," or decoy high-value data, to attract attackers and prevent them from achieving their goals. If any malicious or suspicious packets are found, the IPS will take one of the following actions:

• Terminate the exploited TCP session and disable the offending source IP address or user account from accessing any application, target hosts, or other network resources in an unethical manner.

• Reprogram or reconfigure the firewall to prevent a similar attack from occurring again in the future.

• Any harmful content on the network after an attack should be removed or replaced. This is accomplished by repackaging payloads, eliminating header information, and removing malicious attachments from file or email servers.

Prevention techniques

Intrusion prevention systems use a variety of approaches to detect threats, including:

• The signature-based approach compares the activity to well-known threat signatures. The drawback of this technology is that it can only stop already detected threats and cannot detect new ones.

• The anomaly-based method detects anomalous behavior by comparing random samples of network activity to a baseline standard. Although it is more robust than signature-based monitoring, it can occasionally yield false positives. Some newer, more complex intrusion prevention systems employ artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to complement anomaly-based monitoring.

• Policy-based monitoring is less widespread than signature-based or anomaly-based monitoring. It enforces the enterprise's security policies and prohibits behavior that violates those standards. Setting up and configuring security policies is the responsibility of an administrator.

Classification

There are various types of IPS, each serving a slightly different purpose:

• Network-based intrusion prevention systems (NIPS) analyze protocol activity to monitor the entire network for suspicious traffic.

• Host-based intrusion prevention systems (HIPS) are built-in software packages that monitor a single host for suspicious behavior by scanning events within that host.

• Wireless intrusion prevention systems (WIPS) analyze wireless networking protocols to monitor a wireless network for suspicious traffic.

• Network behavior analysis (NBA) monitors network data to detect threats that generate anomalous traffic patterns, such as DDoS, specific types of malware, and policy violations.

Benefits

An intrusion protection system provides numerous advantages:

Additional security: An IPS works with other security solutions and can detect dangers that other solutions cannot. This is true for systems that use anomaly-based detection. It also delivers enhanced application security due to high application awareness.

Efficiency enhancement for other security controls: An IPS reduces the workload for other security devices and controls by filtering out harmful traffic before it reaches them, enabling those measures to operate more effectively.

Compliance: An IPS satisfies many compliance standards imposed by PCI DSS, HIPAA, and other regulations. It also offers valuable auditing data.

Customization: An IPS can be configured with customized security policies to give security controls specific to the enterprise.

Time savings: Because an IPS is mainly automated, it requires less time investment from IT personnel.

IPS vs. IDS

The primary distinction between IPS and IDS (intrusion detection systems) is the action taken when a possible event is detected.

• Intrusion prevention systems govern network access and safeguard it from abuse and attack. These systems are intended to monitor intrusion data and take appropriate action to prevent an attack.

• Intrusion detection systems are not intended to prevent attacks; they monitor the network and notify system administrators whenever a potential threat is discovered.