Introduction
In the age of technological advancement and data sensitivity, it is crucial to enhance effective cybersecurity programs that could be used to thwart outside-agency attacks on the company's networks. It remains significantly vital to note that a breach in data security could cost the business of its competitive advantage, reputation, and most importantly, the existence. Effective enhancement of cyber security requires the use of various methods and approaches. One of the methods that have proven a success and has received widespread usage especially in large corporations is the Intrusion Prevention System (IPS). The IPS are threat prevention or a network security system technology that assess the traffic flow not only to detect but also prevent areas of vulnerability that could be exploited by hackers.
How the IPS Works
The IPS works in conjunction with the firewall to act as another layer of protection against malicious activity. It is located in-line, and helps in the analysis and performing automated actions on networks located in traffic flow (Patel et al., 2013). After detecting malware, the IPS responds by alerting administrators, halting traffic from malicious sources, and dropping dangerous packets. However, it is crucial to create an efficient IPS that will not hinder the proper performance of the network. The systems must also work accurately and quickly in a bid to catch malicious activity in real time. The IPS has several means of detecting a cyber-security concern. The two methods commonly utilized include signature-based detection and statistical anomaly-based detection (Kenkre, Pai, & Colaco, 2015). The signature-based detection utilizes specific patterns, for instance, the byte sequence, as a method of detecting malware. On the other hand, the statistical anomaly-based detection utilizes an ideal template to detect deviations that might signify the presence of a malware (Kumar & Sangwan, 2012).
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Type of IPS
The critical aspect of the IPS is that it can be used to detect and prevent cyber-security concerns. An enterprise has an option in developing four different types of the same system that include the network based, wireless, network behavior, and host-based.
Network-based IPS
The company will utilize the network-based IPS in a bid to protect the computer network. It will assist the company in protecting a host of factors including the integrity, confidentiality, and the availability of a particular computer network. It will protect the network system from threats through means such as the denial of service and the failure to authorize usage. It mainly does this by assessing the protocol activity (Kenkre, Pai, & Colaco, 2015). The network-based IPS enables the network to become intelligent which allows it to differentiate between good and bad traffic. As such, this will allow it to readily detect a host of malware including Trojans, viruses, worms, and other polymorphic threats.
Wireless IPS
The wireless IPS can also be used to protect the company from a host of cyber-security issues. However, its focus is to protect the company from threats targeting the wireless network of the company. It does this by focusing on wireless threats and any rogue access points. It also takes advantage of a known, preauthorized template to detect discrepancies in the system. A good example of wireless service in a company is the use of WIFI network which ensures that devices use the same source of internet data to connect to the internet. However, this can be a source of a target by hackers who can utilize the network to acquire valuable information that belongs to the company. Therefore, to enhance a secured network, the company must install the wireless IPS as part of its protection measures which will enable wireless platforms such as WIFI connection to remain safe.
Network Behavior IPS
Here, the main focus will be to assess the behavior of the network. It uses a system that records the normal operation of the network including the patterns, shapes, and movement. Once this has been fed to its database, it will use it as a template against the detection of abnormally behaving networks. It primarily focuses on assessing the normalcy and restoring any deviations detected. However, this might require a period of time to ensure that the system of protection becomes configured and acclimatized to what should be considered as right or correct (Patel et al., 2013). Although it can identify new threats, it could also be prone to issues during the training session when a malicious behavior is recorded as a normal one.
Host-based IPS
The host-based IPS comes in the form of installed software that in turn protects just a single computer. It is a system employed to protect the most critical information in a computer system against malware that comes in different forms. It protects the computer from both the known and the unknown threats. Other than the computers, it can also be utilized in workstations and servers (Wright, 2013). An organization can effectively utilize when guarding the most sensitive information such as patents, copyrights, competitive advantage, secret recipes, and financial data among others.
Conclusion
The IPS is threat prevention or a network security system technology that assess the traffic flow not only to detect but also prevent areas of vulnerability that could be exploited by hackers. It helps in the analysis and performing automated actions on networks located in traffic flow. After detecting malware, the IPS responds by alerting administrators, halting traffic from malicious sources, and dropping dangerous packets. The four different types of IPS that could effectively protect an organization include network-based, wireless, network behavior, and the host-based all of which have different modes of protection.
References
Kenkre, P. S., Pai, A., & Colaco, L. (2015). Real-time intrusion detection and prevention system. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Frontiers of Intelligent Computing: Theory and Applications (FICTA) 2014 (pp. 405-411). Springer, Cham.
Kumar, V., & Sangwan, O. P. (2012). Signature-based intrusion detection system using SNORT. International Journal of Computer Applications & Information Technology, 1(3), 35-41.
Patel, A., Taghavi, M., Bakhtiyari, K., & JúNior, J. C. (2013). An intrusion detection and prevention system in cloud computing: A systematic review. Journal of network and computer applications, 36(1), 25-41.
Wright, C. C. (2013). U.S. Patent No. 8,607,340. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
