Back to Network Access Control

Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)

5 minutes 5 Questions

An Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) is a security solution that monitors network traffic in real-time, identifies malicious activities, and takes actions to prevent or mitigate threats. It usually operates inline, inspecting traffic as it passes through the network and reacting immediately to any potential threat. The IPS uses signatures, behavioral analysis, and anomaly detection techniques to identify malicious traffic and often provides detailed alerts to the network administrator for further action. Implementing an IPS helps maintain the security and integrity of the network by preventing breaches and unauthorized access, as well as ensuring regulatory compliance.

Guide: Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)

The title of the guide is Intrusion Prevention System (IPS).
What is IPS?
IPS is a network security/threat prevention technology that examines network traffic flows to detect and prevent vulnerability exploits which are malicious intents to attack a system and make them unavailable.
Why is it Important?
IPS is crucial as it detects and prevents attacks, allowing the network to operate smoothly. It also records information about intrusion attempts which can be used for future forensics. It’s a proactive security solution which ensures the safety of the network in real time.
How Does IPS Work?
IPS works by scanning the whole network traffic, using a database of known vulnerability exploits, which includes invalid data packets, or well defined exploit attempts. When it detects a potential exploit, the IPS takes necessary steps to prevent it from damaging the network system.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)
IPS questions typically become more manageble with a good grasp of the basic-concepts. Know the difference between IPS and IDS (Intrusion Detection System), focus on understanding the types of prevention methods it uses, and how IPS handles threats. It might also be helpful to understand how IPS fits into the wider context of network security and firewall systems.
Example Question: How does an IPS differ from an IDS?
Example Answer: An IPS actively prevents/block attacks whereas an IDS only detects and alerts.

Test mode:
Start practice test
CompTIA Network+ - Network Access Control Example Questions

Test your knowledge of Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)

Question 1

Which option is the primary advantage of implementing a Host-based Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) over a Network-based Intrusion Prevention System (NIPS)?

Correct Answer: Ability to protect individual assets

The primary advantage of implementing a Host-based Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) over a Network-based Intrusion Prevention System (NIPS) is the 'Ability to protect individual assets'. Host-based systems provide in-depth defense by monitoring individual host activity and protecting individual assets, while network-based systems focus more on network traffic. 'Protection against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks' and 'Real-time prevention of traffic-based attacks' are usually more appropriate for NIPS as they are designed to protect the entire network. As for 'Better performance in high-traffic networks', this is generally a benefit of NIPS over HIPS, as NIPS are designed to handle higher network traffic levels without significant performance degradation.

Question 2

An organization's web server is being flooded with suspicious traffic, causing it to slow down and become unresponsive. The organization's IT team suspects an intrusion attempt. Which IPS action should they choose to block this specific traffic without entirely taking the server offline?

Correct Answer: Inline IPS deployment

The best choice for the described scenario would be 'Inline IPS deployment'. This option operates directly on the traffic flow and has the capability to halt or block traffic depending on the conditions detected. This means it can effectively block the suspicious traffic flooding the server, reducing the chance of an intrusion attempt being successful without entirely taking the server offline, which is what the question requires. The other options are not ideal. 'Passive IPS deployment' simply monitors the traffic flow and would only issue an alert instead of taking active action to prevent the intrusion. The 'takedown' choice would mean taking the server offline, which does not align with the need to keep the server online that is indicated in the question. Lastly, 'Load balancing' would only distribute the traffic among multiple servers, which might dilute the impact but would not eliminate malicious activities.

Question 3

An IT administrator has been installing an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) on their organization's existing network but is concerned about false positives and negatives. Which of the following IPS tuning methods would help minimize these issues?

Correct Answer: Threshold tuning

The best method to minimize the issues of false negatives and positives in an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) is Threshold tuning. This technique involves adjusting the sensitivity of the IPS to strike a balance between detection and false alarm rates. Therefore, it helps to reduce the occurrence of both false positives (wrongly tagging legitimate activities as malicious) and false negatives (failing to detect actual intrusions). The other methods don't directly address the concern of false positives and negatives. Signature-based detection is a method that matches patterns of network traffic against a database of known attack patterns, which might not completely eliminate the possibility of false positives and negatives. Anomaly-based detection identifies intrusions by noting deviations from established patterns. While this could potentially reduce false negatives, it could increase false positives. Lastly, Stateful protocol analysis potentially could reduce false negatives/positives by considering context and state information in protocol traffic, but this relies heavily on the definitions and rules established, which doesn't eliminate the risk of false positives/negatives as threshold tuning can.

image/svg+xml
Go Premium

CompTIA Network+ Preparation Package (2024)

  • 1804 Superior-grade CompTIA Network+ practice questions.
  • Accelerated Mastery: Deep dive into critical topics to fast-track your mastery.
  • Unlock Effortless CompTIA Network+ preparation: 5 full exams.
  • 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed: Full refund with no questions if unsatisfied.
  • Bonus: If you upgrade now you get upgraded access to all courses
  • Risk-Free Decision: Start with a 7-day free trial - get premium features at no cost!
More Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) questions
4 questions (total)
Start 4 question test