Clear DefinitionsIntrusion Detection System (IDS)
1 min read
Pronunciation
[in-troo-zhuhn dih-tek-shun sis-təm]
Analogy
Like a burglar alarm that listens for window breaks and motion inside a building and notifies security when triggered.
Definition
A monitoring system that analyzes network traffic, system logs, and application behavior to detect suspicious patterns or known attack signatures, issuing alerts for potential security breaches.
Key Points Intro
IDS tools identify potential intrusions by inspecting traffic and event logs against rules or anomaly models.
Key Points
Signature-based: Matches known attack patterns (e.g., Snort rules).
Anomaly-based: Learns normal behavior and flags deviations.
Alerting: Sends notifications to SOC or SIEM.
Passive monitoring: Does not block traffic, only observes.
Example
Technical Deep Dive
IDS sensors capture packets via libpcap, apply rule engines or machine learning classifiers, and generate standardized alerts (e.g., CEF, syslog). Central manager correlates events, enriches with threat intelligence, and escalates via ticketing integrations.
Security Warning
High false-positive rates can lead to alert fatigue; regularly tune rules and thresholds.
Caveat
IDS cannot block attacks; pair with IPS or firewalls for active defense.
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