In the battle against cyber threats, a robust arsenal of tools is essential. Firewalls act as gatekeepers, blocking unauthorized traffic from infiltrating your network. Spam filters shield your inbox from unwanted emails, while antimalware tools safeguard your endpoints from malicious software. These defenses are standard across organizations of all sizes and industries. Equally critical is the network intrusion detection system (IDS), a nearly ubiquitous security measure. Here’s why a network IDS is indispensable for protecting your network and securing your data.
What Is an IDS?
So, what does an IDS do? The NIST definition for IDS describes it is a security service that monitors and analyzes network or system events for the purpose of finding, and providing real-time or near real-time warning of, attempts to access system resources in an unauthorized manner.
Unlike a firewall, which sits at the perimeter and acts as a gatekeeper to monitor network traffic and determine if it should be allowed into the network or endpoint at all, an IDS focuses on the traffic that is on the internal network to identify any suspicious or malicious activity. This allows an IDS to detect attacks that slip past the firewall, as well as attacks originating from within the network.
Most IDS solutions employ a dual approach to threat detection. Signature-based detection compares network traffic against a database of known attack patterns, while anomaly-based detection identifies unusual or significantly deviant behavior from the norm. This combination ensures a comprehensive defense against potential threats.
Why You Need Network IDS
No firewall is foolproof, and no network is impenetrable. Attackers continuously develop new exploits and attack techniques designed to circumvent your defenses. Many attacks leverage other malware or social engineering to obtain user credentials granting them access to your network and data. A network intrusion detection system (NIDS) is crucial for network security as it enables you to detect and respond to malicious traffic.
The primary advantage of an IDS lies in its ability to immediately alert IT to potential attacks or network intrusions, enabling a proactive defense. A network IDS continuously monitors all inbound, outbound, and internal traffic, analyzing data flows between systems within the network. When suspicious activity or recognized threats are detected, the IDS triggers immediate alerts, empowering the IT team to respond swiftly, investigate thoroughly, and take decisive action to block or mitigate an attack before it causes damage.
Learn More: Alert Logic Network IDS
Taking Action on Network IDS Alerts
False positives
Generally, signature-based threat detection is accurate. But when it comes to anomaly-based detection and identifying potentially suspicious or malicious activity, false positives are not uncommon. A false positive is when the network IDS flags normal activities or legitimate traffic as suspicious or malicious. The ISD needs to have a solid baseline of what normal traffic looks like and be tuned to ignore legitimate or allowed traffic.
False negatives
On the other side of the spectrum, you also face a risk that suspicious or malicious activity will not be detected 100% of the time. This is particularly an issue with zero-day attacks or emerging threats that rely on new exploits and attack techniques the IDS is not familiar with.
Security experts
With a network IDS, the biggest challenge — aside from false negatives and false positives — can be the sheer volume of alerts. When operating a network IDS, it’s critical your security personnel have the knowledge and skills to weed out false alarms and identify suspicious or malicious traffic the NIDS might have missed.
Attacks don’t have work hours — they occur around the clock. You need access to a security operations center (SOC) with experts who can monitor alerts and analyze log data to identify and prioritize potential attacks and take the appropriate action to block the traffic or thwart the attack.
A network IDS is just one important element of an overall security strategy within a managed detection and response (MDR) solution. With Fortra XDR and Fortra’s Alert Logic MDR, your comprehensive coverage includes our industry-leading network IDS across hybrid, cloud, and on-premises environments. Our always-on threat monitoring means we can detect network faster that can lead to shorter attacker dwell time and less damage to your environment.
