Facyber Series: Introduction, Pros and Cons of Intrusion Detection System (IDS)

In our contemporary time, there is no question that IT internet security is a vital aspect of ensuring that your business is secured against malicious attacks. For those who are not still aware, once your whole system goes online, you leave it vulnerable to attacks in the real world.

Interestingly, the solution to protect your digitalware is modest that it is easy to ignore. A simple installation of a security software such as a firewall or an antivirus could be all that you need.

Intrusion detection system is a kind of security management which offers and manages online security for networks and computer systems. Intrusion detection system is a kind of security management, like another protection system for networks and computers. An intrusion detection (ID) gathers and investigates information from several areas of networks and computers to detect possible security breaks with both intrusions – attacks from outside the business – and exploitations.

This is usually supported with vulnerability assessment. Vulnerability assessment is designated as a scanning procedure and it includes technology intended to track the security of networks and computer systems.

Intrusion detection system works to:

• Assess and evaluate system and user activities
• Research system vulnerabilities and configurations
• Evaluate system and file integrity
• Identify and stop network intrusions
• Implement role antivirus, anti-spyware management
• Identify configurations typical of attacks
• Check abnormal activity patterns
• Monitor user policy violations

ID systems have increased because of growing responses, due to several attacks on major networks and sites, such as the White House-Pentagon, NATO, and the U.S. Defence Department. The cleverness of impostors towards technology has made the internet and computer security ever tougher.

Moreover, already tested procedures are easily available over the web demanding less technical skill to implement on targets.

The Intrusion detection system is planned to keep the system operational and active. The program examines for potential attackers from the external and then ensures they are impotent to run. They are indeed an essential module of internet security.

Basically an IDS performs as a research device which ensures that the system is not hacked by malicious attackers. These are systems which research data and also referee whether the data is safe or malicious. If the data is malicious, then the data covering the information will be prohibited and is voided from entering the system. An IDS functions as a gatekeeper between the company’s internal network and the outside world.

IDS can be specified as management system for both networks and computers. It is combination of software applications and architected devices with the aim of identifying violation of policies and malicious activities and generates report on that. Intrusion detection system can track any kind of abnormal, abusive or malicious activity that takes places in computer or network. It keeps track log of every single abusive or malicious activity. These logs are very essential for security professionals to set any rules or to take any steps against these activities. The logs kept by IDS can be used against a user as a proof to take any legitimate action.

Generally, intrusion detection systems often generate incorrect report of malicious activity. This leads to ignore the real malicious activity. One of the main features of most intrusion detection system is that they work upon packets which are encrypted.  To analyze these encrypted packets is complicated.

It functions in real-time, so IDS must be very thorough in carrying out its data research without causing lots of latency, i.e., introducing delay in information flow. Company staff who depend on the company’s system like the IT department will be highly affected if the system is taking much time to operate. This means that the IDS must be fast even when researching several other internal programs which may affect the functions and the speed of the systems.

IDS is essential for any network and company. Not only that it can protect data, but it can also enhance and reduce the time duration needed for the network to start up. Your kind of network and budget are the basis of selecting what intrusion detection system best fits.

IDS Pro

• Response capabilities: Though they probably will be of limited use, you may require allowing some of the response aspects of the IDS. For example, they can be organized to end a user session that disrupts policy. Definitely, you must consider the threats of taking this step, as you may unintentionally end a lawful user session. Though, in some cases, it can be a key tool to avoid harm to the network.
• Visibility:An IDS offers a clear view of what is going on your computer or network. It is a valuable basis of information about malicious or suspicious network traffic. There are some useful options to an IDS which enable you to monitor network traffic in depth.
• Tracking of virus transmission:As soon as virus first hits your network system, an IDS will inform which mechanisms it compromised, as well as how it is spreading through the network system to infect other mechanisms. This can be much helpful in stopping or slowing a virus’s growth and ensuring you remove it.
• Defence: An Intrusion detection system adds a defence layer to your security profile, offering a valuable backstop to some of your other security procedures.
• Evidence:An appropriately configured IDS can generate data that can form the basis for a criminal or civil case against someone who exploits your network.

IDS Cons

• More maintenance:Unluckily, an Intrusion detection system does not replace a virus scan, firewall or any other security measure. Therefore, when you install it, it will need extra maintenance effort and will not remove much, if any, of the present problem.
• Personnel requirements: Managing an IDS needs qualified personnel. The less qualified your personnel are, the more duration they will spend responding to false positives. So you will be making not only more work for the IT department to manage but more tough work in some cases.
• False positives: IDSs are known for situation of false positives, i.e., sounding the alert when nothing is amiss. Though you can pull the situations to decrease the number of false positives, you’ll never entirely remove the requirement to respond to false positives.
• False negatives:Intrusion detection systems can also also fail to detect intrusions. Day by day technologies are improving, and IDSs may not necessarily catch everything. This means, it is not all the systems you need to be protected. You need to use more solutions.

This piece was contributed by First Atlantic Cybersecurity Institute (Facyber). You can register for Facyber today and take any of the Certificate, Diploma and Nanodegree programs on Cybersecurity Policy, Technology, Management, Forensics and Intelligence. The three-month Certificate programs begin at $200.