Cybersecurity should be a vital part of any business regardless of industry, and various tools and systems work together to provide security for industrial assets. With the increase in IT/OT convergence, the effects of network flows have become more apparent outside digital systems. Intrusion detection and intrusion prevention systems fall under critical tools for safeguarding IT and OT.
Often, comparisons like IDS vs IPS vs Firewalls are made to get a full picture of what these resources do and how they can be deployed, but in this blog post, our spotlight will be on the first two. In this post, key differences between both IDS and IPS will be explored, and we’ll see how they also complement each other.
What Is the Difference Between an IDS and an IPS?
We must define both terms to identify the difference between IDS and IPS as follows:
What is an IDS?
An intrusion detection system is a tool that monitors network traffic and devices to identify malicious or suspicious activities that could pose threats to the entire network. It then sends an alert to the appropriate central system. An IDS often does not work as an independent system because, as a tool, it is not equipped to eliminate threats. Its primary focus is to analyze network patterns and recognize deviations from the regular patterns.
Although an IDS cannot eliminate malicious or suspicious activities or threats on its own, it plays a crucial role in the industrial network security system by promptly alerting a centralized security tool of any anomaly.
Intrusion detection systems (IDSs) can be network-attached hardware devices or software applications deployed on endpoints. Certain IDS systems are also offered as cloud services.
What is an IPS?
An intrusion prevention system (IPS) is a network security tool that continually monitors network traffic for suspicious and malicious activity and takes action to prevent such suspicious activity. Unlike an intrusion detection system, an IPS can prevent suspicious activity by alerting the security team, blocking dangerous connections, alerting other security tools, or removing malicious actors. An IPS contributes to the overall critical infrastructure resilience by terminating malicious activities, which allows IT teams to focus on more complex cybersecurity threats.
Why Would You Choose an IDS Over IPS?
Choosing between an IDS and an IPS is a matter of company preference and need, but there are some differences and similarities to highlight. These similarities and differences can now highlight why some experts would use intrusion detection rather than an intrusion prevention system.
Differences Between IDS and IPS
- Response: In an IDS vs IPS comparison, one significant difference noticed is that IDS simply observes while IPS is equipped to take action.
- False positives: both tools often trigger false positives, but their effects differ. An IDS only alerts your security team, but an IPS can take action that shuts down your entire network.
- Protection: An IPS offers more protection in cases of actual threats by taking necessary actions, but an IPS shifts the responsibility of action to your IT team.
- Configuration: IDS generally works in inline mode and can be configured to take log activity when they detect suspicious activities. IPS is usually placed behind the firewall but configured to act as an end host or be in inline mode.
Similarities between IDS and IPS
- Detection techniques: IDS and IPS use signature and anomaly detection techniques to identify threats.
- Notifications: IDS and IPS send notifications to control centers and security teams when they identify any suspicious activity.
- Versatility: They can be deployed through hardware or software and can function anywhere across a company’s industrial cybersecurity network.
- Built for modern security: IPS and IDS are built to fit with modern security measures, hence their proliferation in software and hardware. They are great IT/OT convergence security tools for modern companies.
- Automation: both IPS and IDS leverage automation technology for effectiveness. This relieves IT experts to focus on other aspects of industrial cybersecurity.
- Compliance: both tools help companies meet compliance measures and adhere to regulations and guidelines such as the NIST SP 800-94.
As mentioned earlier, your preference and needs can determine what option you choose. If you run an operation where unnecessary disruptions from false alarms can negatively impact your bottom line and your IT team is quite responsive to logs and notifications, then an IDS would be suitable for your company. But if your team has its hands full and you need an automatic security filter, then an IPS is a great option.
Examples of IDS and IPS
It is a good idea to explore some examples of IDS vs IPS. Many great IDS and IPS options are on the market, and they will perform their respective duties without fail.
IDS examples
- Advanced Intrusion Detection Environment (AIDE): The Advanced Intrusion Detection Environment (AIDE) is an open-source host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS) for Unix, Linux, and Mac OS.
- BluVector: An AI-powered intrusion detection system formerly known as Cortex.
- Kismet: This IDS solution acts as a wardriving tool or a wireless IDS, depending on your preference.
- Samhain: With its steganography technology, it can monitor traffic while being undetectable by bad actors looking to disable IDS solutions.
- Security Onion: Security Onion is an open-source solution that incorporates some other open-source solutions to produce a very capable IDS tool.
IPS examples
- Check Point Quantum IPS: This is a great option for those who want a firewall, VPN, and IPS in one place.
- Suricata: Suricata is quite similar to Snort and shares the same file format, rules, and more, but it is a free option.
- Vectra Cognito: Vectra Cognito is an IPS option that uses AI to analyze traffic from public cloud sources.
- Palo Alto Networks: Palo Alto primarily focuses on large companies and provides a comprehensive commercial solution for
- Sagan: Sagan is a host-based IPS that focuses on log analysis. While it can only be installed on Unix, Linux, or MacOS, it can also log data from Windows.
Can IDS and IPS Systems Work Together?
While both options are great, and many enthusiasts are on one side of the IDS VS IPS debate, it doesn’t have to be an either-or situation. Having IDS and IPS work together is a great option for enforcing critical infrastructure resilience. Many organizations take a modern approach to the problem by combining IDS, IPS, and firewalls to create a type of technology called Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW).
By avoiding the IDS vs. IPS debate, many businesses have been able to benefit from the deep insights IDS gives them concerning their traffic while also enjoying active network security to boot.
Which Is Better for My Business: IDS or IPS?
Your company’s particular requirements and security plan will determine whether an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) or an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) best fits your company. An IDS would be better if your company values real-time monitoring and has a responsive IT staff that can quickly handle alarms. This method reduces false positives, which is essential if unneeded interruptions could cause problems for your business.
Conversely, if quick threat necutralizing is crucial and your IT staff is already under a lot of work, an IPS would be more helpful. Operating on the idea of “never trust, always verify, the Zero Trust Security Model fits nicely with an IPS actively blocking harmful activity. By combining deep network insights with proactive threat avoidance, integrating IDS and IPS will ultimately give complete security, strengthening your critical infrastructure resilience in line with contemporary cybersecurity principles.
The trade-off between IDS and IPS can be done strategically, considering the specific needs of your business. However, the idea is to find a balance between detection and prevention. OTORIO realizes this proactive philosophy through the integration of advanced threat visibility with automated, actionable responses. While delivering solutions for improving operational resiliency, OTORIO methodologies fit perfectly into concepts regarding the unified performance of functions provided by both IDS and IPS. It means not only the detection and mitigation of cyber threats but also maintaining robust, uninterrupted business operations, which are cardinal to thriving in today’s complex threat landscape.
Enhancing Your IT and OT Security With OTORIO
Intrusion detection systems and intrusion prevention systems are great security tools for getting rid of threats and unwanted intrusion into your company’s network, but they both react to the existence of a problem. There are other security tools that offer a more proactive approach to cybersecurity. OTORIO Titan gives your business a cybersecurity option that acts to prevent threats from gaining access to your system. It works seamlessly with existing tools like IDS, IPS and firewalls and ensures all round security for your network.
