An Intrusion Detection and Prevention System (IDPs) monitors and analyses network traffic, detects anomalous patterns, and provides measures to forestall imminent attacks. By nature, IDPs are designed to search for suspicious characteristics indicating malicious traffic, send out warning notifications, and block attacks.
Some systems can only identify malicious patterns and log these alerts for an administrator to act on them. This type of software is called intrusion detection system (IDS). On the other hand, we have intrusion prevention systems (IPS) that adjust firewall rules intuitively to mitigate or block malicious traffic on detection but are not equipped to accurately detect anomalous traffic.
An IDPS belongs to the third category. They are designed to detect and mitigate anomalous traffic, intrusive traffic, malware, DDoS attacks, and other web-based threats.
In this post, we highlight 5 top IDPS solutions you may consider while searching for your organization’s cybersecurity needs.
SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)
SolarWinds Security Event Manager is a paid Windows-based IDPS designed for big businesses. It is a comprehensive cybersecurity tool available as a subscription service for $2,525 and above, and its lifetime licenses begin at $4,485. Although it’s Windows-based, SolarWinds SEM also supports Mac-OS, Linux, and Unix computers. Configured with over 700 built-in rules for event correlation and designed with a user-friendly interface, it also integrates seamlessly with Snort for network intrusion analysis. SolarWinds Event Manager’s biggest drawback is its irregular update frequency.
OSSEC
Short for Open-Source Security, OSSEC is a free, host-based IDP. It runs on all major operating systems and has a client/server-based event logging architecture. OSSEC can accurately detect and monitor unauthorized Windows registry changes and immediately alert the network administrator if it detects some suspicious activity. Even though OSSEC offers great functionality, it requires some level of technical knowledge to install and configure.
Snort
Probably the most popular and widely-accepted IDPS, Snort is an open-source intrusion detector, therefore, it can be downloaded and installed at no cost on all operating systems. Designed with a wide library of built-in detection rules and a friendly user interface, Snort is compatible with other IDPSes and is also a robust packet sniffer and packet logger. It can detect threats such as CGI attacks, OS fingerprinting, buffer overflow attacks, and SMB probes. Snort’s biggest disadvantage is its unstable updates which may sometimes render it unstable.
McAfee Network Security Platform (NSP)
Designed as an enterprise cybersecurity solution, McAfee NSP is a paid network-based IDS. Starting at $10,995, it offers wide flexibility and great network security against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), malicious bots, ransomware, and other web-based attacks. McAfee Network Security Platform blocks harmful websites and downloads and also protects sensitive corporate data from attackers. Despite its robust functionality, McAfee NSP may slow down network performance and return false positives when blocking malicious websites.
Palo Alto Networks
Designed for large businesses and quite pricey (its price starts at $9,509.50), Palo Alto Networks remains one of the most famous cybersecurity software because of its powerful next-generation firewalls. Its active threat protection policies make it a great asset for protection against malware and malicious sites. Despite offering regular security updates in order to enhance performance and prevent successful attacks, Palo Alto Networks offer little customization and its built-in signatures are hidden.
Conclusion
In order to choose an efficient IDPS best suited for your organisation, you need to understand your company’s peculiar security needs and business environment.
At Trivest Technologies, we can walk you through the whole process of IDP installation and deployment for your company. Contact Trivest Technologies on +234-802-230-6494 or forward a mail to contact@trivest-group.com
