Question

Locate and research security appliance. The function can range from SPAM, IDS, firewall, all-in-one and others. Write a review of the product and share.

• Power outages cause downtime.
• Malicious code causes systems to crash and production loss.
• Hardware failure causes data loss on the database server.

Answer 1

Keeping your network safe from intrusion is one of the most vital parts of system and network administration and security. If your network is penetrated by a malicious attacker, it can lead to massive losses for your company, including potential downtime, data breaches, and loss of customer trust.

An intrusion detection system (IDS) is a tool or software that works with your network to keep it secure and flag when somebody is trying to break into your system. There are several different types of IDS and numerous tools on the market and figuring out which one to use can be daunting.

In this ultimate guide, I’ll go through everything you need to know (and I mean EVERYTHING) about IDS: what an intrusion detection system is, how network intrusion works, how to detect network intrusion, as well as which tools you should consider with my reviews of the latest IDS software – including my favorite pick SolarWinds^® Security Event Manager.

Latest and Top IDS Software

You can choose from several different IDS tools, depending on which operating system you’re using. So, I split my recommendations up by OS to help you focus on the solutions compatible with your environment.

All the different systems in my top IDS software list also have free trials, so you can try a few of them out and see which one you like the best. If your organization works with any data requiring particular security measures, such as HIPAA data or PCI data, you’ll need an IDS system in place to meet your compliance and audit obligations.

IDS for Windows

• SolarWinds Security Event Manager
• Snort
• Suricata
• OSSEC
• Stealthwatch
• TippingPoint

IDS for Mac

• Suricata
• Samhain
• OSSEC
• Stealthwatch
• Zeek

IDS for Linux

• Snort
• Suricata
• Samhain
• OSSEC
• Stealthwatch
• Zeek
• TippingPoint

Intrusion detection systems are usually a part of other security systems or software, together with intended to protect information systems. IDS security works in combination with authentication and authorization access control measures, as a double line of defense against intrusion. Firewalls and antivirus or malware software are generally set up on each individual device in a network, but as enterprises grow larger, more unknown or new devices come in and out, such as cell phones and USBs. Firewalls and anti-malware software alone is not enough to protect an entire network from attack. They act as one small part of an entire security system.

Using a fully-fledged IDS as part of your security system is vital and is intended to apply across your entire network in different ways. An IDS can capture snapshots of your entire system, and then use the intelligence gathered from pre-established patterns to determine when an attack is occurring or provide information and analysis on how an attack occurred.

Essentially, there are several components to intrusion preparation: knowledge of potential intrusions, preventing potential intrusions, being aware of active and past intrusions, and responding to the intrusion. While it may seem “too late” once an attack has already happened, knowing what intrusions have happened or have been attempted in the past can be a vital tool in preventing future attacks. Knowing the extent of the intrusion of an attack is also important for determining your response and responsibilities to stakeholders who depend on the security of your systems.