With cloud sharing gaining great popularity the need for the use of an intrusion prevention system is increasing. Many companies especially those involved in e-commerce are working hard to ensure their customers’ privacy. Because technology is changing so much, so quickly companies large and small are taking cautionary measures. Intrusion prevention systems are very helpful in preventing/curbing hacker access to important information. They are an extra barrier alongside your firewall protection.

What does it do?
Intrusion prevention systems monitor networks and systems for malicious activity. The main job of intrusion prevention systems is to identify malicious activity, make note of it and then try to block or discontinue the action. Once that is done the activity is then reported. Being able to identify the intrusion also helps the company to figure where there are leaks and how their system can be improved. Without this system you can leave your company susceptible to all kinds of risks.

What types are available?
Intrusion prevention systems do come in different types such as network-based, wireless, network behavior analysis and host-based intrusion prevention. They all serve the same purpose, but may go about it a little differently or just work on different systems. Network-based oversees the whole network for malicious activity. Wireless monitors a wireless network for malicious traffic. Network- behavior analysis observes network traffic to find red flags that change traffic activity. Host-based is a software package that you can install. It monitors one host for malicious or unusual traffic activity.