IDS Tools | A Quick Glance of Highly-Rated IDS Tools

Introduction to IDS Tools

IDS Stands for the Intrusion detection system. It is a device or software application that is used for detecting the intruder activity i.e. the malicious activities if performed by an attacker. So, the Intrusion detection system can be a software or hardware or combination of both which can be used for detecting malicious activities. As our world is growing day by day from the data perspective, we need a more secure and reliable network so that we can keep the data route safe and secure. So here we need IDS in order to make the data route more secure by providing high security as it stops all the malicious activities to enter in your network. In this topic, we are going to learn about IDS Tools.

Explanation of the IDS Tools

The IDS can be differentiated from firewalls in the term of packet i.e. there is a packet decoder. In order to do the rules analysis for IDS, there is a preprocessor in the snort engine which performs this action. The detection engine detects the intrusion by checking the packet and rules together.

In the above figure, IDS plays a very crucial role in protecting the network from the malicious activities as all the inbound and outbound traffic passes from IDS which makes the entire network more safe and secure. Here all the internet is added to the route table i.e. we have configured the IP 0.0.0.0/0 in the route table in order to allow all the incoming requests from the router i.e. the router will allow all the incoming traffic from anywhere. After that, the firewall is also configured in the route table where we can allow the request of different ports like HTTP requests can pass from the port 80 and HTTPS can pass from the port 443. HTTPS is more secure than HTTP requests as it is encrypted and uses SSL certification.

Here IDS will be integrated with both the client and firewall as such that all the requests will pass from the IDS tool. So, if all the traffic passes from the IDS – it is making the network more secure and safe by stopping the malicious activities from passing through it. Sometimes it also protects the network by blocking the IP address from where the malicious activities are trying to access the network. Hence IDS acts as a protection layer for the underlying infrastructure which is maintaining the server in order to maintain the tasks.

Depending on their capabilities and complexities – they are divided into different groups. They use different signature and techniques in order to trace the malicious activities i.e. they match the signature of the incoming traffic with the original signature, if it matches it will allow

Network intrusion detection system(NIDS): In NIDS, the IDS are deployed on the network in order to deny the malicious activity from accessing the network.
Host-based intrusion detection system(HIDS): In HIDS, the IDS are deployed on the host in order to deny the malicious activity from accessing the host.
Perimeter Intrusion Detection System(PIDS): In PIDS, IDS is used in an external environment to detect the presence of an intruder attempting to access a perimeter.
VM based Intrusion Detection System(VMIDS): In HIDS, the IDS are deployed on the VM (Virtual machine) in order to deny the malicious activity from accessing the host.

So, the IDS whether it is placed internally i.e. inside the firewall or outside of the firewall. It is used to detect malicious activities and stopping them from accessing the network by matching their signature with the original one. If the signature of the incoming traffic matches with the original one, then it will allow them to access the network otherwise it will deny them. There are different types of IDS tools based on where they are deployed, complexity and techniques which they use in order to detect malicious activities. All the inbound and outbound traffic passes from them.

Choosing an IDS

Steps for choosing the IDS:

Identify your security needs.
Determine the purpose of IDS.
Network-based or host-based.
Consider Application-based (Higher in cost).
Research features – As all IDS doesn’t have the same feature.
Determine what support is available as there are some open-source IDS tools which are feasible in every condition.
Consider deploying more than one IDS – In order to attain more security if the attacker is trying to disable one IDS, 2^nd one will be functioning and will protect the environment.

Below is some highly rated IDS software:

Cisco Secure IDS: Network-based, Scans and terminates connections.
Snort: Host-based network intrusion; very flexible.
AIDE: Host-based file and directory integrity checker.
OSSEC: Host-based (Unix) System Checker.
CheckPoint: Provide several IDS tools.

Conclusion

As our world is growing day by day, the amount of data traffic is also increasing. So, as we are moving forward, we need a more secure and safe network for the data transfer. Also, from the organization’s perspective, in order to maintain the business continuity or to gain customer trust, the security of the network for any data is an important aspect. So here IDS plays an important role from which all the inbound the outbound traffic passes from them which stops all the malicious activities from accessing the network.

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