Intrusion prevention systems (IPS) – Characteristics, costs and differences with IDPS
The IPS or Intrusion Prevention System can be defined as a technology that prevents threats and ensures security. It was built in the 2000s and provides high-level threat prevention solutions. Traffic flows are also detected so that vulnerabilities can be tracked (Koller et al., 2008). Due to sudden malicious inputs, vulnerability increases, and attackers also gain control over the target application. IPS is characterized by its prevention and detection features. IPS operates behind a firewall so that it can provide a layer and does not harm the content. Due to its inline placement, IPS is capable of analyzing systems and conducting automated actions, unlike IDS that acted passively, and after scanning traffic, it reported the threat back. Inline is defined as the direct path of communication between the destination and its source. Therefore, alarms can be sent directly to the administrator, and traffic can be immediately blocked from the source of its address. Immediately, the connection can be reset. Similarly, due to its detection feature, IPS can find the real vulnerabilities in the system. The two most used detection systems are statistical anomaly-based and signature-based.
Cost comparison between IPS and IDPS
IDPS or Intrusion Detection Prevention System slightly differs from IPS because IDPS appliances offer far advanced services. It has the potential to inspect the network traffic on the cloud as well as on on-premises. An IDPS without hardware, OS, and maintenance might cost $500-$2000 for each agent. The consoles might be available in the range $3000-$5000. On the other hand, the cost of a typical IPS might be around $1091/year.
Justification for cost differences between IPS and IDPS
In order to understand the cost differences, it is necessary to have a clear concept about IDPS and IPS. Both the systems might seem to have overlap each other, and IT professionals are not always clear about the exact differences. However, the price range of IDPS is more than an IPS because IDPS has emerged to be a far more dominant method that ensures security. It is effective in detecting packets that go in and out of a network. It effectively monitors dangerous activities and sees the extent to which security protocols have been violated (Scarfone & Mell, 2012). The IDPS can meet the demands of IT professionals far more effectively in comparison to the IPS. Moreover, the availability of the IDPS software can automate several processes. Whenever an IT professional require information, it will be readily available at their fingertips. This is because the system comes with an audit-ready feature. As of 2020, the best IDPS solution for securing a business is the Security Event Manager (Stiawan, Abdullah & Idris, 2010). Despite the existing overlap between IPS and IDPS, it has been found that IPS tends to dominate the market due to its low cost and the capability of taking action against potential attacks. IDPS is not capable to taking any action against the attacks. It merely detects them and it creates alerts. Hence within the IT industry, IPS has continued to overtake IDPS.
References
Koller, R., Rangaswami, R., Marrero, J., Hernandez, I., Smith, G., Barsilai, M., … & Merrill, K. (2008, June). Anatomy of a real-time intrusion prevention system. In 2008 International Conference on Autonomic Computing (pp. 151-160). IEEE.
Scarfone, K., & Mell, P. (2012). Guide to intrusion detection and prevention systems (idps) (No. NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-94 Rev. 1 (Draft)). National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Stiawan, D., Abdullah, A. H., & Idris, M. Y. (2010, June). The trends of intrusion prevention system network. In 2010 2nd International Conference on Education Technology and Computer (Vol. 4, pp. V4-217). IEEE.