Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS)

Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) are network security technologies that monitor traffic for malicious activity and actively block potential threats in real-time, extending beyond mere detection. Unlike Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), which only alert on suspicious behavior, IPS can…

Key facts

First appeared: 1996
Category: technology
Problem solved: IPS were created to actively prevent intrusions and attacks in real-time, addressing the limitation of IDS which could only detect and alert without blocking threats, thereby reducing response time from minutes to milliseconds.
Platforms: Linux, Windows Server, Cloud (AWS, Azure), Hardware appliances

Related technologies

Firewalls
SIEM systems
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Notable users

Cisco
Government agencies
Palo Alto Networks
Fortinet
Financial institutions