Intrusion Detection Systems

Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) are security tools that monitor network traffic or system activities for malicious behavior or policy violations. They analyze data in real-time to detect potential threats, such as unauthorized access, malware, or attacks, and generate alerts for security teams to investigate. IDS can be network-based (NIDS) to inspect traffic or host-based (HIDS) to monitor individual devices.

Also known as: IDS, Intrusion Detection, Network IDS, Host IDS, NIDS/HIDS

Why learn Intrusion Detection Systems?

Developers should learn about IDS when building or maintaining secure applications, especially in environments handling sensitive data like finance, healthcare, or e-commerce. It's crucial for implementing defense-in-depth strategies, helping identify breaches early, and ensuring compliance with security standards such as PCI-DSS or HIPAA. Use cases include monitoring for SQL injection attempts, DDoS attacks, or insider threats in corporate networks.

Learning Resources

• docs: NIST Guide to Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems
• tutorial: Snort IDS Tutorial on Cybrary
• course: Intrusion Detection Systems Course on Coursera
• docs: Suricata IDS Documentation
• video: Introduction to IDS on YouTube by NetworkChuck