Intrusion Prevention System
An Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) is a network security tool that actively monitors network or system activities for malicious behavior, such as attacks or policy violations. It can detect and block threats in real-time by analyzing traffic, using signatures, anomaly detection, or heuristics, and automatically taking actions like dropping packets or resetting connections. IPS is typically deployed inline to inspect and filter traffic before it reaches its destination.
Developers should learn about IPS when building or securing networked applications, especially in environments requiring high security like finance, healthcare, or e-commerce, to prevent data breaches and ensure compliance. It's crucial for roles involving DevOps, cloud infrastructure, or cybersecurity to understand how IPS integrates with firewalls and other tools to protect against threats like DDoS attacks, malware, and unauthorized access.