Network Security

The Top 10 Intrusion Prevention System Solutions

Intrusion Prevention System Solutions are a complimentary—yet crucial—layer of defense to your firewall. Explore the top solutions and their key features.

The Top 10 Intrusion Prevention Systems include:
  • 1. Check Point Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)
  • 2. Cisco Secure IPS
  • 3. Trellix Network Security (NX)
  • 4. ForcePoint Next-Gen Firewall
  • 5. FortiGuard IPS Security Service
  • 6. Hillstone S-Series Intrusion Prevention System
  • 7. Palo Alto VM-Series
  • 8. Snort
  • 9. Trend Micro TippingPoint NGIPS
  • 10. Zscaler Cloud IPS

Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) solutions detect and prevent unauthorized, and potentially malicious, activities within a computer network. Intrusion prevention is a critical component of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy as it blocks intruders from accessing the network and causing potentially irreparable – and likely very expensive – damages. 

These solutions analyze network traffic flows to detect, flag, isolate, and prevent malicious activity and code from harming networks. Often situated behind a firewall, IPS provides an additional, in-depth layer of analysis that further inspects web traffic—often performing a deep dive into IP packets and signatures to identify any anomalies. Anything deemed malicious is isolated, resolved, and flagged with IT teams for further inspection. Some solutions also come with the ability to detect any vulnerabilities within the network. These can also be highlighted for admins to investigate. IPS is beneficial in delivering security at deeper layers in the network, which is particularly valuable when we consider the astonishing 200% surge in DDoS attacks in the first six months of 2023.

To make the process of selecting an intrusion prevention system solution easier, we have put together a list of strong options to consider. Many of the solutions on this list are part of a consolidation of other security tools under one product, such as firewalls or Unified Threat Management (UTM) solutions. This is due in part to the fact that IPS solutions are usually placed directly behind a firewall, so they’re often integrated into other solutions.

Check Point

Check Point’s Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), delivers integrated next-generation firewall intrusion prevention capabilities at multi-gigabit speeds, providing high security effectiveness and a low false positive rate. The system’s defense in depth approach combines various security methods such as signatures, protocol validation, anomaly detection, and behavioral analysis to offer comprehensive protection.

Check Point IPS offers preemptive security updates and protects organizations by detecting and preventing known exploits, DNS tunneling attempts, generic attack types, and protocol misuse. The system seamlessly integrates with SmartEvent and can be managed through a single Check Point interface for unmatched visibility and detection of threats. Customizable reports enable easy monitoring of vital security events and reduce operational overheads. It also comes with options to enable antivirus, Anti-bot, and SandBlast zero-day protection for increased security.

Through careful analysis of security logs and using IPS tags, administrators can create policies specifically tailored to their environment. With Check Point IPS, organizations can have confidence that their network’s performance and functionality will remain strong, while also ensuring security remains uncompromised.

Cisco logo

Cisco Secure IPS provides enhanced visibility with its Firepower Management Centre, allowing users better control of their network through applications, host profiles, file trajectory, sandboxing, and vulnerability information.

Secure IPS keeps security up-to-date by receiving new policy rules and signatures every two hours, utilizing Cisco Talos (the world’s largest threat detection network) which serves as an early-warning system. It also offers automation to increase operational efficiency by prioritizing threats and providing policy recommendations based on network vulnerabilities. With flexible deployment options, Secure IPS can be deployed at various locations within the network, either for inline inspection or passive detection. Cisco Secure IPS is easy to integrate into existing networks and can be managed through the Firepower Management Centre, allowing users to seamlessly navigate between security applications like Secure Firewall and Secure Endpoint.

The solution is available on various appliance models and in both physical and virtual form factors, providing options for intrusion detection, public cloud security, internal network segmentation, as well as vulnerability and patch management.

Trellix Logo

Trellix Network Security, is designed to detect, block, and respond to advanced, targeted, and evasive cyberattacks. It uses state-of-the-art, signatureless detection to protect against advanced threats, including zero-day attacks, and generates high-fidelity alerts when needed to ensure efficient analysis and reduced alert fatigue. With real-time evidence and Layer 7 metadata, this solution simplifies and automates security workflows, facilitating investigation, alert validation, endpoint containment, and incident response.

Trellix Network Security can identify multi-flow, multi-stage, zero-day, polymorphic, and ransomware attacks that might bypass traditional defenses. Utilizing machine learning and AI, along with correlation engines, it provides real-time detection and retrospective threat identification, as well as the ability to track and blocks lateral threats within networks.

The platform can stop attacks in real-time and map detected threats to the MITRE ATT&CK framework for a better understanding and future containment. Trellix Network Security supports various deployment scenarios and environments, including on-premises, hybrid, public and private cloud, and virtual offerings, providing protection across diverse network infrastructures.

Forcepoint Logo

Forcepoint’s Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW), offers a flexible networking solution by integrating Secure SD-WAN, allowing organizations to adopt a single-vendor Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture. This can be further integrated with Forcepoint ONE SSE for connecting users to private applications through Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA).

The Forcepoint firewall provides a wide range of security measures, including advanced malware detection and protection, intrusion prevention, and Zero Trust network access controls. It is available in a variety of physical and virtual appliance models, making it easy to deploy and manage remotely. With the Forcepoint Security Management Center (SMC), users can maintain and update their network policies, identify risks, and perform real-time health checks.

The NGFW platform also includes features such as high-availability clustering for devices and networks, automated zero-downtime updates, policy-driven centralized management, and advanced encryption options with granular privacy controls. Local broadband connections can be utilized to complement or replace costly leased lines like MPLS, ensuring an always-on SD-WAN connectivity for businesses.

fortinet logo

FortiGuard’s AI/ML-powered FortiGuard Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) Service is designed to detect and block known and suspicious threats before they reach the customers’ devices. The solution analyzes and deploys new intrusion prevention signatures in near-real-time for a quick and coordinated network reaction. By extending this workflow across Fortinet’s global customer base, the service creates an accelerated network effect to provide robust protection.

The FortiGuard IPS Service is not limited to traditional usage, as it extends protection to Operational Technology (OT) devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, virtual patching, and addresses the initial access stages of the kill chain and MITRE ATT&CK framework.

The FortiGuard IPS Service is an efficient solution that delivers Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) and virtual patching to identify and prevent malicious traffic from entering the network. This solution plays a crucial role in providing a fast, reliable, and comprehensive defense across the entire Fortinet infrastructure.

hillstone logo

The Hillstone Network-based Intrusion Prevention System (NIPS) appliance operates in-line at wire speed, performing deep packet inspection and assembling inspection for all network traffic. By applying rules based on various methodologies (such as protocol anomaly analysis and signature analysis), it effectively blocks threats.

Hillstone Network Intrusion Prevention can be deployed within the network to inspect traffic that may have been left undetected by perimeter solutions, making it an essential part of network security systems due to its high-performance capabilities and flexible deployment options. Hillstone provides extensive visibility based on protocol, application, user, and content, and is capable of identifying over 3,000 applications.

Key features of this solution include Intrusion Prevention, Advanced Threat Detection, Abnormal Behavior Detection, Cloud-Sandbox, Anti-Virus, URL Filtering, and Application Control, which combine to create a comprehensive cybersecurity solution. Hillstone also provides robust reporting functionality with granular visibility across different views, catering to various users such as business system administrators, security administrators, and executives.

Palo Alto Logo

Palo Alto Networks offer a platform of advanced firewalls and cloud-based security solutions that address various aspects of cybersecurity. Serving over 70,000 organizations across 150 countries, including 85 of the Fortune 100, Palo Alto Networks is one of the most prominent companies within the market.

Their IPS product, Advanced Threat Prevention, uses innovative inline deep learning models to detect and block unknown command and control (C2) attacks and exploit attempts in real time. This solution maintains high performance levels while safeguarding against known threats such as malware, spyware, and command and control attacks through market-leading, researcher-grade signatures.

Advanced Threat Prevention provides impressive prevention accuracy by targeting threats at network and application layers, including port scans, buffer overflows, and remote code execution with a low false positive rate. The solution employs payload signatures to protect against the newest and most relevant malware, while updating with the latest security advancements. Palo Alto Networks’ Advanced Threat Prevention delivers robust protection against emerging and existing threats without compromising performance.

Snort Logo

Snort is a free open-source network intrusion detection system (IDS) and intrusion prevention system (IPS) created by Martin Roesch in 1998 and currently developed by Cisco, which acquired Sourcefire in 2013. As a real-time traffic analyzer and packet logger for Internet Protocol (IP) networks, Snort excels in protocol analysis, content searching, and matching.

The system can detect various types of probes or attacks such as operating system fingerprinting attempts, semantic URL attacks, buffer overflows, server message block probes, and stealth port scans. Known as the world’s leading open-source IPS, Snort uses a series of rules to define malicious network activity and match packets to generate alerts for users. It can also be deployed inline to block these packets. With three primary applications, Snort can function as a packet sniffer like tcpdump, a packet logger for network traffic debugging, or as a comprehensive network intrusion prevention system. Snort is available for download and configuration for both personal and business use.

Snort rules are distributed in two sets: the Community Ruleset and the Snort Subscriber Ruleset. The Snort Subscriber Ruleset, developed, tested, and approved by Cisco Talos, provides real-time rule updates for subscribers. The Community Ruleset, developed by the Snort community and QAed by Cisco Talos, is available for free to all users.

Snort Logo
Trend Micro Logo

Trend Micro TippingPoint offers advanced intrusion prevention systems (IPS) that effectively detect and block attacks by utilizing machine learning for threat detection and mitigation. The company’s performance scalability sets it apart, offering the industry’s first 100 Gbps Next-Generation Intrusion Prevention System (NGIPS) in a 1U form factor. This can scale up to 500 Gbps in a 5U form factor, providing powerful security and performance for high-capacity networks.

In addition, Trend Micro’s comprehensive threat insight and prioritization equips businesses with complete network visibility to drive vulnerability threat prioritization. This is achieved through deep inspection of network traffic, enabling it to identify and block threats that may be undetected by traditional security solutions. The on-box SSL inspection feature further reduces security blind spots created by encrypted traffic. Trend Micro’s TippingPoint system also offers flexible deployment options and investment protection, ensuring immediate and ongoing threat protection with out-of-the-box recommended settings.

Centralized management makes setup and management straightforward, while the ability to reassign licenses across TPS deployments allows for adaptation, without changing the network infrastructure. The scalable pay-as-you-grow licensing model empowers businesses to easily adjust performance and security requirements as needed.

Zscaler logo

Zscaler is a cloud security company based in San Jose, California, specializing in enterprise cloud security services. Zscaler’s IPS is a cloud-delivered intrusion prevention system designed to provide always-on threat protection and visibility for users, regardless of their location or connection type.

The Zscaler IPS is built to address modern security breaches by working in conjunction with technologies like firewalls, sandboxes, CASBs, and DLPs. This helps to provide comprehensive protection against botnets, advanced threats, and zero-day attacks, while delivering contextual information about the user, application, and threat.

As a cloud-based service, the Zscaler IPS offers unlimited inspection capacity and enables the inspection of all TLS/SSL traffic without compromising performance. This means there is no need for hardware refreshes, and updates can be delivered seamlessly with minimal disruption. In addition to its robust threat protection capabilities, the Zscaler IPS provides numerous other benefits such as lightning-fast performance across 150+ data centers worldwide, intelligent threat detection based on analysis of billions of daily requests from millions of global users, and native integration with the entire Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform for improved context-aware incident response.

Zscaler logo
The Top 10 Intrusion Prevention System Solutions