INTRUSION DETECTION

SYSTEMS
(IDS)
Agenda
 Sources
 What is an Intrusion Detection System
 Types of Intrusion Detection Systems
 How an IDS Works
 Detection Methods
 Issues
 Why are IDS important
 How does an IDS fit into your security plan?
 Pros and Cons
 Questions
Sources
 Baker, A. R., & Esler, J. (2007). Snort IDS and IPS Toolkit.
 Baumrucker, C. T., Burton, J. D., & Dentler, S. (2003). Cisco
Security Professional's Guide to Secure Intrusion Detection
Systems.
 Endorf, C., Schultz, E., & Mellander, J. (2004). Intrusion
Detection and Prevention.
 Training, U. A.-I. (n.d.). Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS)
and Auditing.
What is an Intrusion Detection
System?
 Defined as the tools, methods, and resources
to help identify, assess, and report
unauthorized or unapproved network activity.
 An IDS detects activity in traffic that may or
may not be an intrusion.
 IDSes can detect and deal with insider
attacks, as well as, external attacks, and are
often very useful in detecting violations of
corporate security policy and other internal
threats.
Host Based Intrusion Detection
 Are usually installed on servers and are more
focused on analyzing the specific operating
systems and applications, resource utilization and
other system activity residing on the Host-based
IDS host.
 It will log any activities it discovers to a secure
database and check to see whether the events
match any malicious event record listed in the
knowledge base.
 Host-based IDS are often critical in detecting
internal attacks directed towards an organization’s
servers such as DNS, Mail, and Web Servers.
Network Based Intrusion
Detection
 Are dedicated network devices distributed within
networks that monitor and inspect network traffic
flowing through the device.
 Instead of analyzing information that originates and
resides on a host, Network-based IDS uses packet
sniffing techniques to pull data from TCP/IP packets
or other protocols that are traveling along the
network.
 Most Network-based IDS log their activities and
report or alarm on questionable events.
 Network-based IDS work best when located on the
DMZ, on any subnets containing mission critical
servers and just inside the firewall.
Comparison
Host Based Network Based
 Narrow in scope (watches only  Broad in scope (watches all
specific host activities) network activities)
 More complex setup  Easier setup
 Better for detecting attacks from  Better for detecting attacks from
the inside the outside
 More expensive to implement
 Less expensive to implement
 Detection is based on what any
 Detection is based on what can
single host can record
be recorded on the entire
 Does not see packet headers
network
 Usually only responds after a
 Examines packet headers
suspicious log entry has been
 Near real-time response
made
 OS-independent
 OS-specific

 Detects local attacks before they  Detects network attacks as

hit the network payload is analyzed

 Verifies success or failure of attacks  Detects unsuccessful attack

attempts
Hybrid Intrusion Detection
 Are systems that combine both Host-based IDS,
which monitors events occurring on the host
system and Network-based IDS, which monitors
network traffic, functionality on the same
security platform.
 A Hybrid IDS, can monitor system and
application events and verify a file system’s
integrity like a Host-based IDS, but only serves
to analyze network traffic destined for the
device itself.
 A Hybrid IDS is often deployed on an
organization’s most critical servers.
Honeypots
 Are decoy servers or systems setup to gather
information regarding an attacker of intruder into
networks or systems.
 Appear to run vulnerable services and capture vital
information as intruders attempt unauthorized
access.
 Provide you early warning about new attacks and
exploitation trends which allow administrators to
successfully configure a behavioral based profile
and provide correct tuning of network sensors.
 Can capture all keystrokes and any files that might
have been used in the intrusion attempt.
Passive Systems
 Detects a potential security breach
 Logs the information
 Signals an alert on the console
 Does not take any preventive measures to

stop the attack

Passive Systems
Reactive/Active Systems
 Responds to the suspicious activity like a
passive IDS by logging, alerting and
recording, but offers the additional ability to
take action against the offending traffic.
Reactive/Active Systems
Signature Based IDS
 Monitor network or server traffic and match bytes or packet
sequences against a set of predetermined attack lists or
signatures.
 Should a particular intrusion or attack session match a
signature configured on the IDS, the system alerts
administrators or takes other pre-configured action.
 Signatures are easy to develop and understand if you know
what network behavior you’re trying to identify.
 However, because they only detect known attacks, a signature
must be created for every attack.
 New vulnerabilities and exploits will not be detected until
administrators develop new signatures.
 Another drawback to signature-based IDS is that they are very
large and it can be hard to keep up with the pace of fast
moving network traffic.
Anomaly Based IDS
 Use network traffic baselines to determine a “normal”
state for the network and compare current traffic to
that baseline.
 Use a type of statistical calculation to determine
whether current traffic deviates from “normal” traffic,
which is either learned and/or specified by
administrators.
 If network anomalies occur, the IDS alerts
administrators.
 A new attack for which a signature doesn’t exist can be
detected if it falls out of the “normal” traffic patterns.
 High false alarm rates created by inaccurate profiles of
“normal” network operations.
Issues
False Negatives False Positives
 When an IDS fails to detect an  Described as a false alarm.
attack  When an IDS mistakenly
 False negatives occur when the
reports certain “normal”
pattern of traffic is not network activity as
identified in the signature malicious.
database, such as new attack  Administrators have to fine
patterns.
 False negatives are deceptive
tune the signatures or
because you usually have no
heuristics in order to
way of knowing if and when prevent this type of
they occurred. problem.
 You are most likely to identify

false negatives when an attack

is successful and wasn’t
detected by the IDS.
Why are IDS important?
 The ability to know when an intruder or attacker is
engaged in reconnaissance or other malicious activity
can mean the difference between being compromised
and not being compromised.
 An IDS can alert the administrator of a successful
compromise, allowing them the opportunity to
implement mitigating actions before further damage is
caused
 As Corporations and other Institutions are being legally
compelled to disclose data breaches and compromises
to their affected customers, this can have profound
effects upon a compromised company, in the way of bad
press, loss of customer trust, and the effects on their
stock.
How does it fit into your
security plan?
 As a network security expert you should know you cannot just
rely on one or a few tools to secure your network. You need to
have a defense in depth mindset and layer your network
defenses.
 Through the use of inside and outside firewalls, DMZs, Routers
and Switches, an IDS is a great addition to your security plan.
 You can use them to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in
your perimeter protection devices, such as: firewalls, switches
and routers. The firewall rules and router access control lists can
be verified regularly for compliance.
 You can use IDSes to enforce security policies, such as:
unauthorized Internet access, downloads of executable files, use
of file sharing programs like Kazza, or Instant Messenger use.
 IDSes are also an invaluable source of evidence. Logs from an
IDS can become an important part of computer forensics and
incident handling efforts.
Pros
 Can detect external hackers, as well as,
internal network-based attacks
 Scales easily to provide protection for the

entire network
 Offers centralized management for

correlation of distributed attacks

 Provides defense in depth
 Gives administrators the ability to quantify

attacks
 Provides an additional layer of protection
Cons
 Generates false positives and negatives
 Reacts to attacks rather than preventing them
 Requires full-time monitoring and highly skilled
staff dedicated to interpreting the data
 Requires a complex incident response process
 Cannot monitor traffic at higher network traffic
rates
 Generates an enormous amount of data to be
analyzed
 Cannot deal with encrypted network traffic
 It is expensive
Questions