What is Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)?

An Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) is a network security tool that monitors network traffic for malicious activity. It has the ability to take automated actions to block or prevent detected intrusions. IPS are commonly used to identify and mitigate threats such as malware, network exploits, and policy violations by actively terminating connections, blocking access, or quarantining suspicious files. IPS can exist in-line on the network, actively analyzing traffic as it passes, or passively monitoring traffic and reporting incidents.