What is the main distinction between an IDS and an IPS?

The main distinction between an IDS (Intrusion Detection System) and an IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) is that an IDS is a passive monitoring system that detects and alerts on suspicious activity, while an IPS is an active security system that detects and responds to suspicious activity in real-time.

An IDS will detect potential threats by analyzing network traffic, system logs, and other data sources, and will provide alerts to security personnel who can investigate and respond to the threat. However, an IDS does not take any action to prevent the threat from occurring.

In contrast, an IPS is designed to actively prevent and block potential threats. It can detect and respond to malicious traffic in real-time by blocking or filtering traffic that is deemed to be suspicious or malicious. An IPS can be configured to operate in different modes, such as blocking malicious traffic, dropping packets, or resetting connections.

An IDS can operate both on a host and a network, as can an IPS. However, the key distinction between the two is in their level of proactive response to suspicious activity.