CompTIA Cloud+ Practice Test

Which system monitors network traffic for malicious activity and attempts to prevent attacks?

1. Firewall

2. IDS

3. IPS

4. VPN

The correct answer is: IPS

The correct answer is that an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) actively monitors network traffic for signs of malicious activity and takes immediate action to prevent attacks. An IPS is designed to detect and mitigate threats in real-time, which is a key distinction from an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) that only monitors and alerts about potential issues but does not take action to stop them. Firewalls primarily act as a barrier between trusted internal networks and untrusted external networks, filtering traffic based on predefined security rules but do not specifically analyze in-depth patterns for malicious behavior. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is used to create secure connections over the internet but does not monitor traffic for malicious activity. Therefore, the IPS's functionality is specifically tailored to not only detect but also automatically respond to threats, making it the most appropriate choice in this context.