RE: True definition of Intrusion Prevention

["Bohling James CONT JBC" <james.bohling () JBC JFCOM MIL>]

I am sorry, but I do not agree with your position on prevention and
blocking.  

Yes you are correct that 
--"preventing an attack means that action has been taken to keep the
attack from happening and/or an attack is */prevented/* if it doesn't or
can't happen"--  

However, look at what the term is semantically described: "Intrusion
Prevention" -- It is not Attack Prevention.

An attack is the action taken to attempt an intrusion; the intrusion is
the post-attack goal.  So if we look at that "chicken and egg scenario"
intrusion prevention can happen by blocking an attacker via IP,
application, port, protocol, etc.

That was my comment; this is my $.02 USD  : )

Yes, marketers (vendors) usually have an advantage with naming
conventions but so what; if customer (A) wants an intrusion blocking
device and customer (B) wants an intrusion prevention device then give
it to them.  We all know what the market is wanting in the IPS arena;
whether it is cohesive and/or Websters defined is not all that
important.  The IPS market wants more control over the IDS and more
active protection from the IDS in the form of blocking, reporting,
logging, dynamic scanning for IA Vulnerability, anomaly detection, and
etc.  This, even though not Websters certified, tells me that a marketer
(vendor) wants to sell this bundled and added functionality to the IDS
as an Intrusion Prevention Solution and in the same deck wants us
(security professionals) to design, code, QA, and implement it.  You are
never going to beat a top salesman in the sales dept. It's not what we
do.




ED, Joe, Paul,
        Just wanted to include you in on a discussion I have been
monitoring for a week or two on Security Focus.
Thank You,
James T. Bohling
Network Security Engineer - JBC CoE
(W) 757-638.4032
Web: www.jbc.jfcom.mil
This email was produced and manufactured in America, and is a
one-of-a-kind original.




-----Original Message-----
From: George Capehart [mailto:gwc () acm org] 
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2003 6:03 PM
To: Gary Flynn
Cc: focus-ids () securityfocus com
Subject: Re: True definition of Intrusion Prevention

On Tuesday 30 December 2003 08:05 am, Gary Flynn wrote:
> Teicher, Mark (Mark) wrote:
> > What is the difference between Intrusion Detection, Intrusion
> > Prevention at the high level.
>
> Having the ability to block a detected attack instead of just
> reporting on it.

That's not intrusion *prevention*, it's intrusion *blocking*.  ;-)

I'm being pedantic here for two reasons:
a) I think the definition you have provided is the one that the 
marketeers implicitly use, and 
b) *blocking* an attack in process is */not/* the same as preventing an 
attack in the first place.  

An attack is */prevented/* if it doesn't or can't happen.  There are two

broad classes of means of preventing attacks:
a) take out the attacker(s) before they attack or
b) harden the target such that it is not vulnerable to the attack.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with "intrusion blocking" if 
it is successful . . . that is, if the attack is detected in time and 
the appropriate "blocking mechanisms" are available.  I'd just rather 
call a duck a duck . . . ;-)  I think it is possible to build an 
"intrusion blocking device."  Intrusion prevention is a process.  
(Apologies to Bruce Schneier ;-)  )

I wouldn't have taken this up, but I think it is more important to make 
the distinction between "blocking" and "prevention" than is made in the 
hype.  They just aren't equivalent.  Preventing an attack means that 
action has been taken to keep the attack from happening.  Blocking an 
attack means that the attack has been launched and one hopes that one 
has all of the mechanisms in place necessary to keep the attack from 
succeeding . . .

My $0.02 USD.

Best regards,

George Capehart

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