Intrusion Prevention - Part of Your Defense in Depth Architecture?

The tools available to IT security professionals are becoming more proactive by attempting to prevent, rather than only detect, exploits from damaging critical assets. Intrusion prevention, in particular, has received a lot of attention in the IT press in the last several years. This paper will explore Intrusion Protection Systems (IPS) from the perspective of using IPS as part of a Defense in Depth strategy. First we will describe Defense in Depth. We will then explore various components of a traditional Defense in Depth architecture. This paper will explain the various technologies of IPS. We will conclude with a discussion of what these tools can and cannot do in a comprehension security program.