Cyber Security : Intrusion Detection System(Snort, WireShark)

🔍 Understanding Intrusion Detection Systems: Snort and Wireshark In today’s digital world, cybersecurity plays a crucial role in protecting networks and data from unauthorized access. One of the most important tools in this field is the Intrusion Detection System (IDS) — a technology designed to monitor network traffic, detect suspicious activities, and alert administrators of potential attacks.

🛡️ What is an Intrusion Detection System (IDS)? An IDS analyzes network packets and system activities for signs of malicious behavior. It helps identify threats such as port scanning, DoS attacks, malware infections, and policy violations. IDS solutions can be network-based (NIDS), monitoring network traffic, or host-based (HIDS), which monitors activities on individual systems.

🐍 Snort: The Power of Open-Source Detection. Snort, developed by Cisco, is one of the most popular open-source IDS tools. It uses a rule-based detection engine to analyze network packets in real-time. Security professionals use Snort to: Detect and log suspicious traffic Analyze captured packets Create custom detection rules Snort provides alerts when certain patterns are matched, making it highly effective for both intrusion detection and prevention when integrated with a firewall.

🌐 Wireshark: The Network Analyzer Wireshark is a packet analyzer tool that captures and displays network packets in real time. It helps cybersecurity experts visualize the flow of data, inspect protocol details, and diagnose network issues. Wireshark is particularly useful for: Analyzing PCAP (packet capture) files Troubleshooting network performance Inspecting suspicious traffic captured by Snort ?🔧 Working Together In cybersecurity labs, Snort and Wireshark are often used together. Snort detects and logs potential intrusions, while Wireshark helps analyze those logs and packets in greater detail. This combination provides a powerful approach to identifying, understanding, and mitigating network-based threats.

⚙️ Conclusion? Intrusion Detection Systems like Snort and tools like Wireshark are essential for maintaining network security. They help organizations monitor traffic, detect attacks, and analyze threats before serious damage occurs. In a world of evolving cyber risks, mastering these tools is a vital skill for every cybersecurity professional.