Security Configuration Management in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems

Abstract

Intrusion Detection and/or Prevention Systems (IDPS) represent an important line of defense against a variety of attacks that can compromise the security and proper functioning of an enterprise information system. IDPSs can be network or host-based and can collaborate in order to provide better detection of malicious traffic. Although several IDPS systems have been proposed, their appropriate con figuration and control for e effective detection/ prevention of attacks and efficient resource consumption is still far from trivial. Another concern is related to the slowing down of system performance when maximum security is applied, hence the need to trade o between security enforcement levels and the performance and usability of an enterprise information system. In this dissertation, we present a security management framework for the configuration and control of the security enforcement mechanisms of an enterprise information system. The approach leverages the dynamic adaptation of security measures based on the assessment of system vulnerability and threat prediction, and provides several levels of attack containment. Furthermore, we study the impact of security enforcement levels on the performance and usability of an enterprise information system. In particular, we analyze the impact of an IDPS con figuration on the resulting security of the network, and on the network performance. We also analyze the performance of the IDPS for different con figurations and under different traffic characteristics. The analysis can then be used to predict the impact of a given security con figuration on the prediction of the impact on network performance.