Intrusion prevention systems (IPS) are a type of network security technology that can help protect against cyber attacks by monitoring network traffic and identifying and preventing malicious activity.

Here are the basic steps of how IPS works:

1. IPSs are typically deployed inline in the network, meaning that network traffic flows through them. This allows them to monitor and analyze all network traffic in real time.
2. The IPS uses a set of rules or signatures to identify malicious traffic. These rules are based on known attack patterns and can be updated as new threats are discovered.
3. When the IPS detects suspicious traffic, it will take one of the following actions:

• Alert: the IPS will generate an alert to notify the security administrator of the suspicious traffic, but will not take any further action.
• Block: the IPS will block the suspicious traffic, preventing it from reaching its intended destination.
• Allow: the IPS will allow the traffic to pass through without any further analysis if it’s been determined as safe.

1. Some IPSs also includes a feature called “reputation-based blocking” which allows them to block traffic from known malicious IP addresses or domain names.

An IPS is a powerful tool that can protect against a wide range of cyber attacks, including network-based threats such as denial-of-service attacks, and application-layer threats like SQL injection or cross-site scripting attacks. However, it’s important to keep in mind that an IPS is not a replacement for other security controls such as firewalls or antivirus software, as it has its own set of limitations and false positives can happen, it’s important to monitor and fine-tune them.