CompTIA CASP+ Practice Test

The primary advantage of placing an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) outside of the corporate firewall is to detect potential remote attacks while the firewall blocks them. When positioned in this manner, the IDS has the capability to monitor all incoming traffic before it is subjected to the firewall rules. This setup allows for the early identification of malicious activity or threats, such as scanning, probes, or exploitation attempts targeting the organization's external-facing services. By detecting these threats outside the firewall, organizations gain increased visibility into potential vulnerabilities and attack patterns that could be forming against the network. Additionally, having this visibility can aid in fine-tuning firewall rules, enhancing overall security posture. The IDS can provide alerts and logs related to these external attacks, facilitating a proactive security response. In contrast, while outbound traffic monitoring is important, its main purpose is not necessarily to detect attacks; rather, it often focuses on ensuring that sensitive data is not being exfiltrated. Speeding up network performance is not a function of placing an IDS outside the firewall, as IDS systems are generally designed to analyze and log traffic, which can introduce some latency. Lastly, preventing insider threats typically requires different security measures, as these threats originate from within the network and may not be effectively monitored by an IDS