Network Defense Essentials (NDE) Practice Exam 2026 – Your All-in-One Resource to Exam Success!

Using an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) serves the primary purpose of monitoring network traffic for suspicious activities and potential threats. An IDS analyzes the data packets traversing the network and identifies patterns or anomalies that may indicate unauthorized access attempts, attacks, or policy violations.

By actively monitoring the traffic, an IDS can trigger alerts for any detected irregularities, allowing network administrators to respond promptly to potential security breaches. This capability is crucial in a layered security approach, as it provides visibility into concerning activities that might otherwise go unnoticed.

While filtering outgoing traffic, encrypting data, and enabling firewall features are all important components of network security, they serve different functions that do not specifically focus on detecting unauthorized actions within the network. An IDS is uniquely positioned to enhance overall network defense by proactively identifying threats before they escalate into actual security incidents.