Which security mechanism uses a combination of signatures and behavior analysis?

The Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) employs a combination of signatures and behavior analysis to identify and mitigate threats. This dual approach enhances its capability to detect known threats through signature-based detection, which relies on predefined characteristics of known attacks. Simultaneously, behavior analysis allows the IPS to monitor for abnormal patterns and anomalies in network traffic that may not match any existing signatures, effectively identifying zero-day exploits or sophisticated attack vectors that traditional signature-based methods might miss.

This combination makes the IPS a robust security mechanism, as it can adapt to emerging threats by recognizing unusual behaviors indicative of malicious activity. By integrating both methods, the IPS provides a more comprehensive defense than relying solely on either signatures or behavior analysis.

In contrast, a firewall primarily focuses on filtering traffic based on rules and policies, without incorporating deep behavioral analysis or signature verification in the same way. Antivirus software mainly relies on signature-based detection and can conduct some behavior analysis, but it does not provide the same level of proactive network monitoring that IPS systems do. Content filtering systems focus on blocking specific types of content rather than monitoring for intrusion attempts, making them less suited for the combination found in an IPS.