CIS Control 13.8: Deploy a Network Intrusion Prevention Solution
Network intrusion prevention is your active defense against unauthorized access and advanced threats targeting your infrastructure. CIS Control 13.8 requires deploying technology that can detect and automatically block malicious network activity in real-time. For SMBs, this means choosing between dedicated NIPS appliances or leveraging equivalent cloud provider security services.
What this means
This control mandates implementing technology that monitors network traffic and actively prevents intrusion attempts from reaching protected systems. A Network Intrusion Prevention System (NIPS) inspects inbound and outbound traffic, identifies suspicious patterns based on signatures and anomalies, and can automatically block or alert on threats. Cloud service providers offer equivalent managed services (AWS GuardDuty, Azure Advanced Threat Protection, Google Cloud Armor) as alternatives to on-premises hardware solutions.
How to comply
- 1.Assess your network architecture and identify critical data flows requiring intrusion prevention coverage
- 2.Evaluate NIPS solutions (Snort, Suricata, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet) or CSP-native services based on budget and technical capability
- 3.Deploy the selected solution at network perimeter or critical internal segments
- 4.Configure detection rules and signatures appropriate to your threat landscape and industry
- 5.Enable automated blocking for critical threats while maintaining alert queues for lower-severity activity
- 6.Establish baseline performance metrics and monitor false-positive rates
- 7.Integrate NIPS alerts with your SIEM for centralized threat visibility
- 8.Schedule quarterly reviews of rule sets and threat intelligence updates
Evidence auditors look for
- NIPS deployment documentation showing solution type, placement, and coverage scope
- Configuration screenshots demonstrating enabled threat prevention rules and blocking policies
- Monthly alert logs showing detected and blocked intrusion attempts
- CSP service activation records (GuardDuty, Advanced Threat Protection) with coverage confirmation
- Change logs documenting rule updates and signature database refreshes
- Network diagrams indicating NIPS placement and protected network segments
- Incident response records showing NIPS-detected threats and remediation actions
Frequently asked questions
When will FAQs be available?
The FAQ for this control is currently being prepared.
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