Which statement best describes the relationship between IDS and Firewall?

Which statement best describes the relationship between IDS and Firewall?

• A. IDS sits outside the network boundary
• B. Firewall is more of a IPS (prevention)
• C. IDS prevents intrusions
• D. Firewall and IDS are identical

Answer: (B)

Firewalls enforce access control by filtering traffic based on rules, which prevents unwanted packets from getting through. That blocking action is a preventive measure, and in many modern setups firewalls include intrusion prevention capabilities (IPS), meaning they don’t just permit or deny traffic—they actively block detected threats. An IDS, on the other hand, analyzes traffic to identify signs of intrusion and alerts you, but doesn’t automatically block the traffic by itself. So describing a firewall as “more of an IPS (prevention)” highlights its blocking role, especially when it has IPS-like features, which makes it the best fit among the options.

Firewalls enforce access control by filtering traffic based on rules, which prevents unwanted packets from getting through. That blocking action is a preventive measure, and in many modern setups firewalls include intrusion prevention capabilities (IPS), meaning they don’t just permit or deny traffic—they actively block detected threats. An IDS, on the other hand, analyzes traffic to identify signs of intrusion and alerts you, but doesn’t automatically block the traffic by itself. So describing a firewall as “more of an IPS (prevention)” highlights its blocking role, especially when it has IPS-like features, which makes it the best fit among the options.