Checkpoint IPS

Thu Feb 5 13:13:26 UTC 2015

>> `` ‘IPS’ devices require artificially-engineered topological symmetry-
>> can have a negative impact on resiliency via path diversity.''
>
>Dang, I thought this quote was from an April 1st RFC when I first read it.
>
>I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but everything we do is "artificial".
>There are no routers in nature, no IP packets, no fiber optics. There is no
>such thing as "natural engineering" -- engineering is "artificial" by
>definition.

You're forgetting that such things are rarely read (in time) by the people that actually implement and use such a product .. that language is targeted at the pointy-haired crowd.
Salespeople *hate* it when they get a technical resource instead of a management one because "it's magic, it's artificial intelligence, etc." just doesn't fly with us.

Personally I'm of the belief that *all* IPS systems are equally worthless, unless the goal is to just check a box on a form. Sure they will give you pretty graphs of script-kiddie attempts but that's just the noise in which the skilled attack will get lost. You have to do everything else right, you can't just plug the "magic box" inline and expect to relax.

My 0.02.

Michael Holstein
Cleveland State University
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