The technological leaps that have taken place in the last 30 years have changed the corporate security playing field for good. Now more than ever, having sound cyber security solutions and ironclad intrusion detection software is a must. After all, when a company experiences a cyber security breach, it can take a year or more to rebuild the reputation of the organization. Time is money, and this kind of snafu can be hard for a company to recover from.

Though the organizational cost of security breaches has declined in recent times, as has the cost of each lost or stolen record, according to a 2011 study breaches still occur, and they are expensive. For example, the U.S. government spent $13 billion to protect information technology during the fiscal year 2011. That same year, 42,887 incidents in the United States took place involving data loss or theft, computer intrusions, and breaches of privacy. This is not something your company can afford in the long run.

When putting together a network intrusion detection system, your first line of defense are firewalls. There are 6 standard categories of firewall, including embedded firewalls, enterprise firewalls that are software based, enterprise hardware based firewalls, SOHO software firewalls, SOHO hardware firewalls, and of course, specialty firewalls. The best one for your company depends upon the specifics of your network intrusion detection system and your intrusion prevention system needs. Making your network IPS invisible is another important element of any good network intrusion detection system. Doing so can make it harder for hackers to break into your confidential data.

A reputable network security company can conduct an IT audit to see where your organization stands in terms of the safety and strength of its network intrusion detection system. After finding any holes that exist, the security company can discuss with you your options to make your network intrusion detection system stronger. Having this kind of audit done is a great way to make sure that your network intrusion detection system is up to snuff.