CompTIA CASP+ Practice Test

What is the most effective way to reduce irrelevant events generated by a new IDS device?

1. Adjust IDS filters to decrease the number of false positives

2. Increase the sampling rate of events

3. Install additional sensors to monitor more traffic

4. Lower the severity thresholds for alerts

The correct answer is: Adjust IDS filters to decrease the number of false positives

Adjusting IDS filters to decrease the number of false positives is the most effective way to reduce irrelevant events generated by a new IDS device. This approach focuses on refining the sensitivity of the intrusion detection system, allowing it to distinguish between legitimate threats and benign anomalies more accurately. False positives occur when legitimate activities are mistakenly identified as malicious threats. By fine-tuning the filters, the IDS can better analyze the incoming traffic and only flag genuine threats based on specific criteria such as known attack signatures, behaviors, or patterns that have been defined as suspicious. This not only minimizes the number of irrelevant events but also enhances the overall efficiency of the incident response team, allowing them to focus on real incidents without being overwhelmed by disallowed alerts. Increasing the sampling rate of events may lead to an overload of information without necessarily improving the accuracy of the detections, as it could result in even more irrelevant data. Installing additional sensors can widen the scope of monitoring but does not inherently reduce the number of irrelevant events without proper filtering. Lowering severity thresholds for alerts could potentially increase the alert volume, resulting in even more false positives rather than reducing them. Thus, refining the filtering capabilities is essential for handling the data generated by the IDS effectively.