IDS (Intrusion Detection System)

An Intrusion Detection System monitors network traffic or host activity for patterns indicative of attack and raises alerts. Unlike an IPS it does not block traffic in line, which avoids the risk of disrupting legitimate flows. Modern systems combine signature, anomaly, and behavioural detection and feed a SOC's SIEM and SOAR pipelines.

Categories: Security ControlsThreats and AttacksInternet and Routing

IDS in context

Security controls span signaling firewalls (SS7/Diameter/GTP screening), transport encryption (IPsec, TLS, PRINS), identity and access on OSS/BSS, and monitoring at both packet and log level. Controls are audited against GSMA FS.11/FS.19/FS.20/FS.36.

Telecom threats range from opportunistic SMS phishing and SIM swap to nation-state grade location tracking. The common thread is that most attacks exploit the inherited trust model of legacy signaling protocols.

To place IDS in the wider telecom-security picture, review ASN, BGP Hijacking, Egress, LAN, 3G and A5/0 — each entry cross-references back to this page so you can walk the topic in either direction.

Related terms

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Browse the full TelcoSec Glossary, the Ultimate Guide to Mobile Network Security, or the P1 Arsenal of telecom-security tools.