CompTIA Security+ (SY0-401) — Question 12

Mike, a network administrator, has been asked to passively monitor network traffic to the companys sales websites. Which of the following would be BEST suited for this task?

Answer options

• A. HIDS
• B. Firewall
• C. NIPS
• D. Spam filter

Correct answer: C

Explanation

NIPS (Network Intrusion Prevention System) is designed to monitor network traffic and can detect and respond to threats in real-time, making it ideal for passive monitoring of web traffic. HIDS (Host Intrusion Detection System) operates on individual devices rather than the network as a whole, while a Firewall primarily controls access rather than monitoring. A Spam filter focuses on email traffic and is not suitable for monitoring web traffic.