What is the function of an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)?

An Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) is designed primarily to monitor network traffic for signs of malicious activity. Its core function is to analyze the traffic that traverses the network and identify potential threats or attacks. This involves examining packets for known attack patterns, anomaly detection, and behavior analysis.

When the IPS detects suspicious activity, it can take immediate action to prevent or mitigate the threat. This may include blocking malicious traffic, dropping attack packets, or even resetting connections. The proactive nature of an IPS differentiates it from other security systems that may only alert or log incidents without taking action.

Given this understanding, the option stating that the function of an IPS is to monitor traffic for malicious activity and take preventive action accurately reflects its role in cybersecurity. The other choices present functions that do not pertain to the primary purpose of an IPS. For instance, monitoring network traffic for backup needs relates more to data management rather than security, while encrypting data pertains to confidentiality rather than intrusion detection and prevention. Enhancing the performance of database queries concerns database optimization, which is unrelated to security measures intended to prevent intrusions.