Which term refers to monitoring network traffic to detect malicious activity and optionally block it?

• A. Firewall
• B. End-To-End Encryption
• C. IDS/IPS
• D. VPN

Answer: (C)

This is about watching network traffic for signs of attacks and taking action to stop them. An IDS (intrusion detection system) monitors traffic and raises alerts when it detects suspicious activity. An IPS (intrusion prevention system) does that plus actively blocks or drops malicious traffic in real time. Since the prompt mentions both detection and the option to block, IDS/IPS is the best fit.

Firewalls filter traffic based on rules, but they don’t inherently analyze traffic for known attack patterns or respond to threats beyond basic filtering. End-to-end encryption protects the contents of communications from eavesdropping, not from being monitored for malicious activity. A VPN creates a secure tunnel for data, but it doesn’t detect or block intrusions.