Episode 60 — Harden Hosts Using HIPS, HIDS, and Host Firewalls
Host protections remain a last, critical line of defense, and the SSCP exam expects you to differentiate prevention, detection, and containment on endpoints. We position Host-based Intrusion Prevention Systems (HIPS) as policy-driven blockers for exploit techniques, Host-based Intrusion Detection Systems (HIDS) as monitors that flag suspicious behavior and integrity changes, and host firewalls as local network control that enforces least-privilege communication. You’ll learn how these tools complement patching, application allowlisting, and privilege management to reduce attack surface and limit blast radius when a compromise begins.
We move from concepts to deployment tactics. Examples include using HIPS rules to block shellcode patterns, enabling HIDS file-integrity monitoring on system and application directories, and writing host firewall policies that separate admin, service, and user traffic. We discuss tuning to minimize false positives, integrating telemetry with SIEM for correlation, and validating effectiveness with controlled tests and change tickets. Troubleshooting covers agent health, kernel conflicts, and policy drift that opens unneeded ports or grants excess privileges. Evidence that the hardening works includes clean baselines, signed policy updates, alert-to-action timelines, and reports showing blocked exploit attempts. With these patterns in mind, you’ll select exam answers that emphasize layered, verifiable host defenses aligned with business-critical availability. Produced by BareMetalCyber.com, where you’ll find more cyber audio courses, books, and information to strengthen your educational path. Also, if you want to stay up to date with the latest news, visit DailyCyber.News for a newsletter you can use, and a daily podcast you can commute with.
