Intrusion Detection Systems GOLD MEDAL: Enterasys' Dragon Intrusion Defense System Enterasys' Dragon epitomizes the transition of IDSes from "reactive detection" to "proactive correlation." Rather than firing off thousands of alerts based on single-node scanning, Dragon uses multiple virtual sensors to correlate event data from across the network and compare it to collected data on the network's vulnerability posture. The process, managed through Enterasys' Dynamic Intrusion Response (DIR) system, results in more accurate and timely intrusion management, as well as fewer false positives. Enterasys has transformed Dragon from a standalone IDS to the cornerstone of its network security architecture strategy. SILVER MEDAL: Cisco IDS USER COMMENTS: "Cisco does a good job of understanding where our threats are coming from and changing its products to address them." "Technology-wise, it leads most of the network vendors." BRONZE MEDAL: ISS's RealSecure Network USER COMMENTS: "ISS has a proven IDS infrastructure." "It's the leader in the IDS market. Intrusion Prevention Systems GOLD MEDAL: TippingPoint's UnityOne TippingPoint, just acquired by 3Com, set its sights on the security market in 2001 with the launch of UnityOne, one of the first inline traffic monitoring and automated response devices. It's an IDS on steroids, with blazingly fast inspection and throughput speeds. TippingPoint is improving upon its foundation through the release of a number of appliances to fit the needs of various-sized enterprises. Its R&D team continues to innovate by producing an increasingly broad attack signature database, an optimized detection engine and more reliable automated response measures. While many enterprises shy away from depending on the auto-response capabilities of their IPSes, UnityOne shops use the appliance with a high degree of confidence. "It's the first IPS system that we can stick in front of any workload," said one director of information security.