What is Protocol Hygiene in the context of Intrusion Prevention?

Protocol Hygiene refers to the practice of ensuring that network traffic adheres to established protocol standards. This is particularly important in the context of Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) because many threats exploit deviations from standard protocols to carry out attacks. By blocking traffic that does not conform to these standards, Protocol Hygiene helps to prevent potential intrusions and security breaches.

Implementing Protocol Hygiene is a proactive measure that strengthens the overall security posture of a network. It can identify and mitigate risks associated with malformed packets, unexpected commands, or malformed traffic that could indicate an attack or unauthorized access. This approach is essential for maintaining the integrity of communications within the network, hence contributing significantly to an organization's cybersecurity strategy.

Other options may address different aspects of network security, but they do not encapsulate the specific focus of Protocol Hygiene on the adherence to protocol standards.