Which statement describes a False Positive in IDS alerts?

Which statement describes a False Positive in IDS alerts?

• A. The IDS labels a behavior as an attack, which is indeed an attack in real life.
• B. The IDS labels a behavior as not an attack, but it is not an attack in real life.
• C. The IDS labels a behavior not as an attack, but it is not an attack in real life.
• D. The IDS labels a behavior as an attack, but it is not an attack in real life.

Answer: (D)

In an IDS, a false positive is when the system raises an alarm for something that isn’t actually malicious. The statement describes exactly that: the IDS marks a behavior as an attack, but in real life it isn’t an attack. This is the scenario that wastes time and can cause alert fatigue, because legitimate activity is being treated as a threat. For contrast, a true positive would be an alert that correctly identifies a real attack, while a true negative would be no alert for benign activity. A false negative would be missing an actual attack, where the system stays quiet even though there is a threat.

In an IDS, a false positive is when the system raises an alarm for something that isn’t actually malicious. The statement describes exactly that: the IDS marks a behavior as an attack, but in real life it isn’t an attack. This is the scenario that wastes time and can cause alert fatigue, because legitimate activity is being treated as a threat.

For contrast, a true positive would be an alert that correctly identifies a real attack, while a true negative would be no alert for benign activity. A false negative would be missing an actual attack, where the system stays quiet even though there is a threat.