CIS Control 13.2: Deploy a Host-Based Intrusion Detection Solution
Host-based intrusion detection systems (HIDS) monitor individual assets for suspicious activity and unauthorized access attempts in real time. This CIS Control 13.2 requires deploying detection solutions where appropriate across your infrastructure to catch threats before they spread. For SMBs, implementing HIDS effectively means balancing visibility, performance, and operational overhead—without enterprise budgets.
What this means
Host-based intrusion detection solutions monitor activity on individual endpoints and servers to identify signs of compromise, unauthorized access, or malicious behavior. Unlike network-based detection, HIDS operates directly on the asset, detecting threats that encrypted traffic or internal lateral movement might hide. Deployment should target high-value assets, production systems, and sensitive data repositories where the risk and impact of intrusion are greatest. Not all systems require HIDS—the control acknowledges that some assets may lack support or create unacceptable performance degradation.
How to comply
- 1.Inventory enterprise assets and classify by criticality, data sensitivity, and operational role
- 2.Evaluate HIDS solutions for compatibility with your OS environments (Windows, Linux, macOS)
- 3.Deploy HIDS agents to production servers, workstations handling sensitive data, and domain controllers first
- 4.Configure detection rules and signatures aligned to your threat model and regulatory requirements
- 5.Establish alerting thresholds to notify security teams of suspicious process execution, file modifications, and network connections
- 6.Test HIDS performance impact before full deployment to ensure business continuity
- 7.Document which assets have HIDS deployed and justify any exceptions where deployment is not feasible
- 8.Review and tune detection rules quarterly to reduce false positives and improve signal-to-noise ratio
- 9.Maintain audit logs of all detections and investigated incidents for compliance evidence
Evidence auditors look for
- HIDS deployment inventory showing asset name, OS, agent version, and deployment date
- Configuration documentation for detection rules, alert thresholds, and baseline behavior profiles
- Screenshots of HIDS console showing active monitoring, recent detections, and alert status
- Logs of detected suspicious activity with timestamps and investigation outcomes
- Policy document authorizing HIDS deployment and defining assets where deployment is not supported
- Tuning and rule update records showing quarterly reviews and threshold adjustments
- Performance impact assessments for systems where HIDS was tested but not deployed
- Incident response records tied to HIDS detections showing investigation and remediation steps
Frequently asked questions
When will FAQs be available?
The FAQ for this control is currently being prepared.
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