These systems are typically implemented as an overlay to an existing Wireless LAN infrastructure, although they may be deployed standalone to enforce no-wireless policies within an organization.
Large organizations with many employees are particularly vulnerable to security breaches[1] caused by rogue access points.
If an employee (trusted entity) in a location brings in an easily available wireless router, the entire network can be exposed to anyone within range of the signals.
[3] In addition to intrusion detection, a WIPS also includes features that prevent against the threat automatically.
The WIPS server correlates the information, validates it against the defined policies, and classifies if it is a threat.
A hosted WIPS implementation requires very little configuration because the sensors are programmed to automatically look for the server on the Internet over a secure TLS connection.
For a large organization with locations that are not a part of a private network, a hosted WIPS implementation simplifies deployment significantly because sensors connect to the Server over the Internet without requiring any special configuration.