Active versus passive network defense techniques: which statement is accurate?

Active versus passive network defense techniques: which statement is accurate?

• A. Active techniques block traffic or quarantine devices; passive techniques monitor and log without interfering.
• B. Active techniques only monitor; passive techniques block traffic.
• C. Both active and passive techniques always block traffic.
• D. Passive techniques force devices to reauthenticate every 5 minutes.

Answer: (A)

Active vs passive defenses differ by whether the control intervenes in traffic or simply observes what’s happening. The statement that best captures this is that active techniques block traffic or quarantine devices, while passive techniques monitor and log without interfering. In practice, active defenses enact containment—blocking malicious traffic, quarantining a suspect device, or isolating a segment to stop an outbreak. Passive defenses focus on visibility—collecting logs, analyzing traffic patterns, and alerting security teams—without changing the data flow. This aligns with how defenders typically approach protection: use active measures to quickly stop threats, and rely on passive monitoring to understand what happened and improve future responses. The other descriptions mix up roles or describe specific policies that aren’t general characteristics of active versus passive defenses.

Active vs passive defenses differ by whether the control intervenes in traffic or simply observes what’s happening. The statement that best captures this is that active techniques block traffic or quarantine devices, while passive techniques monitor and log without interfering. In practice, active defenses enact containment—blocking malicious traffic, quarantining a suspect device, or isolating a segment to stop an outbreak. Passive defenses focus on visibility—collecting logs, analyzing traffic patterns, and alerting security teams—without changing the data flow.

This aligns with how defenders typically approach protection: use active measures to quickly stop threats, and rely on passive monitoring to understand what happened and improve future responses. The other descriptions mix up roles or describe specific policies that aren’t general characteristics of active versus passive defenses.