Which of the following is a crucial metric for evaluating the effectiveness of an Intrusion Detection System (IDS)?

Incident frequency is a crucial metric for evaluating the effectiveness of an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) because it provides quantifiable data on how often attempted breaches or malicious activities occur within the monitored environment. This metric helps security professionals understand the prevalence of security threats and the responsiveness of the IDS in detecting these incidents.

A high incident frequency may indicate that the IDS is effectively identifying attacks, allowing organizations to make informed decisions about their security posture and capabilities. Conversely, a low incident frequency could either suggest that the IDS is performing well in preventing breaches or that it is failing to detect actual threats. Therefore, monitoring and analyzing incident frequency allows organizations to assess the performance of their IDS over time, identify patterns, make necessary adjustments, and continuously improve their security measures.

In contrast, factors such as equipment age, employee training hours, or budget allocation may relate to the broader security program but do not directly measure the effectiveness of the IDS in its primary function of detecting intrusions. While they might indirectly impact an IDS's performance, they are not direct metrics for evaluating its successful detection capabilities.