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I call (and I'm not alone in this idea) a mechanism that protects a system from entry by malicious users a preventive mechanism. On the other side, what should I call a mechanism that deals with intruders already within the system by analyzing their behaviors - and based on the findings, identifies them for further decisions/actions?

I think it could be called as confrontive mechanism. Is this term appropriate? Any idea for better terms?

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    Is confrontive an appropriate term to describe a mechanism that...,?
    – user66974
    Jun 9, 2015 at 7:53
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    Surveillance? User analysis?
    – Julie Carter
    Jun 9, 2015 at 9:59
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    @JulieCarter - Surveillance sounds good.
    – Oldbag
    Jun 9, 2015 at 10:51
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    A firewall stops unwanted users/software from getting into your computer. Malware cleaning packages detect and remove unwanted software that's already got past the firewall. The first is a "preventive" approach, the second is "curative".
    – FumbleFingers
    Jun 9, 2015 at 12:10
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    @Eilia: Derivatives of confront simply don't work so well as those based on cure for your context. I think because the "target" is inanimate/non-sentient, and to confront is akin to challenge, oppose, in that it's more likely to be used in contexts where two foes are actively (and consciously) battling against each other. A doctor might tackle or treat your disease in order to cure it, but he probably wouldn't confront or stand up to it. You yourself might confront your problems, but usually there's the implication that what you're "facing up to" is your own inner "inertia".
    – FumbleFingers
    Jun 9, 2015 at 14:31

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The computer industry has long used the analogy of infected systems. You could rely upon this well-established trope, and make a distinction between preventative and therapeutic measures, and refer to an observational phase during which you attempt to determine the nature of the thing that is infecting the system.

What you need to steer clear of is mixing martial metaphors with medical metaphors, for then you have a trope and a meta-trope, so to speak.

As an alternative, you can refer to the observational phase as the "discovery" phase, or you could say that during the heuristic phase you seek to determine the nature of the infection.

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  • Specifically adjectives are welcomed. For example, as said in the comments and OP, preventive and curative/confrontive approaches or mechanisms. Then, what adjectives are suggested for discovery and heuristic?
    – Eilia
    Jun 9, 2015 at 13:58
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    Heuristic is already an adjective, and discovery, a noun, can be used attributively as an adjective: "the discovery phase", "a discovery mechanism", "a discovery approach".
    – TimR
    Jun 9, 2015 at 14:03
  • Another issue is that such phase in addition to discovery, tries to deal with the detected problem(s) in some way. In this regard, discovery/heuristic cannot support the underlying idea, IMO.
    – Eilia
    Jun 9, 2015 at 14:08
  • You said that at this phase you were not taking remedial action, merely identifying the culprits and their behaviors, for future action. Identifying the problem and eradicating the problem are separate things, right?
    – TimR
    Jun 9, 2015 at 14:11
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    @Eilia: Good one :) But diagnosis and treatment are still discrete functions even though the nano-particles can do both. They had to coin that word. If coinage is allowed here, the door opens.
    – TimR
    Jun 9, 2015 at 14:31

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