Intrusion detection is performed by communicating an initialization request from an intrusion detection system enabled application to an intrusion module to begin intrusion detection. Also, a request is communicated to a policy transfer agent to provide an intrusion detection system policy specifically configured for the application. The application identifies where in the application code the intrusion detection system policy is to be checked against an incoming or outgoing communication. Information obtained by the application program is selectively evaluated against information in the intrusion detection system policy. A conditional response is made based upon information in the intrusion detection system policy if an intrusion associated with the application program is detected.