What type of security control alerts the administrator about suspicious activities by monitoring the inbound and outbound packets from devices?

The type of security control that alerts the administrator about suspicious activities by monitoring the inbound and outbound packets from devices is the Host Intrusion Detection System (HIDS). HIDS operates by analyzing system and application logs on a host (or individual device) for signs of malicious activities or policy violations. By specifically focusing on the behavior and state of the host, HIDS provides alerts based on detected anomalies or suspicious actions in real-time, enabling the administrator to respond proactively.

While options like network intrusion detection systems and intrusion prevention systems also monitor network traffic for signs of irregularities, they do so at a broader network level rather than focusing specifically on individual hosts. This distinction makes HIDS particularly valuable for monitoring application behavior and system integrity at the endpoint level, thus supporting a layered security approach that includes host monitoring alongside network traffic analysis.