Can you discuss the differences between a HIDS and a NIDS?

When asked about the differences between two concepts, make sure you understand what the interviewer is asking. In this case, they use acronyms that you may not be familiar with. It is perfectly acceptable to ask the interviewer a clarifying question before answering their question. It is much better to clarify the question than to assume you understand it and give the interviewer the wrong answer. You can also make a clarifying statement at the beginning of your answer to achieve the same result.

"HIDS and NIDS both refer to intrusion detection systems. HIDS refers to a host-based intrusion detection system, while NIDS references a system located on a network. HIDS runs in the background, while NIDS is an active program that examines network packets for irregularities. Both processes use signature and anomaly-based variants. These validate both known values and anomalies in the packets, which may violate a network's security."