As the number of network intrusions emerges, intrusion defense mechanisms are required urgently for providing a highly secure network environment. The intrusion detection system (IDS) is such a system to detect possible intrusions of networks, and to minimize the response time between intrusion detection and defense reaction as much as possible. We propose a network-based intrusion detection system called AIMS (Active Intrusion Monitor System) that employs emerging active network technologies. AIMS provides a flexible cooperative detection framework and an effective platform for intrusion detection. We have implemented an AIMS prototype. The preliminary experimental results show that the prototype is operational in a fast Ethernet network environment.