Due Thursday

Respond to the following in a minimum of 250 words:

A firewall is a device that prevents unauthorized access to a host or a network either from within the corporate environment or coming from the public network, like the internet. Generally, there are two types of firewalls. A hardware firewall takes the form of a closed proprietary appliance with its own operating system. This is considered faster but a bit expensive. A software firewall is installed on a computer and it utilizes the computer’s operating system. Firewalls either hardware or software use rules to filter incoming and outgoing traffic to the network.

In your initial post,

• REFER TO ADDITIONAL RESOURCES below and to the rubric.
• Discuss how you use firewalls to support organizational security at the perimeter.
• Describe the functions included in a NextGen firewall/unified threat management device
• Discuss how you use software firewalls to protect end point devices (servers, desktops, and laptops)
• Describe software tools you could use to assess the security of the firewalls used to protect your organization’s computer architecture.
• Describe ways users can bypass firewalls and web filtering to reach blocked sites.

Additional Resources

• Firewalls at the perimeter should be set to block everything by default: both incoming and outgoing. We then open only the IP address/port or general ports (like port 80 outbound, except for servers) absolutely needed for business operation. However, there are several types/uses for firewalls. See Types of Firewalls: What IT Security Pros Need to Know.
• A NextGen firewall, like the popular Cisco ASA, include much more than traditional firewall functionality. See Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services Data Sheet.
• End point software firewalls are part of the new perimeter: the end point device. See What is a Host-based Firewall? One important function is preventing unexpected traffic from LEAVING the device.
• For a look at three things you should do to test your firewalls, see How to test a firewall: A three-step guide for testing firewalls. Tools to do this, and many other security testing activities, are described in this article, Top Cyber Security Testing Tools in 2019. A quick, free online testing tool for SOHO (Small Office Home Office) firewalls is ShieldsUp!
• Employees will find ways to get around firewall blocking rules. In fact, there are many websites that tell them how to do this. The page, 9 Easy Ways to Bypass a Firewall or Internet Filter, is a great resource for those wanting to get places you don’t want them to access from the office. When you set up filtering and blocking, you also have to have ways to block bypassing.