...Firewalls are essential security elements in any network. However, as with all aspects of network security, deploying firewalls is a complicated task. Many factors need to be considered, chief among them is cost and function. A dilemma faces all firewall administrators: what is the proper balance between firewall security and network usability. In other works, how can one make the network secure as possible with a firewall while maintaining ease of use and maintaining appropriate speed of the connections for the users? There is no one or easy answer to this question. Each network and organization is unique. I believe that fact is the key to a good answer. Since each organization has unique objectives and goals the firewall must protect those security elements that achieve those objectives and goals. To some extent, firewalls must be customized to meet the needs of the organization. I have read about the trade-offs of an out-of-the-box firewall versus a firewall that is built from scratch to meet the requirements of a particular network’s security. A do-it-yourself firewall has the advantage of being highly customized to the needs of the organization and an out-of-the-box firewall generally is more expensive. Does that make a do-it-yourself firewall the better choice? I think not. It seems to me that a pre-built firewall has one overriding advantage when compared to a do-it-yourself unit: documentation and support. What if the builder of that do-it-yourself firewall...
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...Barracuda NG Firewall Scalable Security for the Enterprise Enterprise networks grow larger and more complex every day - and more critical to key business operations. The Barracuda NG Firewall is an essential tool to optimize the performance, security, and availability of today's dispersed enterprise WANs. Security Storage Application Delivery The Barracuda Advantage Effective WAN Management • Application-based traffic prioritization across the WAN • Intelligent uplink balancing • Intelligent traffic re-prioritization on uplink loss Enterprise Readiness • Industry-leading centralized management • WAN optimization • Global WAN monitoring with Barracuda NG Earth Scalable Security • Cloud Enablement and secure WAN Virtualization • Drag-and-drop VPN graphical tunnel interface Product Spotlight • Powerful next-generation network firewall • Intelligent traffic regulation and profiling • Centralized management of all functionality • Deep application control • Comprehensive, built-in IDS/IPS • Tightly integrated QoS and link balancing • Template-based and role-based configuration • Built-in web security (model F100 and higher) Integrated Next-Generation Security The Barracuda NG Firewall is designed and built from the ground up to provide comprehensive, next-generation firewall capabilities. Cloud-hosted content filtering and reporting offload compute-intensive tasks to the cloud for greater resource efficiency and throughput. Based on application visibility, user-identity...
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...DAYSTAR UNIVERSITY An assignment IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT TO THE COURSE ACS 431 Presented by: Gladys Mumbua (10-1809) Submitted to MR FREDRICK OGOR FIREWALLS A firewall is a device that serves as a barrier between networks providing access control, traffic filtering and other security features. Firewalls are commonly deployed between trusted and untrusted networks, for example between the Internet (untrusted) and an organization’s trusted private various network. They [firewalls] can also be used internally to segment an organization’s network infrastructure, for example; deploying a firewall between the traffic was received to determining whether the corporate financial information and the rest of the company network. A firewall can either be software-based or hardware-based and is used to help keep a network secure. Its primary objective is to control the incoming and outgoing network traffic by analyzing the data packets and determining whether it should be allowed through or not, based on a predetermined rule set. A network's firewall builds a bridge between an internal network that is assumed to be secure and trusted, and another network, usually an external (inter)network, such as the Internet, that is not assumed to be secure and trusted. Hardware based firewalls: Hardware firewalls are exactly what the name implies; hardware device that is placed somewhere in the traffic flow of an organization’s network. Once in place, the device receives and analyzes packets...
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...Firewalls Samuel Vallez May 2, 2014 IT/242 Joseph Guin A firewall is a tool that is really used to monitor the flow of traffic on a network to ensure that there is nothing that is harmful being transmitted. There are three kinds of firewalls that can be used which are network, application, and circuit. The network firewall basically works by inspecting packet headers and filtering traffic based on the IP address. It is a pretty fast way of doing things and is still in use today. The downfall is that it is unable to understand languages like HTML or XML and this leaves you open to lots of threats. Application firewalls dig a lot deeper into the application data that is going through the filter. It is a process that takes longer, but boasts features like logging of user activity and filtering sites based on content and not just by IP address. Circuit level is more based on making sure that a session is legitimate by monitoring TCP handshaking between packets. This does not filter individual packets and is bound to certain session rules. It is very helpful in protecting the network from outside intrusion. All three firewalls are useful in one way or another. I personally think that the application based firewall is the best out of all three. Most threats these days can be caught with this type of firewalling. While it is not full proof and takes some more time, I think that it is the most helpful to...
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...Importance of Firewall MedIQ is going in the right direction by adding a firewall in their network. The importance of a firewall is that it blocks malware that would be able to scan your computer to find its vulnerable areas and then attempt to break it while it is at its weakest point. First of all there is only one way to make your computer completely safe from attack and that is either when it is off or unconnected from the Internet. Other than that there are always vulnerabilities. However, you can make it as close to hacker proof as possible while it is connected to the Internet. The way to do this is to have a personal firewall installed along with antivirus and anti spyware protection. Plus you have to make sure that all three of these are updated on the regular. Additional protection is available to a network that used a router with a firewall feature. Firewalls protect your computer from outside attacks by guarding it from unnecessary Internet traffic. They can however be configured to block certain data while letting other data in. The importance of a firewall on your computer can not be underestimated especially for those who are always connected to the Internet. Firewalls are positioned between your computer and your network and are great for protecting multiple computers but also offer a great degree of protection for single computer use. It allows individual users decide how much content they want to filter through and what websites are safe to use. In some...
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...encapsulation. 11. What is a difference between a DMZ and an extranet? VPN required for access. 12. What is the primary security concern with wireless connections? Signal propagation 13. What are two elements of network design that have the greatest risk of causing a DoS? Single point of failure Bottlenecks 14. For what type of threat are there no current defenses? Zero day 15. Which of the following is true regarding a layer 2 address and layer 3 address? * Layer 2 addresses can be filtered with MAC address filtering * Network layer address is at layer 3 and is routable 16. Which of the following are not benefits of IPv6? RFC 1918 Address 17. What is the most common default security stance employed on firewalls?...
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...Allen & Bose Insurance Services Firewall Security Project Business Requirement and proposed Solution Report CIS 343 July 10, 2013 Dr. Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction/Background and History 4 Issues faced and specific needs to be solved by installing upgrades 5 Projects Assumptions and Constraints 7 Business Requirement ….………………………..………………………………………..8 Definition of Terms ….……………………………..……………………………………..9 Project Scope...……………………………………..……………………………………10 References…………………………………………..……………………………………13 Executive Summary The objective of this paper is to educate both the senior management of Allen & Bose Insurance Inc. on the network security threats that exist with our current network design. The enclosed report presents an analysis on Allen & Bose Insurance Services current security posture and highlights the issues we have face over the past year as well as industry best practices and recommended updates we should make to our network security design that will protect the organization from the myriad of security threats that are out there. Introduction/Background and History Allen & Bose Insurance Services has become a dynamic and intricate player in the automotive and home insurance market. The company has grown from 25 employees in one office to over 225 employees in 3 offices. In the early days the computer systems that were used were on a close network of networked computing...
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...Comparing SOHO Hardware Firewalls Routers As more and more individuals start their own small home businesses and technology is becoming a major part of these businesses, it is just as important that they are able to secure their network from attacks the same as enterprises-level businesses. According to Whitman & Mattord (2011), one of the most effective methods of improving computer security in the Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) setting is a SOHO firewall, which serves as stateful firewalls that enable inside-to-outside and can be configured to allow limited TCP/IP port forwarding and/or screened subnet capabilities (p. 256). This paper will compare the Watchguard Firebox SOHO 6 and the Sonic Wall, which are both VPN router that offers similar specifications. This paper will compare these SOHO firewall products that function as packet-filtering firewalls that offer combine features, and provides SOHO users the strong protection from the use of Network Address translation (NAT) services. Watchguard Firebox SOHO 6 verses SonicWall Watchguard Firebox SOHO 6 is a firewall and VPN router for small business and branch offices that allows the sharing of a single broadband connection, and it is supported by all the leading operating systems. This product includes licenses for 10 users, with an upgrade option for 25 to 50 users. Small office owner often have very little experience managing their office hardware. Therefore, the Watchguard Firebox SOHO 6 is a good chose...
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...Modern Day Attacks Against Firewalls and Virtual Private Networks Electronic technology is growing at a rapid rate; more devices are made mobile and wireless, but with those improvement and developments come flaws and malicious opportunities. Cyber attacks are on the rise and no system or device is immune. Many organizations employ multiple layers of firewalls but that doesn’t completely eliminate the threat. Attacks against firewalls and virtual private networks or VPNs are constantly being exploited with new methods everyday, but they are yet another obstacle that a cyber criminal must overcome. First let’s discuss what a firewall is and what a firewall is capable of doing. Firewall applications are normally used to protect and secure private networks. A network can have a software, hardware or both firewalls installed and they provide the “ability to control in-bound and outbound traffic”, according to Pirc of Sans Technology Institute (para 2, nd). Most Microsoft operating systems today come with a firewall installed and Microsoft suggests that you should have a firewall set up on each system in your home, even if you have a hardware firewall such as a router that has security policies adjusted, this can help prevent any malicious activity from spreading across your home network. Most firewalls contain a variety of policies but they all at the very least have the same basic policies that can be set up. There are 3 common policies that you...
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...A firewall is a network device, hardware, software, or a combination of the two, whose purpose is to enforce a security policy across its connections. It is comparable to a wall that has a window where the wall serves to keep things out, except those permitted through the window. A security policy acts like the glass in the window; it permits some things to pass, light, while blocking others, air. The heart of a firewall is the security policy that it enforces. Security policies are a series of rules that define what traffic is permissible and what traffic is to be blocked or denied. These are not universal rules, and there are many different sets of rules for a single company with multiple connections. A web server connected to the Internet may be configured only to allow traffic on port 80 for HTTP, and have all other ports blocked. An e-mail server may have only necessary ports for e-mail open, with others blocked. A key to security policies for firewalls is the same as has been seen for other security policies, the principle of least access. Only allow the necessary access for a function, block or deny all unneeded functionality. How an organization deploys its firewalls determines what is needed for security policies for each firewall. The security topology will determine what network devices are employed at what points in a network. At a minimum, the corporate connection to the Internet should pass through a firewall. This firewall should block all network traffic except...
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...Firewalls Overview Tutorial Firewalls This interactive will cover the aspects related to the utilization of firewalls in an organization. One important thing that needs to be kept in mind regarding firewalls is that they are commonly deployed at the organizational perimeter AND on the individual computers inside the organization. Since the perimeter firewall predated the single computer firewall perimeter firewalls are frequently referred to as firewalls. Firewalls protecting a single computer are called host based firewalls, software firewalls or client firewalls. While there are many ways to categorize perimeter firewalls, perhaps the most effective way is to look at them in terms of functionality. From a functional standpoint firewalls can be divided into Access Control List based, State Based and Application Proxy firewalls. The easiest way to understand the Access Control based firewall is to consider the fact that they can restrict traffic based on the source IP address of the packet. You would not want a packet coming in from the outside that has an IP address that should be INSIDE your organization. This might be from someone using a “SPOOFED” source IP address to attack your internal network resources. If you were receiving numerous packets from a single IP address this might be from someone trying to perform a Denial of Service (DoS) attack on you. Obviously you would want to block traffic from that IP address. Sometimes this functionality is...
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...Firewall Taxonomy Firewalls come in various sizes and flavors. The most typical idea of a firewall is a dedicated system or appliance that sits in the network and segments an "internal" network from the "external" Internet. Most home or SOHO networks use an appliance-based device for broadband connectivity that includes a built-in firewall. Following is the description of three most important type of firewalls Personal Firewalls Personal firewalls are designed to protect a single host. They can be viewed as a hardened shell around the host system, whether it is a server, desktop, or laptop. Typically, personal firewalls assume that outbound traffic from the system is to be permitted and inbound traffic requires inspection. By default, personal firewalls include various profiles that accommodate the typical traffic a system might see. For example, Zone Alarm has low, medium, and high settings that allow almost all traffic, selected traffic, or nearly no traffic, respectively, through to the protected system. In a similar vein, IP Tables. which you can set up as a personal firewall as well as in a network firewall role during the setup of the Linux system, enables the installer to choose the level of protection for the system and the customization for ports that do not fall into a specific profile. One important consideration with personal firewalls is centralized management. Some vendors have identified that a significant barrier to deployment of personal firewall...
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...Checkpoint: Firewalls IT/242 Your Name A firewall is one of the main software features that are in a computer system or a network. The job of a firewall is to prevent unauthorized access from the outside while authorizing access that is permitted. Firewalls are mainly used to keep outside intruders from accessing the private networks. There are several types of firewalls that are available for security. Firewall can be used for a home network, work network, and large business networks. The first level for a firewall is the packet filters. The packet filters can offer access and refuse access to any machines that are located within the network system and outside the network. It is also able to manage the direction of access the machine has. A firewall can control and allow incoming traffic as well as outgoing traffic. The second level is the application level gateway. The application level gateways are kept between the user that is on the Internet network and the service on the Internet. The next level of firewall is the circuit level gateway. The circuit level gateway functions on the transport level of the OSI model. The UDP and TCP are checked by the Circuit level gateways before attempting to make the connection. A proxy server is the last level of a firewall. This is used to intercept all of the messages that enter and leave the network system. The proxy server is able to conceal the true network addresses. When it comes down to choosing which firewall will best serve...
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...were presented. With the information provided, and based on additional research, the primary objective in this assessment was to identify the possible presence of vulnerabilities within the overall framework of Aircraft Solutions operations. Based on the presence on weaknesses, an evaluation of the associated threats was conducted, followed by an analysis of any risks that may be present and potential outcomes. Overview Three areas of potential security weaknesses in Information Technology (IT) for Aircraft Solutions, or any company are hardware, software, and IT policy. In terms of hardware, the provided Network Architecture Map detailed that Aircraft Solutions lacks a firewall between the Commercial Division and the Internet, while all other branches of the company are protected through a firewall in one manner or another. This is a significant vulnerability to the entire system. For Software, Aircraft Solutions uses a Business Process Management System (BPM) that handles end-to-end processes across multiple systems and organizations within in the company. Currently their software solution seems segmented, with many steps required before it allows not only user access from internal customers, but external customers’ as well. So multiple users access the software solution which coupled with the Hardware vulnerability could lead to potential disaster....
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...software firewall as well as hardware firewall in one device called cyberoam as well as MacAfee anti-virus . A firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network.It is located at a network gateway server. A firewall plays an important role on any network as it provides a protective barrier against most forms of attack. It controls the incoming and outgoing network traffic by analyzing the data packets and determining whether it should be allowed through or not, based on a predetermined rule set by the organization using. There are two types of firewall: * Software Firewall: Is a software program installed in any computer in order to protect it. Software firewalls is best suited for protecting computers from Trojan programs, e-mail worms, or spams. It prevents any unauthorized access. An example of software firewall includes Zone Alarm, Sygate, Kerio. An illustration is shown below: * Hardware firewall: Is a device which connects your computer or network in order to protect them from unauthorized access. An example of hardware firewalls includes Linksys, D-Link, Netgear. There are several types of firewall techniques but the one which is used by Dar Al-Hekma College is Packet filter technique. This technique as its name implies filters all the packet data that enters or leaves the Dar Al-Hekma college network and it then decides whether to accept or reject it based on the configuration set by DAH College. Hence the firewall in this...
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