Theme for the Week - Firewalls
Learning Objectives:
• Choose an appropriate firewall for a given secure network.
• Differentiate between hardware and software firewalls.
• Describe the types of firewalls and what features they provide.
• Explain the strengths and weaknesses of firewalls.
This week:
Firewalls are an indispensable means to regulate traffic between hosts or between networks. Firewalls are implemented in many forms, and they may be hardware devices or programs that run on individual computers. However, regardless of where they are located, they ultimately serve only one purpose: allow good packets to pass and block bad ones.
A firewall is the first line of defense between your network and an external attacker. Therefore, it would be poor network security design to omit a firewall from your network architecture. In addition, it would not be wise to install hosts on your network that were not protected by software firewalls. All major operating systems have built-in firewalls, and there are additional layers of protection that are available from third party vendors.
Our reading assignment for this week provides a good overview of firewalls. In addition, the supplemental readings give insight into some firewall products that are available today. Please take the time to go through these readings, as they will provide valuable information to you when attempting to design the correct firewall solution for a secure network.
Assignment 10_1 (On-line Quiz)
Take this ten question true/false and multiple choice chapter quiz over the reading assignment. Quizzes are a "participation grade," which means that you can retake them as many times as necessary. However, please be aware that low scores are a sign that you need to go back to the reading assignment, slow down, and read more carefully.
You need to take the quiz by the end of the week to earn credit.
Assignment 10_2 (Post to this week's discussion forum)
Post a substantive answer to one of the following questions. Please select a question that has not been previously answered by one of your classmates, until all questions have been answered at least once. Once that has been done, you may select any question that has only been answered once. Once you have submitted your initial post, read each initial post and respond to at least three. Remember to cite your sources.
1. What techniques could an intruder use to break into or circumvent a firewall? Provide examples to illustrate your answer.
2. How does a firewall work? Provide examples. Also, avoid answers like, "It works very well," as they will not get you any credit for your post.
3. Which are better, hardware or software firewalls? Support your answer.
4. If your network could have only one hardware firewall, where should it be placed and why? You may use a picture or diagram.
5. If all traffic entering or leaving a local network passes through a firewall, couldn't that firewall negatively impact performance? What would you do if that was the case?
6. If a virtual private network is allowed to pass through a firewall (for example, between a Windows server in the local network and a laptop on the Internet,) what problems might occur? Provide an example.
7. What secure network design considerations are important when selecting and configuring a firewall?
8. What is a local security policy and how would you implement one?
9. If a hacker broke into your firewall and configured it to allow all traffic from any originator to go to any destination, what would be the impact to your network in terms of security? Elaborate.
10. Do you believe any of the design goals for firewalls, as discussed in your reading, are achievable? Elaborate.
Our trivia question for the week: What is a Blue Box and what was it used for?
General Posting Guidelines (for participation): Postings are counted as participation for the week. Make sure all postings for this week's assignments are posted to this week's discussion forum. You must post at least two substantive messages to get minimum credit for participation (a 'C' grade). Two messages on different days gets a 'B' for participation - more postings (including answering other questions) get more credit. To qualify for an 'A' grade, you must post at least three critical thinking messages on three different days. Postings on the last day of the lesson will not count for credit since other students will not have sufficient time to respond or participate in your discussion. Post early and often. Don't wait until the last minute!
Assignment 10_3 (Attach to this assignment)
Using the Internet and other appropriate references, locate a hardware or software firewall product or service that has not previously been discussed in this assignment. It may be a program, a security appliance, or a router that has the ability to do stateful and deep packet inspection. Describe your firewall and its capabilities and explain how it could be used in a secure network to provide protection. List any sites or references used in your research in APA format. Save your description to a Microsoft Word document as CYBR515 Assignment 10_3_ and attach it to this assignment.
Assignment 10-4 Milestone 4
Our fourth set of project deliverables is due this week. For this milestone you will be making your final design changes to the network infrastructure. Review all of your work to this point, and use everything that you have learned from this course to provide the appropriate level of security at each level of the network. Again, use the information from your studies and feedback from previous assignments, to help you with this process.
Produce a final revision of your Visio diagram and a final set of recommendations for change in a Microsoft Word document. You should include any past Visio diagrams as tabs, so we can track changes and progress. Your written discussion should explain your recommendations in enough detail to be easily understood by the "customer." Remember to cite any sources that you choose to use in APA format.
Attach your completed documents to this assignment. Please include CYBR515 Assignment 10-4 and your name in the file name for your diagram and summary. Remember, you only have one opportunity to attach documents, so please attach both documents at the same time.
