Firewallfinal
Firewallfinal
Security
Firewall
Introduction
• seen evolution of information systems
• now everyone want to be on the Internet
• and to interconnect networks
• has persistent security concerns
– can’t easily secure every system in org
• need "harm minimisation"
• a Firewall usually part of this
What is a Firewall?
• a choke point of control and monitoring
• interconnects networks with differing trust
• imposes restrictions on network services
– only authorized traffic is allowed
• auditing and controlling access
– can implement alarms for abnormal behavior
• is itself immune to penetration
• provides perimeter defence
Firewall Limitations
• cannot protect from attacks bypassing it
– eg sneaker net, utility modems, trusted
organisations, trusted services (eg SSL/SSH)
• cannot protect against internal threats
– eg disgruntled employee
• cannot protect against transfer of all virus
infected programs or files
– because of huge range of O/S & file types
Firewalls – Packet Filters
Firewalls – Packet Filters
• simplest of components
• foundation of any firewall system
• examine each IP packet (no context) and
permit or deny according to rules
• hence restrict access to services (ports)
• possible default policies
– that not expressly permitted is prohibited
– that not expressly prohibited is permitted
Firewalls – Packet Filters
Attacks on Packet Filters
• IP address spoofing
– fake source address to be trusted
– add filters on router to block
• source routing attacks
– attacker sets a route other than default
– block source routed packets
• tiny fragment attacks
– split header info over several tiny packets
– either discard or reassemble before check
Firewalls – Stateful Packet Filters