Firewalls

Overview of Firewalls
• As the name implies, a firewall acts to provide
secured access between two networks
• A firewall may be implemented as a
standalone hardware device or in the form of
a software on a client computer or a proxy
server
– The two types of firewall are generally known as
the hardware firewall and the software firewall
 Firewalls in Practice

A computer may be
protected by both a
hardware and a
software firewall.
 Mode of Operation
A firewall that stands in
between two networks will
inspect a packet that is
ready to pass between
the networks and allow or
block the packet based on
the rules set for the
firewall to operate.
 General Firewall Features
• Port Control
• Network Address Translation
• Application Monitoring (Program
Control)
• Packet Filtering
 Additional Firewall Features
• Data encryption
• Hiding presence
• Reporting/logging
• e-mail virus protection
• Pop-up ad blocking
• Cookie digestion
• Spy ware protection etc.
 Viruses and Firewalls
• In general, firewalls cannot protect against
viruses
– An anti-virus software is needed for that purpose
• However, many security suites such as those
offered by MacAfee and Norton offer the
complete protection.
• Some software firewalls such as Zone Alarm
Pro may contain limited virus protection
features.
 A Rule of Thumb

Use the best firewall and virus protection

although each may originate from a
different company.
ISO-OSI Layers of
Operation
 Firewall Layer of Operation
• Network Layer

• Application Layer
 Network Layer
• Makes decision based on the
source, destination addresses,
and ports in individual IP packets.
• Based on routers
• Has the ability to perform static
and dynamic packet filtering and
stateful inspection.
 Static & Dynamic Filtering
• Static Packet Filtering looks at minimal
information in the packets to allow or
block traffic between specific service
ports
– Offers little protection.
• Dynamic Packet Filtering maintains a
connection table in order to monitor
requests and replies.
 Stateful Inspection
• Compares certain key parts of the
packet to a database of trusted
information. Incoming information is
compared to outgoing information
characteristics. Information is allowed
through only If comparison yields a
reasonable match.
 Application Layer
• They are generally, hosts running proxy
servers which perform logging and
auditing of traffic through the network.
• Logging and access control are done
through software components.
 Proxy Services
• Application that mediates traffic
between a protected network and the
internet.
• Able to understand the application
protocol being utilized and implement
protocol specific security.
• Application protocols include: FTP,
HTTP, Telnet etc.
 Port Scans
• When hackers remotely spy on your
computers to see what software and
services they have.
• Port scans are common but with a
properly configured and maintained
firewall you can restrict access.
 DMZ

• Demilitarized zone
• Neither part of the internal network nor
part of the Internet
• Never offer attackers more to work with
than is absolutely necessary
 Firewall Scenario

• Microsoft Internet Security and

Acceleration (ISA) Server as a Dedicated
Server
 Network Configuration
Local Area Network
• Single Computer
• Small Office Network
– Less than 250 Clients
– IP Network Protocol ISA Server

– Demand Dial Connectivity

• Larger Organization Internet
– Array of ISA Server
 Hardware Firewall

• What is it?
• What it does.
• An example.
• Firewall use.
• What it protects you from.
 Hardware Firewall (Cont.)

What is it?
 It is just a software firewall running on a
dedicated piece of hardware or specialized
device.
 Basically, it is a barrier to keep destructive
forces away from your property.
 You can use a firewall to protect your home
network and family from offensive Web sites
and potential hackers.
 Hardware Firewall (Cont.)

What it does !

 It is a hardware device that filters the information

coming through the Internet connection into your
private network or computer system.
 An incoming packet of information is flagged by
the filters, it is not allowed through.
Hardware Firewall (Cont.)
An example !
 Hardware Firewall (Cont.)

Firewalls Use
 Firewalls use one or more of three
methods to control traffic flowing in and
out of the network:
– Packet filtering
– Proxy service
– State-full inspection
 Hardware Firewall (Cont.)
• Packet filtering - Packets are analyzed against a set
of filters.
• Proxy service - Information from the Internet is
retrieved by the firewall and then sent to the requesting
system and vice versa.
• State-full inspection – It compares certain key parts
of the packet to a database of trusted information.
Information traveling from inside to the outside is
monitored for specific defining characteristics, then
incoming information is compared to these
characteristics.
 Hardware Firewall (Cont.)
• What it protects you from:
– Remote logins
– Application backdoors
– SMTP session hijacking
– E-mail Addresses
– Spam
– Denial of service
– E-mail bombs
 E-mail sent 1000’s of times till mailbox is full
 Macros
 Viruses
 Software Firewall
What it is?
– Also called Application Level Firewalls
– It is firewall that operate at the Application
Layer of the OSI
– They filter packets at the network layer
– It Operating between the Datalink Layer and
the Network Layer
– It monitor the communication type (TCP, UDP,
ICMP, etc.) as well as the origination of the
packet, destination port of the packet, and
application (program) the packet is coming
from or headed to.
 Software Firewall (Cont.)
How does software firewall works ?
 Software Firewall (Cont.)
Benefit of using application firewalls

– allow direct connection between client and host

– ability to report to intrusion detection software
– equipped with a certain level of logic
– Make intelligent decisions
– configured to check for a known Vulnerability
– large amount of logging
 Software Firewall (Cont.)
Benefit of application firewalls (Cont.)
 easier to track when a potential vulnerability happens
 protect against new vulnerabilities before they are found
and exploited
 ability to "understand" applications specific information
structure
 Incoming or outgoing packets cannot access services for
which there is no proxy
 Software Firewall (Cont.)
Disadvantage of Firewall:
 slow down network access dramatically
 more susceptible to distributed denial of service (DDOS)
attacks.
 not transparent to end users
 require manual configuration of each client computer
 Conclusion
• Prevent intrusion
• Choke point for security audit
• Reduce attacks by hackers
• Hide network behind a single IP
address
• Part of total network security policy