Instructions
Read both Discussions and make a reply for each. Each reply must be at least 100 words. Must use complete paragraphs, proper APA formatting, and cite information that is not his/her own.
Discussion #1
In today’s world of technology having a firewall set up is extremely important when it comes to security. Firewalls can preform on a multitude of different levels, completing different monitoring actions. One example these firewalls is a stateful inspection firewall. “Stateful inspection, also known as dynamic packet filtering, is a firewall technology that monitors the state of active connections and uses this information to determine which network packets to allow through the firewall”(Rouse, 2009). When referring to security, Job 11:18 is a perfect example it says, “You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety”(NIV).
While we know the importance and power of firewalls, “Regardless of how good firewalls and routers are, they have their limitations”(Johnson, 2015, p.275). However by using a stateful inspection firewall, ” the network administrator can set the parameters to meet specific needs. In a typical network, ports are closed unless an incoming packet requests connection to a specific port and then only that port is opened”(Rouse, 2009). By using this capability, you can effectively reduce the number of potential hacks. With these types of firewalls in place it is it that much more difficult and unlikely a hacker can gain access to the information you are protecting. We read in Psalm 122:7, ” May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels”(NIV). It is up to us to arm ourselves with sufficient protection, these firewalls allow us to be ready for whatever potential threat comes our way.
Discussion #2
As hackers and security breaches are more prominent than ever, companies must use extra precaution to keep data protected. An application firewall is one that monitors, scans and controls a network, the Internet and system access and operations that are local from an application. A firewall should “stop a hacker from getting inside the organization’s network” (Johnson, 2015, p.35). The application firewall allows managing and control of the operations of an application that is external to the IT environment. An application firewall is predominantly used as an “enhancement to the standard firewall program by providing firewall services up to the application layer” (Techopedia). There are two different types of application firewalls, network-based application and host-based application. The application firewall I am going to use is Palo Alto, VM-300. This firewall has many outstanding features that your standard firewall does not have. It is a firewall, has threat prevention, URL Filtering, WildFire malware analysis, AutoFocus threat intelligence, magnifier behavioral analytics, file and data filtering, GlobalProtect mobile security and panorama management, logging and reporting. Palo Alto is cutting edge technology.
Within the above-mentioned core features, Palo Alto has in-line malware prevention that is updated in real-time and automatically blocks the malware if found. It also blocks techniques on network and application layers. The URL filtering prevents web-based attacks such as phishing links sent via email. The Wildfire malware analysis will detect any malware and has automatic prevention put in place within 5 minutes of detection. Palo alto can block URL categories that can be dangerous such as proxy-avoidance-and-anonymizers, dynamic-dns, malware and phishing. It can also block any unknown applications that are categorized as “unknown.” Proverbs 2:11 tells states, “Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you” (NIV). We can use this in our daily lives and in IT Security. We must understand the threats out there and how to prevent them. The more we understand, the more good we can do.