09 Why would I want a firewall?
Description
This article is from the Firewalls FAQ, by Matt Curtin cmcurtin@interhack.net and Marcus J. Ranum mjr@nfr.com with numerous contributions by others.
09 Why would I want a firewall?
The Internet, like any other society, is plagued with the kind of jerks
who enjoy the electronic equivalent of writing on other people's walls with
spraypaint, tearing their mailboxes off, or just sitting in the street
blowing their car horns. Some people try to get real work done over the
Internet, and others have sensitive or proprietary data they must protect.
Usually, a firewall's purpose is to keep the jerks out of your network while
still letting you get your job done.
Many traditional-style corporations and data centers have computing security
policies and practices that must be adhered to. In a case where a company's
policies dictate how data must be protected, a firewall is very important,
since it is the embodiment of the corporate policy. Frequently, the hardest
part of hooking to the Internet, if you're a large company, is not
justifying the expense or effort, but convincing management that it's safe
to do so. A firewall provides not only real security--it often plays an
important role as a security blanket for management.
Lastly, a firewall can act as your corporate ``ambassador'' to the Internet.
Many corporations use their firewall systems as a place to store public
information about corporate products and services, files to download,
bug-fixes, and so forth. Several of these systems have become important
parts of the Internet service structure (e.g.: UUnet.uu.net, whitehouse.gov,
gatekeeper.dec.com) and have reflected well on their organizational
sponsors.
Continue to:
My Books
