The history of firewall development and the evolution of their features.
A firewall is a network security system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network. Firewalls can be hardware- or software-based. Firewalls are often categorized as either network firewalls or host-based firewalls. Network firewalls filter traffic between two or more networks and run on network hardware. Host-based firewalls provide a layer of software on one host that controls traffic in and out of that single machine.
Development of the firewall concept started in the late 1980s at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). DEC’s research group, led by Dr. Gurdeep Singh-Pall, created the first firewall system called the DEC Aladdin firewalled workstation. This workstation used a software-based filtering router to control traffic between two different DECnet networks.
In the early 1990s, the release of the Sunosis operating system included a built-in packet filter called the Sun Screen Firewall. This early firewall was designed to protect Suns from malicious activity on the newly-connected Internet. The Sun Screen Firewall was later commercialized by Check Point and became the first commercially available firewall product.
Over time, firewall capabilities have expanded to include features such as application-level filtering, intrusion detection and prevention, and VPN support. As threats have evolved, so too have the features of firewalls.
The first true network firewall was the border gateway protocol (BGP) filter, deployed by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) in the early 1990s. The NSFNet project, which connected research institutions across the United States, was the first network to use the BGP filter. This filter was designed to prevent router table updates from outside of NSFNet.
The second-generation of firewalls, introduced in the mid-1990s, were the application-level gateways. These firewalls, such as the Check Point FireWall-1, operated at the application layer of the OSI model. This meant that they could filter traffic based on application-specific protocols, such as HTTP or FTP.
The third-generation of firewalls, introduced in the late 1990s, were the stateful inspection firewalls. These firewalls, such as the Cisco PIX firewall, inspected packet headers and compared them to a state table. This state table kept track of the “state” of each connection, such as whether it was a new connection or an existing connection. Stateful inspection allowed these firewalls to make more intelligent decisions about whether to allow or deny traffic.
The fourth-generation of firewalls, introduced in the early 2000s, were the next-generation firewalls (NGFWs). NGFWs are a type of stateful inspection firewall that combines traditional firewall features with advanced features such as application-level filtering and intrusion detection/prevention. NGFWs are designed to provide better protection against the increasingly sophisticated attacks that are seen today.
The fifth-generation of firewalls, introduced in the mid-2000s, are the unified threat management (UTM) systems. UTMs are a type of NGFW that consolidates multiple security functions into a single appliance. UTMs typically include features such as firewall, antivirus, antispam, and content filtering. UTMs are designed to provide comprehensive protection against the full range of threats.
Today, firewalls are an essential part of any network security strategy. They provide the first line of defense against the ever-present threat of attack. As threats continue to evolve, so too will the features of firewalls..View it
Why do we need firewalls and how do they work?
We need firewalls to protect our networks from unauthorized access. Firewalls can be hardware devices or software programs that control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules.
How do firewalls work?
Firewalls examine all incoming and outgoing traffic and compare it against a set of security rules. If the traffic is allowed by the security rules, the firewall forwards it to the destination. If the traffic is not allowed, the firewall blocks it.
Most firewalls use a “deny by default” approach, which means that all traffic is blocked unless it is specifically allowed by the security rules.
Why do we need firewalls?
Firewalls are an important part of a layered security approach. They provide the first line of defense against network attacks.
Firewalls can be used to segment networks, which can contain sensitive information. By segmenting a network, you can limit the spread of an attack.
Firewalls can also be used to prevent sensitive data from being transferred outside of the network. This is known as data leakage prevention.
What are the different types of firewalls?
There are several types of firewalls, including network firewalls, host-based firewalls, and application-based firewalls.
Network firewalls are hardware devices that control traffic at the network level. They are typically deployed between a network and the Internet.
Host-based firewalls are software programs that are installed on individual computers. They control traffic to and from the computer on which they are installed.
Application-based firewalls are software programs that control traffic to and from specific applications. They are often used to control traffic to and from Web servers.
We used malwarezero.org to write this article about firewall. Click for source.