Playing with fire(walls)

As with any security technology, how well you know your firewall dictates how well you can protect your assets. Take this quiz to find out if you're firewall savvy. Click on the link for the correct answer and additional resources. When you're done, let us know how you did and what other topics you'd like to test yourself on.

1.) What type of firewall monitors SMTP traffic for anomalies and signature-based attacks?
A. XML firewall
B. e-mail firewall
C. packet-inspection firewall
D. desktop firewall
Answer

2.) What governs the type of traffic that is and is not allowed through a firewall?
A. rule base
B. gateway
C. access control list
D. partition
Answer

3.) What firewall topology utilizes a triple-homed firewall?
A. series circuit
B. bastion host
C. screened subnet
D. dual firewalls
Answer

4.) What advanced firewall architecture examines both incoming and outgoing packets down to the application layer?
A. fail-safe
B. static-packet filtering
C. series circuit
D. stateful inspection
Answer

5.) What type of firewall separates message-level security from transport-layer security?
A. XML firewall
B. e-mail firewall
C. packet-inspection firewall
D. desktop firewall
Answer

6.) When deploying dual firewalls in a parallel fashion, it's best to configure them so that in the event of a failure, both firewalls automatically block all traffic. What is this configuration called?
A. fair share
B. load balancing
C. series circuit
D. fail-safe
Answer

7.) What firewall architecture analyzes only the headers of packets and was replaced by dynamic packet filtering as the industry standard?
A. series circuit
B. static packet filtering
C. stateful inspection
D. fail-safe
Answer

8.) What type of attacks do some firewalls try to limit by enforcing rules on how long a GET or POST request can be?
A. smurf
B. denial of service
C. buffer overflow
D. LAND
Answer

9.) What term describes the application of a firewall rule base to traffic headed out of the network?
A. fail-safe
B. ingress filtering
C. egress filtering
D. bandpass filtering
Answer

10.) What firewall facility monitors the state of active connections and uses this information to determine which network packets to allow through?
A. access control list
B. dynamic packet filter
C. gateway
D. static packet filter
Answer

How'd you do?
9-10 correct: Firewall hotshot
6-8 correct: Firewall friendly
3-5 correct: Firewall feeble
0-2 correct: Firewall faux pas

OTHER QUIZZES

• How confident are you in your knowledge of e-mail security?
• Test your fluency in the language of encryption algorithms.
• Put your knowledge of the vulnerability management process on the line.
• Test your knowledge of security regulations and compliance.