Question

As you increase the security of your network, you are concerned that the added security measures may impact in ways you had not intended. For example, how could a firewall have a negative impact on business from the following list? Explain

1. It can filter packets from a site known to cause DoS attacks.
2. It can filter packets that have a virus signature.
3. It can block traffic that should be allowed through.
4. It can log every packet that is transmitted.

Answer 1

How could a firewall have a negative impact on business from the following list?

• Where a firewall can be a blessing to the security of the network it can also act as a curse for the organization at the same time if not being monitored closely while it has been implemented in the network.
• The first and foremost impact on the business of the firewall would be the cost of the firewall which can be very heavy in case of maintenance of the firewall too. It can become tougher to hold on to the firewall without spending a decent amount on it.
• Another impact that firewall can cause is that it can sometimes also restrict legitimate user due to the unauthorized transmission of the data which is been carried to and from the network. Hence, banning legit users can also be one of the drawbacks of using a firewall.
• Firewall can also depreciate the performance of the software which can result in minimizing the overall performance of the computer which will constantly affect the RAM and the performance of its functionalities.
• The firewall does not provide security from sabotage which is one of the major drawbacks of using the device as we already know that most successful attacks that are being carried on are mostly corporated by staying inside the network.

Hence, these are some of the negative impacts on the business and there must be preventive measures to be taken for protecting the organization against such drawbacks.