Security Basics mailing list archives
RE: What firewall for small medical research lab
From: "Bryan S. Sampsel" <bsampsel () libertyactivist org>
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2006 12:04:09 -0600 (MDT)
You're going to get some answers that hail back through the holy war of "OS vs firmware" firewalls. I worked for a hospital, securing their network. We used the Cisco PIX line, and it worked well. But, Linux or FreeBSD can do anything the PIX can do, with less expensive hardware to boot. That said, in both cases, you have to watch your patches. Cisco has had a slew of exploits that had to be handled the last few years, just as the OSs had. Firmware operating systems simply ship with fewer options that you can turn on, hence the perception that it's harder to secure the general purpose OS. Unfortunately, library exploits (buffer overruns, etc) have more or less tanked the argument. What you might consider more than firmware vs OS is this: stateful packet filter firewall (of your choice) as your outer perimeter. Then, put a proxy-firewall inside of that (Borderware, Raptor, etc). That protects at two levels of exploits: network and application. If you have reliable hardware (I'd consider new stuff under warranty) and the knowledge to build an OS based firewall, do it. If not, make your choice based on budget and availability of a consultant to help you. I'll tell you this, the PIX syntax is simpler than IPTables. From what I've heard, the packet filter engine used by FreeBSD is simpler as well. Whatever you do, restrict your traffic in both directions (which eliminates your Netgear and Linksys solutions). Just some thoughts... Sincerely, Bryan S. Sampsel LibertyActivist.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This List Sponsored by: Webroot Don't leave your confidential company and customer records un-protected. Try Webroot's Spy Sweeper Enterprise(TM) for 30 days for FREE with no obligation. See why so many companies trust Spy Sweeper Enterprise to eradicate spyware from their networks. FREE 30-Day Trial of Spy Sweeper Enterprise http://www.webroot.com/forms/enterprise_lead.php --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current thread:
- RE: What firewall for small medical research lab Hayes, Ian (May 01)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- RE: What firewall for small medical research lab Jordan.Dallas (May 01)
- Re: What firewall for small medical research lab Rajeev Kumar (May 01)
- RE: What firewall for small medical research lab Bryan S. Sampsel (May 01)
- Re: What firewall for small medical research lab Bob Radvanovsky (May 01)
- RE: What firewall for small medical research lab adnan () techiesonly com (May 01)
- RE: What firewall for small medical research lab Arturas Zalenekas (May 01)
- RE: What firewall for small medical research lab Justin Shore (May 01)
- RE: What firewall for small medical research lab Beauford, Jason (May 01)
- Re: What firewall for small medical research lab Jeff Davis (May 01)
- Re: RE: What firewall for small medical research lab rsingh36 (May 01)
- Re: RE: What firewall for small medical research lab Arunodhay Koul (May 02)
- Re: What firewall for small medical research lab kedearian.secuirty (May 01)
- RE: What firewall for small medical research lab Smith, Brad (May 01)
(Thread continues...)