Can a firewall prevent internal leaks?

Firewalls cannot prevent internal leaks.

Firewalls have ten major limitations:

1. Firewalls cannot prevent attacks that do not go through the firewall. Data that has not passed through the firewall cannot be inspected by the firewall.

2. Firewalls cannot solve attacks and security issues from internal networks. Firewalls can be designed to protect against both outside and inside, and no one can be trusted. However, most units do not require firewalls to protect against inside because of inconvenience.

3. Firewalls cannot prevent security threats caused by improper or misconfigured policies. A firewall is a passive security policy enforcement device, just like a gatekeeper. It must enforce security according to policy regulations and cannot make its own decisions.

4. Firewalls cannot prevent accessible man-made or natural damage. A firewall is a security device, but the firewall itself must exist in a safe place.

5. Firewalls cannot prevent attacks that exploit flaws in standard network protocols. Once a firewall permits certain standard network protocols, the firewall cannot prevent attacks that exploit flaws in that protocol.

6. Firewalls cannot prevent attacks that exploit server system vulnerabilities. Hackers attack the server's vulnerabilities through the access ports allowed by the firewall, which cannot be prevented by the firewall.

7. Firewalls cannot prevent the transmission of virus-infected files. The firewall itself does not have the function of detecting and killing viruses. Even if it is integrated with third-party anti-virus software, no software can detect and kill all viruses.

8. Firewalls cannot prevent data-driven attacks. Data-driven attacks can occur when seemingly harmless data is mailed or copied to a host on an intranet and executed.

9. Firewalls cannot prevent internal leaks. If a legitimate user inside the firewall actively leaks secrets, the firewall is powerless.

10. Firewalls cannot prevent the threat of their own security vulnerabilities. Firewalls sometimes fail to protect themselves when they protect others. Currently, no manufacturer absolutely guarantees that firewalls will not have security vulnerabilities. Therefore, the firewall must also provide some security protection.

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