I bet this article will be of quite an interest for Security and Network engineers especially those who are engaged in design, implementation, configuration or troubleshooting with Network Firewalls like Cisco ASA, Juniper SRX and Palo Alto including others.
Related – Firewall Security Level Guide
Recent coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we go through our day to day work schedule. Considering the big threat that looms the world, it has become essential to attain a posture we call social distancing, the best bet to fight covid19 virus. The Indian government has recently given some relaxations which will be regulated based on the spread of the virus in the districts. The present guidelines issued by the government is regarding what is allowed or restricted – basically categorized under RED, ORANGE and GREEN Zones. The colour schema of Area Zoning can be compared to how Network Firewalls separate the Areas or Zones. Firewalls have a key feature of the traffic zoning/classification based on their security levels or level of safety. Both the “India Lockdown” and “Firewall Lockdown” are considered an outcome of virus attacks.
Related- Zone Based Firewall Configuration Examples
While the spread of corona virus is very high in some areas (regions with high number of infections are considered unsafe) and such areas with large number of infected population are catgeorized under RED Zone (RED Zone = high number of infected people and high risk areas). In the same way, Outside Zone (Also called unsecured or external Zone in Firewall) is an unsecured area which is vulnerable to attacks from viruses and related threats. Henceforth, color RED also completements Outside or unsecured Zones of Firewall.
In the current lockdown, categorization under ORANGE Zone (as per new government norms) is more relaxed compared to RED Zone (since there are less number of infections and a medium level of risk). In the same way, DMZ or demilitarized or Semi-safe zone can also be considered type of ORANGE zone which lies between Usafe (RED) and Safe (GREEN) Zones.
The 3rd and most safe Zone is the GREEN Zone with least number of infections and least risk area. In the same way, Inside Zone of a Firewall is most secured and protected from vulnerabilities and attacks.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am here to share my knowledge and experience in the field of networking with the goal being – “The more you share, the more you learn.”
I am a biotechnologist by qualification and a Network Enthusiast by interest. I developed interest in networking being in the company of a passionate Network Professional, my husband.
I am a strong believer of the fact that “learning is a constant process of discovering yourself.”
– Rashmi Bhardwaj (Author/Editor)
