What is a Screening Routers in information security?


The screening router firewall is called a network level or packet-filter firewall. Such a firewall works by screening incoming packets by protocol attributes. The protocol attributes screened can involve source or destination address, type of protocol, source or destination port, or multiple protocol-specific attributes.

Screening routers are set up using rules to filter access using defined protocols or to and from predefined addresses, passing or rejecting an IP packet based on data included in the packet header.

A screening router is an essential part of most firewalls. A screening router can be a commercial router or a host-based router with some sort of packet filtering potential. Usual screening routers have the aptitude to block traffic between networks or definite hosts, on an IP port level. Some firewalls include nothing more than a screening router among a private network and the Internet.

Some networks are firewalled using only a screening router between the private network and the Internet. This type of firewall is diverse from a screened host gateway in that typically there is direct communication enabled between multiple hosts on the private network, and multiple hosts on the Internet.

The region of risk is similar to the multiple hosts on the private networks, and the number and type of services to which the screening router enable traffic. For each service supported via peer-to-peer connection the size of the zone of risk enhance sharply.

Finally it is inaccessible to quantify. Damage control is hard as well because the network management would need to frequently examine each host for traces of a break-in. If there is no usual audit one should hope to stagger on a key.

In the case of total devastation of the firewall, it tends to be complex to trace or even to discover out. If a commercial router (which does not maintain logging records) is used and the router’s administrative password is compromised, the entire private network can be laid unlock to attack very simply.

Cases are identified where commercial routers have been set up with erroneous screening rules, or have appear up in some pass-through mode because of hardware or operator error. Usually, this configuration is a case of that which is not specifically prohibited is enabled as the ingenious user can fairly simply piggyback protocols to attain a larger level of access than the manager expects or need.

Screening routers are not the most secured solution, but they are famous as they authorize fairly free web access from some point within the private network. Some consultants and network service providers promote screening routers in a “firewall” configuration.

Updated on: 07-Mar-2022

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