Security Beginner

What is Firewall Rules?

Configuration entries that define which network traffic is allowed or blocked based on source, destination, port, and protocol.

Firewall rules specify allow/deny decisions based on traffic attributes: source IP, destination IP, port number, protocol (TCP/UDP), and direction (inbound/outbound). Rules are processed in order — first match wins.

Best practices include default-deny (block everything, explicitly allow needed traffic), least privilege (minimal ports open), logging denied traffic, separating inbound/outbound rules, and regular rule review. Cloud security groups function as virtual firewalls with similar rule structures.

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