Simplifying Firewall Setups by Using Offline Validation

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Windmüller, Stephan

Affiliations: Chair for Programming Systems, Faculty for Computer Science, TU Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany

Note: [] Corresponding author. Email: stephan.windmueller@tu-dortmund.de

Abstract: Firewalls are crucial for the security of most networks and implemented by packet filters. Those packet filters can be considered the direct opposite of a simple-to-use system. Configured with complex commands in plain text files, only experts are able to understand or even modify such a setup. Recently, this process has been improved by using a combination of external tools, a graphical modeling environment, and a model checker, enabling more users to participate in the process and clearing the way to automatic testing. This paper revists this concept from a simplicity perspective and shows how the whole process can be simplified while simultaneously the level of abstraction is increased and new ways of verifying the result are possible.

Keywords: Simplicity, security, firewalls, model checking

DOI: 10.3233/jid-2013-0011

Journal: Journal of Integrated Design and Process Science, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 59-69, 2013