Firewalls protect against cyberattacks and other malicious traffic by scanning each data packet that tries to enter the network. A perimeter firewall can also act as a proxy service, an intermediary between users and the internet, that allows greater access control by an administrator. Network firewalls can be software or hardware technologies that provide a first line of defense to a network. Firewalls restrict incoming and outgoing network traffic through rules and criteria configured by the organization. A hardware firewall, or perimeter firewall, is installed between an organization’s network and the Internet to protect the systems inside, a hardware firewall protects environments from the outside world. A software firewall only protects the device it is installed on, a software firewall protects a specific device from internal threats. Firewall components:  Internet Protocol (IP) packet filtering. Network address translation (NAT) services. SOCKS server. Proxy servers for a variety of services such as HTTP, Telnet, FTP, and so forth. Mail relay services. Split Domain Name System (DNS)Logging. Real-time monitoring.

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I)  Firewalls protect against cyberattacks and other malicious traffic by scanning each data packet that tries to enter the network. A perimeter firewall can also act as a proxy service, an intermediary between users and the internet, that allows greater access control by an administrator. Network firewalls can be software or hardware technologies that provide a first line of defense to a network. Firewalls restrict incoming and outgoing network traffic through rules and criteria configured by the organization. A hardware firewall, or perimeter firewall, is installed between an organization’s network and the Internet to protect the systems inside, a hardware firewall protects environments from the outside world. A software firewall only protects the device it is installed on, a software firewall protects a specific device from internal threats.

Firewall components:  Internet Protocol (IP) packet filtering. Network address translation (NAT) services. SOCKS server. Proxy servers for a variety of services such as HTTP, Telnet, FTP, and so forth. Mail relay services. Split Domain Name System (DNS)Logging. Real-time monitoring.

Firewalls are a central element which no security concept can do without. Implementing important concepts from and proven procedures (best practices), such as defense in depth and zones and conduits, firewalls are essential to operations. Technical development in recent years has shown that firewalls not only vary greatly in their technical characteristics, but also in the features and equipment of their hardware, the approvals, as well as their operation and, therefore, their ability to be used in the industrial environment.

It is crucial to choose the correct firewall for various tasks in the industrial network due to these complex security concepts with diverse technologies.

II)  Common Criteria is a framework in which computer system users can specify their security functional requirements (SFRs) and security functional assurance requirements (SARs) using Protection Profiles (PPs). Common Criteria provides assurance that the process of specification, implementation and evaluation of a computer security product has been conducted in a rigorous, standard and repeatable manner at a level that corresponds with its target use environment.

There are several purposes as to why the Common Criteria certification exists. Some of these include:

A) To improve the availability of security-enhanced IT products and protection profiles that have been successfully evaluated by the panel.

B) To ensure that evaluations of IT products and protection profiles are performed to consistently high standards and contribute to confidence in those profiles and products.

C) To remove the burden of duplicate IT product evaluations and protection profiles.

D) To improve the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the validation/certification process for protection profiles and IT products.

III)  Most program managers assess the value and impact of their work all the time. Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) is a category ranking assigned to an IT product or system after a Common Criteria security evaluation. The level indicates to what extent the product or system was tested. The increasing assurance levels reflect added assurance requirements that must be met to achieve Common Criteria certification. The intent of the higher levels is to provide higher confidence that the system's principal security features are reliably implemented.

To achieve an EAL, the computer system must meet specific assurance requirements. The higher EALs involve more detailed documentation, analysis, and testing than the lower ones. The EAL number assigned to a certified system indicates that the system completed all requirements for that level.