1.0 Purpose

A firewall is a device placed at the perimeter of a domain that enforces an access policy for traffic entering and leaving that domain (e.g. elon.edu). The role of a firewall in a security plan is to segment a trusted or secure domain from an untrusted or insecure domain, and to selectively pass traffic based on desired connection characteristics. One reason to install a firewall is to reduce the number of services exposed by a network of hosts and security weaknesses to untrusted systems or users.

In other words, a firewall is a device (usually a dedicated piece of hardware) that resides on the edge of a network and decides what information should come or go from the network.

A firewall is only part of an integrated security infrastructure. Elon utilizes other tools such as, but not limited to, regular software patches, logging, passwords, and anti-virus systems to compliment its network security.

2.0 Scope

This policy applies to all devices and services attached to the Elon network and any remote vendors/users requiring access to secure services.

3.0 Policy

Elon University maintains a list of approved holes/permissions in the firewall and any request for remote access by an external vendor/user to Elon’s Network must be approved by the Assistant Vice President for Technology. Elon regularly reviews the rules and exceptions for open annuals and locked down annuals, including the exception to Port 80 and which portion should be left open.