Which is a key advantage of using firewalls?

Which is a key advantage of using firewalls?

• A. Reduced monitoring requirements
• B. Centralized logging and security
• C. Increased exposure of internal networks
• D. Reduced capability to audit

Answer: (B)

Centralized logging and security management is the main advantage. A firewall enforces policy at the network boundary and can funnel logs from across the network into a single, centralized repository. This makes it much easier to monitor what’s happening, correlate events from different segments, spot unusual patterns, and support investigations and compliance audits. It also simplifies policy administration because changes are applied consistently from one control point. Other statements don’t fit as well: monitoring requirements aren’t eliminated simply by having a firewall—the logs and events still need to be analyzed. Firewalls don’t increase internal exposure; they reduce it by blocking unauthorized traffic. And rather than reducing auditing capability, firewalls typically improve it by providing concrete, auditable logs.

Centralized logging and security management is the main advantage. A firewall enforces policy at the network boundary and can funnel logs from across the network into a single, centralized repository. This makes it much easier to monitor what’s happening, correlate events from different segments, spot unusual patterns, and support investigations and compliance audits. It also simplifies policy administration because changes are applied consistently from one control point.

Other statements don’t fit as well: monitoring requirements aren’t eliminated simply by having a firewall—the logs and events still need to be analyzed. Firewalls don’t increase internal exposure; they reduce it by blocking unauthorized traffic. And rather than reducing auditing capability, firewalls typically improve it by providing concrete, auditable logs.