Fig. 1 shows part of the network at a small architecture studio. Camille sends building plans from her computer to a cloud storage service. The studio has r...
Question 1 Report
Fig. 1 shows part of the network at a small architecture studio. Camille sends building plans from her computer to a cloud storage service. The studio has recently employed freelance designers who use their own devices. The manager wants to protect the plans while still allowing approved freelancers to work from home.
(a) State what is meant by a firewall. [3]
(b) Describe how a firewall at the router can reduce risks to the studio network. [3]
(c) Explain how a virtual private network, VPN, would protect plans sent to a remote laptop using the internet. [3]
(d) Give one method, other than a VPN, that Camille can use to check that a freelancer is authorised to access cloud storage. [3]
Answer Details
(a) A firewall is a hardware or software security system that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic. It permits or blocks traffic according to configured rules. [3]
(b) At the router, a firewall can block unauthorised connection attempts. It can filter traffic by IP address, port or protocol, prevent access to services the studio does not need, and log suspicious traffic for investigation. [3]
(c) A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel between the remote device and the studio or cloud network. If plans are intercepted on the public internet, they cannot be read without the encryption key. This reduces the risk of interception while allowing remote work. [3]
(d) Require a username and strong password together with multi-factor authentication, such as an authenticator-app code, before granting cloud access. This checks more than knowledge of a password and helps establish that the freelancer is authorised. A digital certificate identifying the approved user or device is another valid method. [3]
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