Security Groups and Firewalls

Introduction

• Here are a few commonly used examples of Security Groups and Firewalls in Azure, AWS, and GCP

AWS

1. Security Groups
   • Web Server Security Group
   • Purpose: Allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic from the internet and restrict SSH access to specific IP ranges.
   • Technologies/Terms: EC2, Security Group, HTTP, HTTPS, SSH, CIDR, Source IP. - Application Server Security Group
   • Purpose: Allow traffic from the web server security group on application-specific ports and deny all other inbound traffic.
   • Technologies/Terms: EC2, Security Group, Custom TCP Ports, Source Security Group. - Database Server Security Group
   • Purpose: Allow traffic from the application server security group on database-specific ports and deny all other inbound traffic.
   • Technologies/Terms: RDS, Security Group, Custom TCP Ports, Source Security Group.
2. Firewalls
   • AWS Network Firewall
   • Purpose: Provide centralized protection against threats at the VPC level, with stateful inspection, intrusion prevention, and deep packet inspection.
   • Technologies/Terms: VPC, Stateful Inspection, Intrusion Prevention, Deep Packet Inspection. - Web Application Firewall (WAF)
   • Purpose: Protect web applications from common web exploits such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting.
   • Technologies/Terms: CloudFront, API Gateway, ALB, WAF, Rules, SQL Injection, XSS.

Azure

1. Network Security Groups (NSGs)
   • Web Subnet NSG
   • Purpose: Allow inbound HTTP and HTTPS traffic from the internet and restrict RDP/SSH access to specific IP ranges.
   • Technologies/Terms: VNet, NSG, HTTP, HTTPS, RDP, SSH, CIDR, Source IP. - Application Subnet NSG
   • Purpose: Allow traffic from the web subnet on specific ports and deny all other inbound traffic.
   • Technologies/Terms: VNet, NSG, Custom TCP Ports, Source Subnet. - Database Subnet NSG
   • Purpose: Allow traffic from the application subnet on database-specific ports and deny all other inbound traffic.
   • Technologies/Terms: VNet, NSG, Custom TCP Ports, Source Subnet.
2. Firewalls
   • Azure Firewall
   • Purpose: Provide centralized network security with high availability and unrestricted cloud scalability. Supports both application and network-level filtering rules.
   • Technologies/Terms: VNet, Firewall, Application Rules, Network Rules, Threat Intelligence. - Web Application Firewall (WAF)
   • Purpose: Protect web applications from common web vulnerabilities and attacks.
   • Technologies/Terms: Application Gateway, Front Door, WAF, Rules, SQL Injection, XSS.

GCP

1. Firewall Rules
   • Web Server Firewall Rule
   • Purpose: Allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic from the internet and restrict SSH access to specific IP ranges.
   • Technologies/Terms: VPC, Firewall Rules, HTTP, HTTPS, SSH, CIDR, Source IP. - Application Server Firewall Rule
   • Purpose: Allow traffic from the web server on specific ports and deny all other inbound traffic.
   • Technologies/Terms: VPC, Firewall Rules, Custom TCP Ports, Source Tags. - Database Server Firewall Rule
   • Purpose: Allow traffic from the application server on database-specific ports and deny all other inbound traffic.
   • Technologies/Terms: Cloud SQL, Firewall Rules, Custom TCP Ports, Source Tags.
2. Firewalls
   • GCP Firewall
   • Purpose: Provide network security with flexible rules for controlling traffic to and from VMs.
   • Technologies/Terms: VPC, Firewall Rules, Ingress, Egress, Tags, Service Accounts. - Cloud Armor
   • Purpose: Protect applications from DDoS attacks and common web application vulnerabilities.
   • Technologies/Terms: Load Balancing, Cloud Armor, WAF, DDoS Protection, Rules, SQL Injection, XSS.