iSACA Cybersecurity Fundamentals Certification Practice Exam

What is a significant drawback of stateful inspection firewalls?

1. They are inexpensive

2. They require complex administration

3. They prioritize network speed

4. They allow unrestricted traffic flow

The correct answer is: They require complex administration

A significant drawback of stateful inspection firewalls is their requirement for complex administration. Stateful firewalls track the state of active connections and make decisions based on the context of the traffic, rather than simply inspecting packets in isolation. This means that the configuration and management of these firewalls can be more complicated than those of simpler packet filtering firewalls. The complexity arises from the need to maintain information about the ongoing state of connections and to understand the state table entries that track this information. Administrators must have a deeper understanding of networking protocols, connection states, and how to properly configure the rules based on this intelligence. Additionally, troubleshooting issues can be more intricate, as one has to consider the state of connections rather than merely looking at static rules. In contrast, the other options present aspects that do not reflect significant disadvantages of stateful inspection firewalls, such as their affordability, their ability to maintain network speed effectively, or their traffic flow management capabilities.