Understanding what is network security zones? Check out what is the importance of protecting your data in a cloud or computer network.
Network Security Zones
Network security zones are a logical division of the network. A network security zone is a logical division of the network that encompasses all devices. This is from which a user might need to access a server or other resources of an organization.
These are used to restrict access between the zones. But not between an individual device and its associated zone. A single computer or network can contain multiple security zones, depending on how the zones are defined.
A firewall can be used to separate internal networks from external networks. Within each internal network, network security zones can be created. This is to separate different types of resources and/or users from one another.
Level of Access
Each security zone must be assigned a security level. It determines its trust level and the level of access it will have to resources outside its network. The less secure the security zone, the greater the control it has over resources outside its network. The zones are:
Public
This zone has the least trust and most control over what is allowed in and out of the network. The public zone is used to access the Internet or other untrusted networks. An example of this would be a home or small business router or firewall.
Trusted
The trusted zone has medium trust and allows for resources within this zone to access other trusted zones but not otherwise. An example of this would be a corporate firewall or between a corporate network and an enterprise firewall. A trusted zone is also referred to as an internal zone.
Internal
The internal zone has high trust and allows access to resources both inside and outside of its network. But not from users outside of its network. An example of this would be a workstation in an office or department within a company’s intranet.
Demilitarized (DMZ)
A demilitarized zone (DMZ) is an area that sits between an internal network and an external network. This is such as the Internet, containing servers that are accessible from both networks. Also, the DMZ is often used to host public-facing services.
So, this includes such as web servers, e-mail servers, file servers, DNS servers, or print servers. This is on one side of the firewall for external users to access those services on the Internet site of the firewall. This is while restricting access from external users to other systems on the internal side of the firewall.
Public Network/Internet Security Zones
These security zones are on the ‘’outside’’ of the internal network and are used to access the Internet and public networks. An example of this would be the home or small business router or firewall. These security zones are on the ‘’inside’’ of the internal network.
This is while they still have medium trust they allow access to resources inside and outside. So, an example of this can be a corporate firewall. Also, these security zones are on the ‘’inside’’ of the internal network, for example, a workstation in an office or department.
Moreover, an example of this would be a workstation in an office or department within a company’s intranet. Hence, this is where it is allowed to access both inside and outside but not from users outside the network.