Sun Java Communications Suite 5 Deployment Planning Guide

Firewall Configuration

In addition to the typical packet-filtering features, most firewalls provide features to prevent IP spoofing. Use IP-spoofing protection whenever possible.

For instance, if there is only one entry point into your network from the Internet and a packet is received from the Internet with a source address of one of your internal machines, it was likely spoofed. Based on your network’s topology, the only packets containing a source IP address from your internal machines should come from within the network itself, not from the Internet. By preventing IP spoofing, this possibility is eliminated, and the potential for bypassing IP address-based authorization and the other firewall-filtering rules is reduced. Use the same IP-spoofing protection on any internal firewall as well.