An Internet firewall restricts access between a protected network and the Internet to block unwanted or dangerous traffic and provides a single control point for access. The University maintains a campus firewall that protects the whole of the University's network. The University needs a firewall:

• to safeguard its systems and prevent them being compromised,
• to prevent use of insecure protocols,

because the Internet is hostile. The firewall security policy is approved by University IT Committee.

• Incoming connection attempts are blocked by default, except to services which we can offer safely.
• Outgoing connections are permitted by default.