Rules set on firewalls are primarily associated with which attack surface?

Firewalls are critical components of network security, and their primary function is to monitor and control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. This capability predominantly pertains to the network attack surface since firewalls act as a barrier between trusted internal networks and untrusted external networks, such as the internet.

The network attack surface includes all the points where an unauthorized user can attempt to enter data or extract data from an environment. Firewalls evaluate data packets to determine whether they should be allowed through or blocked, thus defending against various types of network attacks, such as denial of service (DoS), unauthorized access attempts, or traffic created by malicious users.

In contrast, the human attack surface is related to social engineering and exploiting human behavior; the application attack surface concerns vulnerabilities within software applications; and the physical attack surface involves physical access to devices or facilities. While all of these surfaces are crucial in a comprehensive security strategy, firewalls specifically target threats that arise at the network level, making the network attack surface the correct association.