A “ports first” data security solution is a traditional approach that relies on port numbers to identify

and filter network traffic. This approach has several limitations and security weaknesses, such as12:

Port numbers are not reliable indicators of the type or content of network traffic, as they can be

easily spoofed or changed by malicious actors.

Port numbers do not provide any visibility into the application layer, where most of the attacks occur.

Port numbers do not account for the dynamic and complex nature of modern applications, which

often use multiple ports or protocols to communicate.

Port numbers do not support granular and flexible policies based on user identity, device context, or

application behavior. One of the security weaknesses that is caused by implementing a “ports first”

data security solution in a traditional data center is that you may have to open up multiple ports and

these ports could also be used to gain unauthorized entry into your datacenter. For example, if you

have a web server that runs on port 80, you may have to open up port 80 on your firewall to allow

incoming traffic. However, this also means that any other service or application that uses port 80 can

also access your datacenter, potentially exposing it to attacks. Moreover, opening up multiple ports

increases the attack surface area of your network, as it creates more entry points for attackers to

exploit34. Reference: Common Open Port Vulnerabilities List - Netwrix, Optimize security with Azure

Firewall solution for Azure Sentinel | Microsoft Security Blog, Which item accurately describes a

security weakness that is caused by …, Which item accurately describes a security weakness … -

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