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Origination of the term FIREWALL

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by malosa

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HI! I have a friend doing a report on firewall. We need to find the origination of the term FIREWALL. How did it come about and who coined the term? Does anyone know or can point me in the correct direction?

Thanks!

8 replies

by alpha-male

Quote:

The term firewall originated as describing a type of material that was placed within the walls of houses to slow the spread of fire. The term grew to encompass the type of material that was placed in the engine compartments of automobiles that was intended to stop the spread of fire from the engine compartment to the passenger (Avolio 1999). Firewalls were obviously an important advancement in the area of fire protection. Firewalls are no less important, however, in the area of computer network technology. The term firewall was first applied to computer technology in the early 1990’s. The modern definition of the term firewall is "any device that controls network traffic for security reasons" (Sheldon 1998). A firewall is analogous to a gate surrounding a castle. Only those people who have clearance will be allowed to access the benefits inside the gate.

http://www.unc.edu/~cahoon/Firewalls.html

Here's another reference you may want to look at:

http://www.telus.com/downloads/Firewalls.pdf

Hope this helps....good luck with your report!

by alpha-male

Regarding who first used it in a computer/network context:

Gene Spafford is a professor and Director of the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) at Purdue University. He coined the term "firewall" as applied to computer networks, has written widely on information security and the social impacts of computing, and co-chairs ACM's Committee on US Public Policy.

http://www.acm.org/sigsoft/SEN/

by stolson

A firewall is now synonymous with computer security, but it actually started in building construction.

In building construction, a firewall is used to protect one part of a building from a fire in another. With most construction being made withmoveable walls and dropped ceilings, fire can spread rapidly. Builders will put a floor to (true) ceiling cinder block wall that the flames cannot penetrate.

Later, in automobiles, the term firewall is meant for the metal between the engine compartment and passenger compartment. This was used to prevent engine fires from harming passengers.

Hope this helps,
Steve Olson

by popeye_doyle

A partition made of fireproof material to prevent the spread of a fire
from one part of a building or ship to another or to isolate an engine
compartment, as on a plane, automobile, etc.
i.e firewall insulator - 1931 Buick Model 56C Convertible Coupe. Also natural Firewall used in preventing forest fires from spreading.
origin could be from 'Wall of Fire' term used in Religious literature. Can be found in SCientology Testimoney - Chapter 10.

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