A dedicated gateway machine with special security precautions on it,
used to service outside network connections and dial-in lines. The
idea is to protect a cluster of more loosely administered machines
hidden behind it from {cracker}s. The typical firewall is an
inexpensive micro-based Unix box kept clean of critical data, with a
bunch of modems and public network ports on it but just one carefully
watched connection back to the rest of the cluster. The special
precautions may include threat monitoring, callback, and even a
complete {iron box} keyable to particular incoming IDs or activity
patterns. Syn. {flytrap}, {Venus flytrap}. See also {wild side}.
[When first coined in the mid-1980s this term was pure jargon. Now
(1999) it is techspeak, and has been retained only as an example of
uptake --ESR]
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {DMZ}{flytrap}{iron box}{toast}{Venus flytrap}{wild side}]