A public network firewall and a private network firewall serve similar purposes—protecting networks from unauthorized access and threats—but they operate in different contexts and have distinct characteristics.
Public Network Firewall:
This type of firewall is designed to protect networks exposed to the internet, such as public-facing servers, websites, or APIs. It filters incoming and outgoing traffic based on predefined security rules to block malicious activity, DDoS attacks, or unauthorized access attempts.
Example: A company hosting a public e-commerce website uses a public network firewall to block SQL injection attempts and limit traffic from suspicious IP addresses.
Private Network Firewall:
This firewall secures internal networks, such as corporate LANs or private cloud environments, where sensitive data and resources are stored. It controls traffic between internal segments (e.g., departments or virtual machines) to prevent lateral movement of threats.
Example: An enterprise uses a private network firewall to restrict access between its finance and HR departments, ensuring only authorized users can access sensitive payroll data.
In cloud environments, Tencent Cloud provides solutions like Tencent Cloud Firewall for public-facing protection and Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Firewall for private network segmentation, ensuring comprehensive security for both scenarios.