A university network engineering team is designing an architecture to secure a high-containment biomedical research laboratory. The lab contains unpatchable legacy telemetry devices that must transmit real-time experimental data to an on-premises database in the core enterprise data center, but must be prohibited from initiating or receiving any other traffic across the campus network or the internet. Which of the following network design configurations best achieves this isolation while mitigating lateral movement risks?
- Place the legacy devices on an isolated VLAN bounded by strict firewall policies that permit only outbound, single-port East-West traffic destined for the specific database IP address.Answer
- BPosition all legacy laboratory devices inside a traditional perimeter DMZ to inspect incoming North-South traffic from external campus networks.
- CConnect the legacy devices directly to the core data center subnet and deploy host-based intrusion detection agents onto each unpatchable operating system.
- DConfigure dual-homed network interface cards on the legacy workstations to directly bridge the research lab network segment with the enterprise management network.
Answer
Placing the legacy devices on an isolated VLAN bounded by strict firewall policies that permit only outbound, single-port East-West traffic destined for the specific database IP address.
The correct option applies proper network segmentation principles by establishing an isolated VLAN for vulnerable legacy devices and restricting internal East-West traffic using strict firewall ACLs. Limiting communications exclusively to the database server IP and designated port enforces least privilege network access and blocks lateral movement.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Network Segmentation and East-West Traffic Filtering
Estimated Time:1m 30s