Set Up the Network Firewall

Now that you’ve set up your password manager, you can move on to setting up the Network Firewall. You should stay logged in to the Admin Workstation to access the Network Firewall’s web interface for configuration.

Unfortunately, due to the wide variety of firewalls that may be used, we do not provide specific instructions to cover every type or variation in software or hardware. However, if you have the necessary expertise, we provide abstract firewall rules that can be implemented with iptables, Cisco IOS etc. We recommend that you use a firewall with at least four physical interfaces.

The documentation linked below describes the configuration procedure for pfSense- and OPNSense-based firewalls. One option not covered in this guide is to build your own network firewall and install OPNSense on it. However, for most installations, we recommend buying a dedicated firewall appliance with your firewall OS of choice pre-installed.

Please note that we no longer recommend the use of pfSense Community Edition (CE) due to changes in the frequency and scope of security updates made available there. pfSense Plus continues to receive necessary security updates on a regular basis, and is provided with the purchase of most Netgate firewalls.

We currently recommend three firewalls in our Hardware Guide:

  • The Netgate SG-4100, a pfSense-based firewall with 6 network interfaces: 2 WAN ports and 4 LAN ports.

  • The Netgate SG-6100, a pfSense-based firewall with 8 network interfaces: 4 WAN ports and 4 LAN ports.

  • The TekLager APU4D4, an OPNSense-based open-source hardware firewall with 4 network interfaces: WAN, LAN, OPT1, and OPT2.

Configuration: pfSense

If you are using a pfSense-based firewall such as the recommended SG-4100, follow the instructions to Configure a pfSense firewall for use with SecureDrop.

Configuration: OPNSense

If you are using an OPNSense-based firewall such as the recommended APu4D4, follow the instructions to Configure an OPNSense firewall for use with SecureDrop.

Configuration: Other Firewalls

If you are using a firewall based on an OS not listed above, you should still set it up use the same overall configuration and ruleset as defined for the supported models.

The Application and Monitor Servers should be set up on separate subnets configured on separate physical NICs, with the Admin Workstation also on a separate subnet if possible. Including the WAN connection, a minimum of 4 NICs must be available.

The abstract ruleset required by SecureDrop can be described as follows:

  • Disable DHCP (in case the firewall is providing a DHCP server by default)

  • Disallow all traffic by default (inbound or outbound)

  • Allow UDP OSSEC (port 1514) from Application Server to Monitor Server

  • Allow TCP ossec agent auth (port 1515) from Application Server to Monitor Server

  • Allow TCP/UDP DNS from Application Server and Monitor Server to the IPs of known name servers

  • Allow UDP NTP from Application Server and Monitor Server to all

  • Allow TCP any port from Application Server and Monitor Server to all (this is needed for making connections to the Tor network)

  • Allow TCP 80/443 from Admin Workstation to all (in case there is a need to access the web interface of the firewall)

  • Allow TCP SSH from Admin Workstation to Application Server and Monitor Server

  • Allow TCP any port from Admin Workstation to all

This can be implemented with iptables, Cisco IOS etc. if you have the necessary expertise.