Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of packet-filtering firewalls?

Packet-filtering firewalls are designed to inspect and control the flow of data packets across a network based on pre-defined rules. One of their core characteristics is that they act directly on the packets flowing through the network. This means they evaluate the header information of each packet, making decisions to allow or block traffic based purely on the rules set by the network administrator.

Filtering packets based on specified rules is another fundamental feature of packet-filtering firewalls. These rules can encompass criteria such as the source and destination IP addresses, the transport protocol (such as TCP or UDP), and ports being used. This capability allows for a significant degree of control over the types of traffic that can enter or leave a network.

Additionally, packet-filtering firewalls operate at the network layer of the OSI model, where they are able to perform their tasks without needing to inspect the contents of the packets beyond the header information. This layer handles routing and forwarding of packets based solely on the address information.

In contrast, packet-filtering firewalls do not monitor the connection state, which is a characteristic of stateful firewalls. Stateful firewalls keep track of active connections and their states, allowing them to permit or deny packets based on the context of ongoing communications. Therefore, the