SSCP Network and Communications Security Practice Question
An organization wants to deploy a firewall that can inspect the payload of application-layer protocols such as HTTP and FTP, and make access decisions based on application data. Which type of firewall best meets this requirement?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Application proxy firewall
An application proxy firewall (or application-layer gateway) performs deep inspection of application payloads, unlike stateless or stateful packet filters.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Application proxy firewall
Why this is correct
Application proxies terminate and inspect application-layer traffic.
- ✗
Stateless packet filter
Why it's wrong here
Stateless filters only examine packet headers, not payloads.
- ✗
Next-generation firewall
Why it's wrong here
While NGFWs may include application inspection, the term 'application proxy' is more specific to deep inspection.
- ✗
Stateful packet filter
Why it's wrong here
Stateful filters track connections but do not inspect application payloads deeply.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This SSCP question is part of Courseiva's 920-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SSCP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SSCP exam.