If a firewall lacks the processing power to handle incoming traffic, it will drop any packets it cannot process. This behavior is called?

• A. A security failure
• B. Failing safely
• C. Both A and B
• D. Neither A nor B

Answer: (B)

Fail-safe behavior in security devices: when a firewall can’t keep up with incoming traffic, dropping packets it can’t process is a safe default. This approach prioritizes security over availability under stress—by not letting potentially harmful or uninspected traffic through, the device avoids creating risk through partial processing or stale state. In this context, the action is to fail in a way that protects the network, which is why it’s described as failing safely.

Calling it a security failure would imply the device failed to protect the network even when functioning normally, which isn’t the situation here—it's about handling overload safely.