What should the Internet perimeter do in response to threats?

The primary role of the Internet perimeter in response to threats is to detect and block infected traffic. This critical function helps to safeguard the network from malicious activities, such as malware infections, data breaches, and unauthorized access attempts. By actively monitoring incoming and outgoing traffic, security measures at the perimeter can identify suspicious patterns or known threat signatures and take appropriate action, such as blocking potential threats before they reach internal systems. This proactive approach is essential to maintain a secure environment and protect sensitive data from compromise.

While automating software updates, maximizing internet bandwidth, and securing user passwords are important aspects of cybersecurity, they do not directly address the immediate need to defend against ongoing or emerging threats at the network boundary. Automating updates helps to ensure that systems are protected with the latest security patches, increasing resilience, but it does not actively combat threats as they occur. Similarly, maximizing bandwidth does not have a direct impact on threat response, and while securing user passwords is crucial for user account protection, it does not pertain specifically to managing traffic threats at the perimeter. Therefore, detecting and blocking infected traffic remains the primary focus for a robust defense at the Internet perimeter.