A six-year-old firewall replacement is recommended because of what fundamental issue?

• A. Overprovisioning
• B. Weak or no passwords on mobile devices
• C. Obsolete technology
• D. Misconfigured ACLs

Answer: (C)

When a firewall reaches six years old, the fundamental issue is obsolescence. Hardware and software have life cycles, and once a device is past its supported life, the vendor may no longer provide firmware updates, security patches, or compatibility with newer features. That means known vulnerabilities stay unpatched, performance and capacity may lag behind current traffic needs, and the device may not support modern protocols, encryption standards, or threat intelligence feeds. Replacing it with a newer model restores up-to-date protection, better performance, and ongoing vendor support.

The other concerns—overprovisioning, weak passwords on mobile devices, or misconfigured ACLs—are separate issues related to capacity planning or configuration, not the core reason for replacing a six-year-old firewall.