In terms of data breaches, what role do stateful firewalls play?

Stateful firewalls play a critical role in network security by monitoring and managing the state of active connections. They maintain detailed information about the state of each active connection, which allows them to make more informed decisions about the traffic that is allowed to enter or exit the network. This capability enables them to track the context of network connections, such as whether a packet is part of an established connection or if it's a new request.

By continuously monitoring incoming and outgoing connections, stateful firewalls can effectively distinguish legitimate traffic from potentially harmful traffic, thereby providing a layer of protection against data breaches. This proactive approach not only assists in blocking unauthorized access attempts but also helps in identifying malicious activities that could lead to vulnerabilities or breaches.

In contrast, options such as those related to data storage or filtering solely outgoing traffic do not reflect the primary function of stateful firewalls. Also, establishing wireless connections falls outside the scope of what stateful firewalls are designed to do, further underscoring the importance of their role in maintaining the integrity and security of network traffic.