firewalls

Noun

firewall (plural firewalls)

1. A fireproof barrier used to prevent the spread of fire between or through buildings, structures, electrical substation transformers, or within an aircraft or vehicle.
2. (computer security) The software that monitors traffic in and out of a private network or a personal computer and allows or blocks such traffic depending on its perceived threat.
3. A hypothetical phenomenon where an observer falling into a black hole encounters high-energy quanta at or near the event horizon.
4. An ethical wall; an organizational or legal separation between two entities that might otherwise cause conflicts of interest.
   • The book explains this in Adam Hochberg's (@adamhochberg) chapter discussing the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism's concerns related to non-profit news organizations: donor transparency, editorial independence, the firewall between journalism and fundraising, and conflicts of interest.2017 July 6, Jeremy Harris Lipschultz, Social Media Communication: Concepts, Practices, Data, Law and Ethics, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 275
5. (Germany, especially) An unwritten agreement among major political parties to refuse to govern or cooperate with national conservative and ultranationalist parties.
   • "Honest government must be preceded by honest negotiations," Mr Kickl said when Austria's president tasked him with beginning coalition talks after the centrist firewall failed.2025 January 12, James Crisp, Meike Eijsberg, “The great firewall keeping out the hard-Right collapses across Europe”, in Chris Evans, editor, The Daily Telegraph, London: Telegraph Media Group...

See all 8 meanings of firewall