>https://blog.ipspace.net/2011/12/is-nat-security-feature/ >>Basic NAT (as defined in RFC 2663) performs just the IP address translation (one inside host to one IP address in the NAT pool). The moment the inside host starts a session through the NAT, it becomes fully exposed to the outside world.

This is a lie. A "session through the NAT" does not really expose the host to the outside world, because in 99% of the cases this is a TCP session, and the NAT machine would drop all "out of order" packets.

>Most modern attacks start from a compromised internal host (e.g., from phishing), or through stolen credentials via a remote access method.

Your statement is a perfect example of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias.

Most modern attacks start from an internal host exactly because NAT makes external attacks infeasible for the majority of scenarios.

>Set your firewall to default deny, then add a rule for allow outgoing connections, followed by only allow incoming connections if they are replies.

What about I don't do it, and the system is still _automatically_ secure, because NAT does exactly that while being _required_ for the system to work.

>See Figure A-5

LOL. What about I don't see any figures, and the system still works and is secure for the 99% of the cases.