What happens to IP packets originating from or addressed to a private IP address?

• A. They can be routed through the public Internet
• B. They are translated via NAT automatically
• C. They cannot be routed through the public Internet
• D. They are blocked by default

Answer: (C)

Private IP addresses are not routable on the public Internet by design. They’re intended for use inside local networks, defined in RFC 1918 (for example, 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16/12, 192.168/16). Routers on the Internet do not forward packets with these private addresses, so such traffic cannot reach destinations on the global Internet. Within a private network, these addresses are perfectly routable, enabling internal communication. When access to the Internet is needed, a gateway at the network edge uses Network Address Translation (NAT) to map private addresses to a public one, allowing outbound traffic while keeping private addressing inside the LAN. So the correct idea is that private-address packets cannot be routed through the public Internet.