Methods and systems for propagating data security policies and rules up a chain of network components, for example, from an end-user device having a firewall, to a network component at the “edge” of the network, from where a policy statement can be transmitted to a service provider are described. A device, such as a computer or mobile phone, has, as part of its firewall software, a policy propagation file, that communicates with pre-existing firewall software. The firewall software creates a policy statement upon detecting a triggering event, which is transmitted from the device to the next data security component up the chain, “upstream,” in the network. The firewall server may combine policy statements from numerous end-user type devices and transmit the policy statement to an external network component. The ISP or other service provider may then use the policy statement to implement data security rules for the devices in the network.