The Benefits of a Managed Firewall Solution - SecureOps

Sophisticated cyber threats require companies to develop a stronger first line of perimeter defense. Firewalls are the tool of choice. Yet, as cyber-attacks gain ingenuity in seeking unauthorized access and executing malicious activity, traditional firewalls aren’t up to the challenge. Enter next-generation firewalls (NGFWs). 

Where a traditional firewall acts as a gatekeeper, filtering traffic based on source and destination IP addresses, ports, and protocols, an NGFW serves as a comprehensive security checkpoint. It gains an advantage by integrating with solutions disparate to traditional firewalls, including an intrusion prevention system (IPS) and a web filter. This reduces the potential for security gaps between different systems, simplifying administration.

Let’s compare a traditional firewall with a next-generation firewall.

What is a Firewall?

1. Focus: Firewalls are network security devices designed to control and monitor traffic flow between networks or systems, enforcing security policies and filtering network packets.
2. Function: Firewalls function as a barrier between internal and external networks, inspecting and filtering incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predefined rules or policies.
3. Traffic Control: Firewalls make decisions about allowing or blocking specific network connections or packets based on factors like source IP, destination IP, ports, protocols, and application-specific rules.
4. Network Protection: Firewalls provide protection against unauthorized access, external threats, and network-based attacks by applying access controls and filtering mechanisms.
5. Perimeter Defense: Firewalls, deployed at the network perimeter, serve to protect internal resources from unauthorized external access, acting as a first line of defense.

The Bottom Line – Firewalls primarily control network traffic and enforce security policies at the network level. 

What is a Next-Generation Firewall?

A next-generation firewall is within the third generation of firewall technology, designed to address advanced security threats at the application level through intelligent, context-aware security features. An NGFW combines traditional firewall capabilities like packet filtering and stateful inspection with others to make better decisions about what traffic to allow.

A next-generation firewall can filter packets based on applications and inspect the data contained in packets (rather than just their IP headers). 

Below you'll see the difference a next-generation firewall can make for your organization.

Advanced Threat Detection and Prevention:

One of the key differentiators of next-generation firewalls is their ability to provide advanced threat detection and prevention mechanisms. NGFWs go beyond simple packet filtering by incorporating deep packet inspection (DPI) techniques. NGFWs can detect and block sophisticated threats, such as malware, viruses, and application-layer attacks by analyzing the entire packet payload. This proactive approach allows organizations to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals and mitigate risks effectively.

Application Awareness:

Traditional firewalls primarily focus on port and protocol-based filtering, which may not provide sufficient granularity to manage modern network traffic. Next-generation firewalls, on the other hand, possess deep insight into applications traversing the network. They can identify specific applications, including those using non-standard ports or encrypted traffic, and enforce granular policies based on the application, user, and content. This level of application awareness enables organizations to enhance network performance, prioritize critical applications, and enforce security policies tailored to each application’s requirements.

Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) Integration:

While traditional firewalls can block unauthorized access attempts, they often lack the ability to detect and prevent sophisticated intrusion attempts. NGFWs integrate intrusion prevention systems, which combine signature-based and behavior-based techniques to identify and block network attacks in real-time. By leveraging threat intelligence databases and continuous monitoring, NGFWs can proactively protect against known and emerging threats, minimizing the risk of successful network breaches.

User Identity Awareness:

Another significant advantage of next-generation firewalls is their ability to identify and enforce policies based on individual user identities. By integrating with authentication systems such as Active Directory or LDAP, NGFWs can associate network activity with specific users or groups. Granular control that tailors access privileges to individual needs reduces the risk of unauthorized access or insider threats. User identity awareness also facilitates enhanced visibility into user behavior, simplifies auditing and compliance processes, and enables more effective incident response.

Secure Remote Access:

With the rise of remote work and the increased adoption of cloud services, secure remote access has become a critical requirement for organizations. Next-generation firewalls offer built-in virtual private network (VPN) capabilities, allowing secure access to internal resources from remote locations. These firewalls can provide secure connectivity, enforce access policies, and inspect encrypted traffic to detect any potential threats. By consolidating remote access and network security into a single solution, NGFWs simplify network management and reduce complexity.

The table below summarizes the key technology differences between a traditional firewall and an NGFW:

A Managed Firewall Provides Countless Benefits

A firewall is crucial for network security, but its efficacy depends on proper configuration and management. Mishandling a firewall can be more detrimental than no firewall at all, providing a false sense of security. Firewalls can be hardware or software-based and have specialties like Packet filters, Stateful firewalls, Application layer firewalls, and Next Generation Firewalls (NGFW).

Effective firewall security requires well-designed rules. Making rules too general or not explicitly defining the traffic type can increase the likelihood of malicious traffic slipping through. Additionally, failing to block internal protocols or not restricting access to certain protocols, like SSH, could lead to the exposure of sensitive data. Overall, firewalls can be powerful tools for combating cyber threats, but to realize their potential you must have properly designed and enforced firewall rules.

To ensure optimal cybersecurity, it’s critical that firewalls are not merely set up and left to run independently. Regular monitoring and updates must be part of an organization’s cybersecurity strategy. Failure to monitor and manage a firewall can lead to several issues, including missed updates, which may render a firewall vulnerable to exploitation or incapable of monitoring network traffic. Overlooked security events can persist unnoticed in firewall-generated logs, leaving an organization unaware of ongoing cyberattacks. Additionally, as businesses grow, so do their security requirements. Outdated firewall solutions may be unable to keep up with traffic volumes or monitor all an organization’s network traffic effectively.

Managed SIEM’s and Firewall’s offer businesses crucial core services, such as security monitoring and incident response. They also offer a range of other complementary services, such as monthly security reports, installing patches and updates, managing compliance, and maintaining the SIEM configuration and asset inventory functions. By partnering with a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP), organizations can experience top-notch cybersecurity without the need to manage the solutions in-house. This allows businesses to access the right tools, expertise, and resources for first-class cybersecurity protections, including high-quality, curated alerts.

Conclusion

As cyber threats continue to evolve, the need for stronger and advanced network security solutions is more critical than ever. Next-generation firewalls provide a significant leap forward compared to traditional firewalls, offering advanced threat detection and prevention, application awareness and control, integration with intrusion prevention systems, user identity awareness, and secure remote access capabilities. 

By embracing the benefits of NGFWs, organizations can strengthen their security posture, enhance network performance, and safeguard their valuable digital assets against a wide range of cyber threats.