A robust firewall is the first line of defense in keeping an Organization safe from advanced cybersecurity threats. But in this growing age of digital transformation, how is your firewall measuring up?
The cost and frequency of data breaches have been skyrocketing ever since the world was ravaged by multiple large-scale ransomware attacks in 2017. NotPetya, Ryuk, SamSam, and their variants are some of the most destructive ransomware attacks that have impacted Organizations and people. WannaCry affected many healthcare Organizations and also expanded the threat attack surface to include the Internet of Medical Devices (IoMT).
How much are data breaches costing us?
With the evolving attack surface and threat landscape, a sophisticated firewall becomes a priority for every organization. The World Economic Forum listed cyberattacks among the top five threats to global economic development in 2019. According to the Poneman Institute, in the same year, the global average cost of a data breach reached $3.92 million. Organizations in the US continue to lead the world with an average cost of $8.19 million per data breach. As per Cybersecurity Ventures, the global impact of cybercrime is forecasted to grow to $6 trillion by 2021 and will double from $3 trillion in 2015.
But the question here is, how should next-generation firewalls tackle the 5th generation cyberattacks while facilitating traffic growth with hyper-scale technologies.
Today, Organizations are moving rapidly to meet digital transformation initiatives. But with technological advances, increased Internet traffic, and corporate network growth, lethal and sophisticated cybercrime has become a huge global challenge. According to Ponemon, to identify and contain a breach it can take as long as 2 years. Sophisticated multi-vector 5th generation cyberattacks that include nation-state-sponsored and malware-as-a-service exploits are increasingly more complex. As evidenced by the evolution of the ubiquitous firewall, they require more time to resolve.
A Firewall
A firewall is a network security device that filters and monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic. A firewall enforces an Organization’s security policy by acting as a barrier between two networks along with fixed predefined security policies. It inspects the incoming traffic and identifies and blocks cyber threats while allowing non-threatening traffic to pass through safely. With a unified management platform, advanced security functions, and robust threat prevention in place, a modern firewall is a mandatory protection that can help stop destructive network attacks.
Types of Firewalls
Firewalls are a way to protect your computer from outside access. There are four main types of firewalls. These include:
Packet Filters: These are the oldest type of firewall, and they’re still used by many smaller companies as well as home users. They work by examining the data packets that are sent to your computer, and then deciding whether or not to let them through.
Application Layer Gateways: These firewalls protect against attacks on specific applications (such as FTP) by inspecting the data packets before they reach your computer.
Circuit-Level Gateway: This type of firewall works with TCP/IP to create virtual circuits between two computers before any data is sent across them. It also uses authentication so only authorized users can connect to your network through this gateway.
Stateful Inspection Firewall:This is an advanced form of packet filtering where each packet is tracked as it moves between computers on a network, so that if there’s any malicious activity happening within those packets, it can be identified and stopped before any damage is done.
Next-Generation Firewalls
Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) are a powerful defense mechanism that blocks malware and application-layer attacks.
These firewalls can react seamlessly and quickly while detecting and reacting to outside attacks across the network if combined with an integrated intrusion prevention system (IPS). They allow setting policies to better defend the network and quickly assess network status. Next-Generation Firewalls provide protection against an extensive list of malware, including Trojans, viruses, spyware, worms, adware, and even ransomware. They continuously scan the network, detect invasive or suspicious activity, like malware, and shut it down immediately.
Network Firewalls
For many years, Organizations have been implementing Next-Generation Firewalls due to their broad support for multiple critical security functions and application awareness. But with a growing list of security threats, companies are rapidly adopting Network Firewall. This new firewall technology offers expanded security functions across the data center, mobile, endpoint, IoT, and cloud. It also includes real-time threat intelligence to protect you against the latest known and unknown cyber threats.
According to Neumetric, one of the top cybersecurity companies in Bangalore, Network Firewalls can serve as your first line of defense against advanced cyberattacks and are also very critical to your security architecture. However, these are only one part of the solution. Along with the network firewall, people, policies, and procedures are equally essential to build and operate an effective security architecture that can protect your Organization against strategic cybercriminals. This way you can digitally transform your enterprise in a secure and effective manner.
Neumetric, a cybersecurity services, consulting & product Organization, can help you reduce your security cost without compromising your security posture. Our years of in-depth experience in handling security for Organizations of all sizes & in multiple industries make it easier for us to quickly execute cost-cutting activities that do not bring value to you, while you continue focusing on the Business objectives of the Organization.
FAQs
How do firewalls protect networks?
Firewalls protect networks by blocking unauthorized access to resources, preventing malicious attacks and protecting against unauthorized modification of data. Firewalls can be implemented as hardware or software devices that are placed between the Internet and a company’s internal network.
Firewalls work by examining traffic going in and out of the network and comparing it with access rules created by administrators. These rules define which users are allowed to access which services on either side of the firewall. If there is no match between the incoming traffic and an existing rule, then the firewall will typically block any attempt to connect from outside sources.
Firewalls can also be configured to block all incoming connections except those from specific trusted hosts or networks (known as whitelisting). This setup is useful for protecting sensitive systems that require secure access only from known sources (e.g., web servers).
How do firewalls protect networks?
The short answer is yes. A firewall is designed to protect against outside threats, but it also has its own vulnerabilities that can be exploited. For example, if someone finds a vulnerability in the firewall software itself and can exploit it, they could gain access to the network through it. On the other hand, if someone gains access through another method (like brute force) and then tries to attack the firewall itself, they might be able to exploit its weaknesses.
How do hackers get past firewalls?
It requires an understanding of how firewalls work. Firewalls are designed to block inbound traffic and allow outbound traffic. When hackers want to get past firewalls, they typically use brute force tactics like trying every possible combination of IP address and port number until they find one that works—but this isn’t always successful, especially if the firewall admin has enabled anti-brute force protection.
Another common method for getting past firewalls involves using a tunneling protocol like SSH or SSL/TLS to create a virtual private network (VPN) between two machines on different networks. This allows hackers to bypass firewall restrictions by sending packets through their own machine instead of directly through the firewall machine itself.
