With today’s ever-changing threat landscape, it’s important to ensure that you’re protecting your network and it’s users. By not keeping your firewall up to date, it will be susceptible to advanced threats and your network will be open to vulnerabilities. An up to date firewall is an incredibly important aspect within your cyber security strategy as it helps keep cyber criminals at bay and is the first line of defence on your network.
Hear from Technical Director, Nick Matthews as he explains the importance of firewall protection and the benefits it has to your business.
EARLY DAYS OF THE FIREWALL
It’s common for small businesses to have standard firewalls in place. When they were first installed, it was good practice to download the new firmware from the vendor’s support page and install the software. Once you’d downloaded the solution, the firewall would be updated and ready to go.
The vendor’s firmware would be developed to protect the firewall against threats they were aware of at that time. But what happens when a couple of months go by, and a new threat appears? The vendor’s firmware is now out of date and the firewall will not know how to deal with the new threat.
You could call your IT support company and they would send an engineer out to update the firmware. The same will apply, the router will get a new firmware update and be up to date again, until a couple of months later and you’re back in the same position, and the story goes on and on.
HAVE YOU REVIEWED YOUR FIREWALL?
In some cases, some businesses may have installed an old firewall and have not done anything since. This is a major risk of vulnerability on your network. If the old firewall was to become compromised, this could have a massive impact on your business productivity, time and finances.
Although initially this would be a technical investment, the best way to protect your network, internal services, and users, is to deploy a next-generation firewall.
Next-generation firewalls, also known as NGFW, are powerful bits of appliances that come with many advantages. Here are some of the benefits and why you should consider upgrading to a next-generation firewall.
PERFORMANCE
Next-generation firewalls are built with performance in mind. Their processing power outweighs standard, outdated firewalls and have the capability to handle more data with much better speed and efficiency. They remove any potential bottlenecks on the network where an old firewall would be at max capacity because of their limited processing capabilities. Not only does it offer increased processing power, they can also handle greater connectivity speeds.
PROTECTION
Unlike standard firewalls with outdated firmware packages, next-generation firewalls offer real-time protection. They integrate with third-party threat intelligence solutions, so your firewall stays up to date and protected against known and newly seen threats. As soon as the threat intelligence team identify a new threat, they are categorised and because the new firewall uses the same database as the threat intelligence solution, you are automatically updated. With their deep programming inspection capabilities, they scan traffic entering and leaving the network for the latest malware and vulnerabilities.
MANAGEMENT
Older firewalls need to be managed locally. This goes back to the beginning of the post about having an engineer on-site upgrading the level of firmware on the firewall. Next-generation firewalls can be managed from the cloud. This is great for network admins who manage multiple networks.
Admins can log in to the intuitive web-based dashboard and manage the firewall as if they were on site. Not only does this save time, but it’s also easier to manage the network or deploy new networks. Firmware updates are automatically applied and downloaded from the cloud automating what was once a manual process.
To summarise, by investing in a next-generation firewall, you are protecting your business with the latest technology and staying up to date with protection against the ever-evolving threats of today.
DON’T SIT ON IT … ACT ON IT!
Cyber crime is on the rise and criminals are always looking for new ways to exploit businesses with techniques that bypass security measures and target individuals that don’t have a high-level security in place. By constructing the right strategy and implementing the right solutions you can prevent malicious activity and avoid becoming a victim of cyber crime.
Remember… cyber-attacks can happen to any business so it’s vital that you plan effectively and protect your organisation! Firewalls act as your first line of defence and can stop an attacker from entering your network and taking control!
We advise that you use a combined, multi layered approach to your security measures, utilising great technology, alongside staff training and expert advice. Using this combination approach to tackle cyber security, you will ensure that your business adheres to best practice and doesn’t become an easy target for criminals. For more information and to see a demonstration on how you will benefit from a next-generation firewall then contact our team for more advice.
REVIEW YOUR FIREWALL!
Leaving your firewall until you suffer a network breach is a huge risk that will have severe implications to your business. We recommend you review your security strategy annually and your products and services at least quarterly to make sure you are protected. We also suggest making cyber security an agenda item for discussion at board meetings.
For advice on your security strategy get in touch:
Call us on 0333 150 6780, email or fill out the contact form below and a member of the team will be in touch.
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