Cyberattacks and hacking methodologies are getting more complex, driving businesses to look for next-generation firewall capabilities.
NGFWs protect organizations through advanced security features like deep-packet inspection, intrusion prevention (IPS), advanced malware detection, and application control.
Unlike traditional firewalls, NGFWs provide comprehensive visibility and contextual awareness of your network’s application, server, file transfer, communication, and data storage. They also offer comprehensive, in-depth monitoring to detect and block threats from any angle.
Costs
Next-generation firewalls are often the best choice for businesses that want to improve network security. They offer features not available in traditional firewalls, such as granular application control and advanced malware protection.
While NGFWs are not cheap, they can save organizations money in the long run. They can block attacks like DDoS, brute force, and known vulnerabilities by enforcing security policies at layers 3 and 4 of the OSI model (the network and transport layers).
Unlike packet filtering, which only examines the headers of each data packet, NGFWs also perform deep packet inspection or deep packet inspection (DPI). It involves inspecting the actual packet body, which can reveal malicious content.
NGFWs can also stop network traffic from passing through unapproved ports. This capacity is essential when hackers compromise user accounts or supply chain flaws to obtain unauthorized access to vital corporate data and networks.
The advantages outweigh next generation firewall disadvantages. Selecting the finest NGFW for your company can be challenging, so you should ask an IT consultant or supplier of IT-managed services for guidance to help you make the choice that best suits your requirements.
Benefits
A next-generation firewall (NGFW) is an advanced security solution that provides enhanced network visibility and control. It combines port and protocol inspection and application-level protection and monitoring features.
The next-generation firewall is a good choice for businesses that must improve their security posture and protect sensitive data from attacks. Its primary features include deep packet inspection, intrusion prevention and the ability to ingest and analyze threat intelligence.
It also includes real-time alerts that can be sent to administrators to allow them to take immediate action if an issue arises. It makes it easier for organizations to keep their networks secure and update their firewalls when needed.
Another essential benefit of NGFWs is that they can provide more granular degrees of control over applications. Instead of denying access to a wrong program, an NGFW can block it altogether or limit what the user can do.
The next-generation firewall must be able to inspect and analyze each network packet’s contents to accomplish this level of granular control. It requires more CPU and memory resources than a traditional stateful firewall.
Moreover, it must be capable of detecting threats from known and unknown sources, such as social media, email, web content, mobile devices and IoT, as well as traditional attack vectors like SQL injections, phishing, password spoofing and more. It also needs to automatically prioritize issues of the highest priority so they can be dealt with before they cause any damage.
Security
Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) is a critical security measure for modern businesses. They provide heightened protection against advanced cyber threats like malware and application-layer attacks.
NGFWs are not just for enterprises; they can also help small businesses, service providers, and government agencies protect their network infrastructure against the latest threats. NGFWs use a more open systems interconnection model to increase visibility into network traffic, which means they’re better able to identify malicious traffic and stop it before it even reaches your perimeter.
They can be deployed as software or hardware appliances, but the key is that they’re designed to replace existing firewalls with more sophisticated, scalable security features. It helps organizations ensure their data remains secure and users can access the applications they need to do their jobs without worrying about security risks.
NGFWs also offer centralized management to give administrators a security health dashboard and traffic patterns allowing them to take real-time action. Centralized management also reduces the number of devices and servers needed to run a firewall, making it easier to deploy and upgrade.
Deployment
Today’s cyberattack threats are far more sophisticated and require a more robust first line of defense to keep companies safe. NGFWs can detect and block these attacks with an integrated network security platform that includes intrusion prevention systems, sandboxing, application control, SSL/SSH inspection and quality of service management.
NGFWs are also easier and cheaper to maintain, update, and control because they combine multiple features into one solution. It reduces the number of firewall products an organization has to manage and allows them to focus on other security technologies that are more important for their business.
However, NGFWs are not immune to performance issues and can struggle to process encrypted traffic. It can impact user experience and prevent organizations from securing their networks.
It is why it’s crucial to choose an NGFW that balances the performance of a traditional firewall with its security capabilities. A good NGFW can detect and block new forms of malware, protect users against advanced persistent threats and stop malicious web traffic before it ever reaches the network.
NGFWs can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud as a firewall (FWaaS). It is especially true for remote and hybrid enterprises with employees working from home or traveling to other locations.
