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Firewalls are an essential piece of security infrastructure for protecting computers and networks against cyber threats. They monitor incoming and outgoing data between private networks and protect against unauthorized access by examining and filtering the network traffic based on defined rules. Firewalls are also designed to prevent malware attacks by inspecting the content of data packets and scrutinizing each packet on a case-by-case basis.

Prior to the invention of Firewalls, security was performed by Access Control Lists (ACL) that resided on routers, but they had limited capabilities. A firewall’s primary function is to protect the internal network from unauthorized data access by checking each packet of network traffic. Firewalls can be hardware or software devices that resemble typical rack-mountable networking boxes with ports and LEDs or a user interface displaying settings and traffic.

A good firewall system starts with secure setup and continues with regular tests, proactive management, and a robust logging and alerting mechanism. Test to ensure logging and configurations are properly set up, and store backups in at least two accessible, secure locations. Regularly review and document all policy changes. Correlate firewall logs with other security systems to gain contextual visibility to reduce alert fatigue and improve incident response times. Perform periodic vulnerability scans to identify and fix gaps in your defenses. And schedule periodic penetration testing to simulate real-world attack scenarios and gauge how well your firewalls are performing. Keeping your firewall system up-to-date with the latest patches and configurations is critical.