Firewalls – Are All Firewalls Created Equal?
A firewall is one of the most critical network security tools to protect against malware and other threats. Strategically positioned at the edge of the enterprise and inside data centers, firewalls granularly inspect and authenticate data packets on a connection-by-connection basis to determine whether or not to allow them access into the network. This visibility also allows them to identify and block malicious traffic, and alert organizations of potential risks and suspicious activity.
Firewalls started out in the late 1980’s as packet filters, which examined data sent between devices on a packet-by-packet basis. Ultimately, these tools determined whether or not to let each packet through by examining information located in the packet header (which includes things like source and destination IP addresses, port numbers, protocols).
Today’s firewalls have evolved into next generation firewalls (NGFW) which provide advanced capabilities to help businesses defend against sophisticated attacks. These advanced features include stateful inspection that analyzes the behavior of data packets and connections and catalogues patterns, allowing for more in-depth threat detection while improving performance versus network layer inspection (packet filtering).
But, not all firewalls are created equal, and it’s crucial to align capabilities with your environment and operational needs. This is especially true during infrastructure changes when firewall rules may need to be revised in order to keep protections strong without impacting business operations.