Your firewall is the first barrier between your computer systems and all the nasties on the internet. Firewalls can be hardware -like the device that should be sitting between your companies internet connection and all the devices on your network- or they can be software -like the firewall included with some anti-virus software- running on and protecting a single computer.
A firewall works by examining all traffic that goes through the device and comparing it against a list of safe and malicious traffic. The firewall then allows safe traffic through and blocks the malicious traffic. The security vendor regularly updates the malicious traffic list using data the vendor gathers from research and security devices spread around the world.
Security vendors are creating new, next-generation firewalls to counter the evolution of cyber attacks. According to industry analyst Gartner, Inc., the modern devices “are deep-packet inspection firewalls that move beyond port/protocol inspection and blocking to add application-level inspection, intrusion prevention, and bringing intelligence from outside the firewall.” These next-generation devices are significantly more advanced, and some can even leverage machine learning to detect and respond to activity that is out of the ordinary for your organization.
A firewall is a critical piece of a comprehensive cybersecurity program. If you need a firewall or are unsure if your organization has an adequate, multi-layer cybersecurity, please contact us. We can perform a free audit to ensure you don’t become a victim.
