What is the difference between a next-generation firewall and a traditional firewall?
A typical firewall inspects network traffic in real time. It filters traffic based on administrator-defined criteria and permits or bans traffic depending on state, port, and protocol.
This, and much more, is what a next-generation firewall (NGFW) accomplishes. NGFWs may also stop current threats like sophisticated malware and application-layer assaults, in addition to access control. A next-generation firewall, according to Gartner’s definition, must incorporate the following features:
- Stateful inspection, for example, is a standard firewall feature.
- Integrated intrusion detection and prevention
- App awareness and control to identify and prohibit potentially dangerous applications
- Sources of threat intelligence
- Paths should be upgraded to incorporate future information streams.
- Techniques for dealing with ever-changing security risks
What should I look for in a firewall that is next-generation?
Organizations of all sizes, from SMBs to enterprises, benefit from the greatest next-generation firewalls in five ways. Ensure that your NGFW meets the following criteria:
1. Advanced security and breach prevention
A firewall’s primary goal should be to prevent breaches and keep your company secure. However, since preventative measures can never be 100 percent successful, your firewall should also have enhanced ability to identify complex malware fast if it manages to avoid your front-line defences. Invest in a firewall that has the following features:
- Preventive measures to thwart assaults before they enter
- Built-in best-of-breed next-generation IPS to detect and neutralise sneaky attacks quickly.
- Using URL filtering, regulations may be enforced on hundreds of millions of URLs.
- Built-in sandboxing and powerful malware protection that monitors file activity in real time to identify and remove threats rapidly.
- A world-class threat intelligence agency that feeds the firewall with the most up-to-date information in order to prevent new attacks.
2. Visibility over the whole network
You can’t defend yourself against what you can’t see. You need to keep an eye on what’s going on in your network at all times so you can notice bad conduct and put it down quickly. Your firewall should provide you a complete picture of what’s going on and offer full context awareness so you can see:
- Users, hosts, networks, and devices are all being targeted by threats.
- Where and when a threat began, where it has been throughout your extended network, and what it is doing today are all important factors to consider.
- Websites and apps that are active
- File transfers, communications between virtual computers, and more
3. Management and deployment choices that are flexible
Your firewall should match your specific needs, whether you’re a tiny or medium-sized firm or a major corporation:
- Choose from an on-box manager or centralised administration across all appliances for each use case.
- Using a virtual firewall, deploy on-premises or in the cloud.
- Simply switch on subscriptions to acquire greater capabilities. Customize with features that match your requirements.
- Select from a variety of throughput speeds.
4. The quickest detecting time
The industry typical period to discover a danger is now between 100 and 200 days, which is simply too lengthy. A firewall of the future should be able to:
- Threats may be detected in seconds.
- Within hours or minutes, detect the existence of a successful breach.
- Prioritize notifications so you can respond quickly and precisely to dangers.
- Make your life simpler by implementing a uniform policy that is simple to manage and enforces itself across all aspects of your business.
5. Product integration and automation
Your next-generation firewall shouldn’t be a compartmentalised system. It should be able to interact with and collaborate with the rest of your security infrastructure. Select a firewall that complies with the following criteria:
- Integrates well with other tools from the same provider.
- Threat intelligence, event data, policy, and contextual information are automatically shared with email, online, endpoint, and network security solutions.
- Impact assessment, policy administration and adjustment, and user identification are all automated security activities.
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