As the threat landscape gets more concentrated with serious cyberthreats, new next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) have been developed to help stem the tide of negative outcomes that result from cyberattacks. An NGFW is an advanced network security device or software solution that combines traditional firewall capabilities with additional features and functionalities designed to provide enhanced protection and visibility into network traffic. NGFWs are designed to address the evolving and sophisticated nature of cyberthreats, including malware, intrusion attempts, and other malicious activities.

Key Features of NGFWs

• Application Awareness - These new firewalls can identify and control applications and services at the application layer. This allows them to make access decisions based on the specific applications or services being used, rather than just IP addresses and port numbers.
• Intrusion Prevention System - NGFWs often incorporate intrusion prevention capabilities, which help detect and prevent known and unknown threats by inspecting traffic for malicious patterns and signatures.
• User and Identity Awareness - These firewalls can associate network traffic with specific users or devices, enabling user-based policies and monitoring.
• Content Filtering - NGFWs can filter web content to block or allow specific types of websites, ensuring that organizations can enforce acceptable use policies and protect against malicious content.
• Advanced Threat Protection - Many NGFWs include features like antivirus, anti-malware, and sandboxing to detect and block advanced threats, including zero-day attacks.
• VPN Support - NGFWs often support Virtual Private Network (VPN) functionality, allowing secure remote access and site-to-site connectivity.
• Security Intelligence - Incorporating threat intelligence feeds and databases to keep up with emerging threats, NGFWs can update their security policies accordingly.
• Granular Control - Administrators can define granular policies for network traffic, specifying what is allowed and what is denied, based on various attributes such as application, user, content type, and more.
• Logging and Reporting - NGFWs offer robust logging and reporting capabilities to provide visibility into network activities, which can aid in incident response and compliance reporting.
• Scalability and Performance - NGFWs are designed to handle high volumes of traffic and offer scalable performance to accommodate the needs of large enterprises.

NGFWs are a crucial component of modern network security infrastructure, helping organizations protect their networks and data from a wide range of threats while maintaining control and visibility over network traffic. That is why it is so important to keep your firewalls, next-gen or not, updated with the latest threat definitions to ensure that you are getting the stated value out of it.

If you would like to learn more about outfitting your business with NGFWs, give the IT professionals at 415 IT a call today at (415) 295-4898.