When it comes to your company’s security, there are several factors that you as a small business owner must take into account. Now that hackers and other bad actors have attacked every sort of organisation, from huge corporations to small mom-and-pop businesses, there is no such thing as being too vigilant.
The safeguards set up for your small company network, including a firewall, are only one of these factors. However, what precisely is a next gen firewall Malaysia (NGFW), do you need one for your company, and if so, what should you be on the lookout for in this case?
Fortunately, your Spectrum Edge pals are here to assist you. We’ve gathered a tonne of information regarding NGFW, which leads the industry, as well as what to look for when installing one in the vital infrastructure of your business. Let’s look at this:
A next-generation firewall: what is it?
It’s crucial that you fully get what we mean by “next-generation firewall” before we get into the specifics of network protection. Firewalls are nothing new; in some business networks, they have been in use for almost two decades. These older firewalls, however, are not equivalent to the NGFW of today.
TechTarget claims that by utilising three key systems and procedures, including corporate firewall capabilities, intrusion prevention, and application control, NGFWs expand the capabilities of more established technologies. This implies that NGFWs also feature Quality of Service capabilities, security and deep packet inspections, application awareness processes, and reputational malware detection in addition to packet filtering, network address translation, URL blocking, and control for virtual private networks.
By enabling the firewall to comprehend the specifics of the web application traffic it is receiving and take action to restrict traffic that can exploit vulnerabilities, NGFWs give more context to the decision-making process of the firewall, according to Rouse.
How does this affect your little company? Overall, installing an NGFW results in improved protection and security as well as enhanced control and insight into network activities.
What should I look for in a NGFW?
It is crucial to know what to look for with this technology now that it is obvious that an NGFW is something that any size firm can benefit from, especially smaller businesses that may not have as strict security procedures and controls as a bigger enterprise.
Here are a few of the crucial things mentioned:
Closely connected security features:
If an NGFW’s capabilities aren’t properly connected and integrated, they won’t help the company much. When looking for an NGFW solution, it’s crucial to confirm that all features function in concert, communicate across platforms, and that there is no overlap in this area. A NGFW with numerous, integrated security layers is essential, according to Cisco, as new technologies like the cloud continue to gain traction. Additionally, when these features work together closely, they offer an unrivalled degree of threat protection and may fix any security vulnerabilities in the business.
Adaptation to additional security systems:
The solution should be able to seamlessly interface with the various security systems the small business has in place in addition to having closely coordinating security elements inside the NGFW itself. For instance, your company’s NGFW should be able to communicate with outside products like vulnerability scanners, help desk ticketing systems, and software management platforms. This can reduce the total cost of ownership while also assisting in the development of a more comprehensive strategy to data protection.
Support for less sophisticated systems:
IT complexity is a problem that plagues businesses of all sizes, even the tiniest ones, time and time again. When additional apps and virtual environments are added, even a tiny digital footprint may soon become complex. Therefore, it’s crucial that an NGFW not only doesn’t increase this complexity but instead works to lessen it. In its checklist, Cisco stated that “an integrated, multi-layered strategy can give more insight into threats and, as a result, better security.” “The complexity and expense of obtaining and administering various solutions are also eliminated when multiple boxes are combined into a single platform.” This is fantastic news for both people in charge of IT operations and the company’s overall security.
Innovative automation:
NGFWs can contribute to a reduction in complexity by automating some common security operations. By automating repetitive tasks, the solution frees up business owners and IT stakeholders from having to carry out these tasks manually. Cisco stated that the ideal NGFW will be able to automate user authentication across the essential applications of the enterprise, security policy tweaking, and impact assessment activities.
Scalable flexibility
Additionally, it is essential that the NGFW your company plans to use is highly scalable and can meet both its present and future needs. As their business expands, small enterprises may use this scalability to extend firewall and threat protection to new branch offices, distant sites, or data centres.
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