Understanding the Basics of Firewalls
It's a little odd that the term 'firewall' has gone from sounding like a scary chunk of the Berlin Wall to something much more slick and effortless. When you think about it, a firewall does protect your devices by acting as an impenetrable wall between them and any strangers lurking on unsecured networks - keeping out all manner of viruses, hackers, and suspicious malware. But what makes it so important.
That's because firewalls are often your first line of defence against brute force attacks, which are basically cyber criminals attempting to access your private data. More businesses are investing in their firewalls for this reason alone, with some even managing the feature from remote locations as well as on-site. Sort of.
If you haven't got one already, there's a good chance that you're being protected by one anyway - most operating systems come equipped with basic firewall security or have them built-in somewhere. At its core, firewalls simply filter all the data going in and out of your computer or network - blocking anything unauthorised. It doesn't matter how advanced or upgraded your system is; if you don't have decent firewall protection, your business and devices might be at risk of cyber attacks.
So whether you're working in an office or remotely, it's important to have your IT team manage it across all your connected networks. It appears that some traditional firewalls may no longer cut it when hackers today are getting more creative in their data breaches. That's why we've got six types of advanced firewalls to keep you secure no matter where you're working from this year.
Layer 1: Network Layer Security
It seems we have become rather casual about networks these days - or at least, we don’t always appreciate how profound they are. But I suppose it’s not surprising - after all, most of us are not likely to ever encounter the inner workings of a network. How do you even know if your data is passing through an unsecured network.
What exactly does that mean. I like to think of a network as the party the internet throws for everyone - like a house party. Every time someone knocks on your virtual door, they should pass a screening test. Are they being weird.
Who are their friends and where have those people been. Sort of. And are they picking fights with other people at the party.
If they seem fishy, you ask them to leave. You have to do all of this without appearing disrespectful or making yourself look silly or paranoid. This is actually what a firewall does at the network layer.
It’s responsible for filtering incoming and outgoing traffic based on pre-set rules. This prevents hackers from gaining access to your virtual house even if they manage to get on your porch. Another thing it can do is establish VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) which acts as another wall between your house and the rest of the world.
That being said, it isn’t possible for most firewalls to fully protect you from hackers who physically access your system and start snooping around from within your networks - it takes more than just robust security protocols to ward off an inside job. The same goes for attacks using USB sticks etc. , but ideally, you’re keeping those away anyway.
Layer 2: Application Layer Protection
Some apps are more like open gates than locked doors. And while application layer protection sounds more like a skin-care step than a firewall one, this second layer is probably one of the most important to secure. Especially as more teams move towards a cloud-based hybrid work environment.
With this firewall layer in place, businesses can block access for malicious users from easily getting into their enterprise’s operating system - or OS - through browser-based apps and tools. This means they’re the first line of defence against attacks that use social engineering techniques to breach protected spaces. Plus, firewalls at this layer are often used to defend against bot attacks too. Even so, application layer firewalls usually come as software solutions rather than hardware.
These act as proxies that monitor traffic data between the internal server and traffic and filter out anything that isn’t coming from an authenticated user or device. It does this by blocking access to unauthorised files or scripts and only allows trusted ones to get through. Here’s where I think it gets quite interesting. Firewalls at this level go beyond simply enforcing rules but look for patterns in requests as well, making them an intelligent part of any cybersecurity toolkit.
Layer 3: Stateful Inspection Firewalls
Most of the time, firewalls can sometimes be fairly straightforward and uncomplicated - but only if you know what to look for. There are various types that deal with the different layers of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, but those that address security concerns are quite important. And this one is among the best: a stateful inspection firewall - or dynamic packet filtering firewall, depending on who you ask. It’s still a relatively basic setup but allows for more detailed monitoring compared to packet filtering firewalls.
It’s all about, in a nutshell, keeping records. Any IP addresses, ports, applications, requests, and connections are noted, which allows for it to compare incoming packets against this stored information. If it’s not familiar with something, it’ll instantly flag it as suspicious and block access. What makes stateful inspection firewalls so secure is their ability to identify and understand established connections and inspect end-to-end traffic at multiple levels.
This gives them a fairly unique ability to offer a holistic analysis that adds another layer of security. I think it's important to note that they come with their own set of challenges though - especially if they’re not implemented correctly or monitored properly. There’s more than one way for these dynamic packet filtering firewalls to break through, but they’re still one of the best firewall options for most businesses. It keeps things simple while offering comprehensive protection so organisations can find peace of mind in their cyber activity.
Layer 4: Next-Generation Firewalls
I find a funny thing happens when you say 'firewall' to people. They either picture a big red wall, like a fire blanket that’s been upgraded to an architectural feature, or they think it’s some magical cloud fairy that puts up its hand and says 'not today, hackers. '. So when you introduce the next-generation firewall into the conversation they look for an adjective.
Like ‘sexy’. More or less. Not sure if sexy is what we are after.
Sort of. The way I see it, but it sure is clever. It seems like because it is clever.
This next-level firewall takes on all the security issues in your internet traffic by using dynamic packet filtering and TCP handshake checks. It isn’t just about blocking malware, its primary focus is preventing unauthorised access to your network. If a potential threat is in the pipeline so to speak, it can track active connections and analyse whether those connections are even legit.
They might not be legit, so they don't get through. I love the idea of criminals standing outside locked doors rather than inside open doors rifling through my belongings. This firewall uses deep packet inspection - which kind of sounds gross - but what this means is that everything gets checked out on its way in or its way out.
Next-Gen also allows you to create rules and policies that help with identifying and preventing threats. More or less. So while it appears easy to get distracted by the prettiness of firewalls and their ease of use, it’s really critical we focus on their ability to protect our organisation from malicious online activity - not just for what’s coming at us, but for what’s heading out as well.
Best Practices for Firewall Management
It's strange isn't it - people know the value of a good password but think firewalls are for big corporations or, I don't know, government espionage. While, ok, there's always that one person who has done a click-through certification on their lunch break and thinks they're an expert - I find there is an equally large number who are surprised by the basics of firewalls. That a firewall isn't just a figurative wall but has real, everyday significance in keeping our data safe.
And yet, even the most expert of experts can comparatively get lost in the array of tools available today. There is occasionally the outermost layer of perimeter security that protects from external threats, first and foremost. Then there are internal boundaries within a network - segmentation by department or even tier, lateral controls like intrusion detection systems, outbound monitoring to regulate outgoing traffic and keep internal information protected and logging and monitoring that helps with continuous evaluation.
But keeping up with every single tool every single time is sometimes harder than you'd imagine. The best firewall practices boil down to regular upgrades and consistent policies. It takes work to review regularly - schedules for updates and learning about new threats. Besides these obvious steps though - it's important to keep everything else updated too - like your operating system or mobile phone software or even your browser plug-ins and apps.
There is generally also something to be said about humans as firewalls in themselves. It seems like information asymmetry is our greatest defence against cyberthreats. A human firewall can go a long way too because human error remains the greatest risk factor in cybercrime.
Organisations worldwide have been guilty of weak passwords, outdated software or fake emails that could have been flagged had someone stopped to read an unknown email more carefully. The bottom line though seems like this: while your workplace might have protocols in place that keep you and your information safe at all times, it's equally important to be vigilant while working from home. More or less.
The way I see it, the most effective line of defence is seemingly you yourself - by being aware of what you're doing online at all times and treating information cautiously.