An NGFW can perform sandboxing, which protects network software and users from malware by executing it in an isolated environment. This helps to detect and block malicious activity before it can cause harm to the entire system.
NGFW also provides deep-packet inspection and application control using only one device, which reduces infrastructural complexities. They also come with ransomware, spam protection and antivirus software that eliminates the need to purchase these separate tools.
Better Security
Cyber threats are ever-growing along with innovations in technology. A traditional firewall may seem incompetent to save your network from these sophisticated attacks, which can cause devastating downtime and data loss.
One of the reasons you must invest in NGFW is because it offers better security by providing visibility down to the application and user level and strengthening your cybersecurity policies through integrated threat intelligence. These features include deep packet inspection (DPI), threat detection and prevention, antivirus inspection, quality of service/bandwidth management, TLS/SSL encrypted traffic inspection, third-party identity management integration and website filtering.
In addition, an NGFW can identify applications on your network and classify each to prevent unpermitted functions from executing on your devices. It can also detect and track malware and viruses by inspecting the content of each file transferred through your network. A managed NGFW can detect threats and trigger an immediate response to minimize the impact of a cyberattack. For example, the NGFW can quarantine infected devices and send threat warnings to users. It can even automatically shut down infected devices so they won’t be used as launch points for further attacks.
Enhanced Performance
Today’s cyberattack landscape demands robust threat protection. NGFWs can do this better than traditional firewalls, designed to inspect deep into network packets for malware, blocking or cleaning the data before it is released to users.
This is especially important for encrypted web traffic (such as HTTP or SSL) since, without inspection, you are blind to more than 85% of attacks. In addition, NGFWs typically offer a higher throughput speed than traditional firewalls. Check out third-party reviews and testimonials to determine a firewall’s performance standards. In addition, make sure your team is comfortable configuring and using the NGFW before making a purchase. If your IT or security team is inexperienced with these solutions, choose a vendor with a reputation for easy configuration and user interfaces. Also, find out what type of support each vendor offers. For example, does the NGFW integrate with other products on your network, such as a centralized management system, logging servers, authentication server and external web/email security tools? If so, ensure they have good interoperability.
Scalability
NGFW offers advanced capabilities to secure networks and protect users, unlike traditional firewalls. These include application awareness, deep packet inspection and sandboxing, among others. These capabilities provide granular degrees of control to allow or block access to different applications. This allows the excellent features of certain applications to be accessed by the right people while keeping the negative aspects away from everybody. This significantly improved over the traditional firewall’s basic deny/allow model. It can also reduce bandwidth utilization by enabling enterprises to use the necessary resources.
Moreover, this level of scalability is necessary in today’s security landscape, where sophisticated attacks can circumvent protections applied at layers 3 and 4. For example, NGFW can detect traffic patterns associated with malware by inspecting the content of data packets. Some NGFWs can even update protections automatically using threat intelligence integration and networking and security automation options, freeing network admins to focus on more important tasks. The scalability of an NGFW helps organizations keep pace with growing business demands.
Flexibility
NGFW offers more capabilities than traditional firewalls without the risk of overburdening networks or stifling business performance. They enable granular traffic control by user, device, time and location to ensure every user only has access to the applications they need. With a more detailed analysis of data packets, NGFW can more precisely discern what’s inside, allowing it to block suspicious files and prevent malware from spreading. This feature is known as deep packet inspection (DPI). An NGFW can also offer advanced threat protection functions such as intrusion detection systems, IDS and intrusion prevention systems, and IPS. These functions can blacklist or whitelist specific applications or act on suspicious behavior, such as rogue websites or hidden malicious commands. They can also be enhanced with tools such as Sandblast zero-day protection, which tests potential malware in a virtual environment and helps detect threats that can escape traditional sandbox testing. Businesses should consider an NGFW that supports network security automation for greater scalability and flexibility. The ability to activate services remotely and instantly makes them easier to manage, cutting complexity and accelerating security operations.
Interoperability
With many different applications, websites and devices used for business, one-size-fits-all security controls can’t be applied. NGFW allows for more granular control to allow the good aspects of an application while blocking access to the bad ones. A key component of NGFW is that it performs deep packet inspection (DPI). This goes beyond just looking at the headers for website traffic and inspects the entire contents of each packet. This is done to look for malware and other threats within the packet data itself. DPI is the core of what enables NGFW to be more effective than traditional firewalls. Aside from this, an NGFW also offers antimalware, sandboxing, and advanced threat prevention capabilities, which are powered by world-class global threat intelligence. Many businesses rely on these features to protect their networks from malicious attacks. However, it’s up to each company to determine whether they want to deploy and pay for the additional specialized features of an NGFW. This includes capabilities like IPS, IDS and VPN integration.
