Firewall
By Rene Toledana
Information Security and Systems Administration Manager
Information Technology
What is a firewall?
A firewall is a software or hardware that prevents unauthorized access to a network. It inspects incoming and outgoing traffic using a set of rules to identify and block possible threats.
Firewalls are used in both personal and enterprise settings; they are widely considered an essential component of network security.
Why are firewalls important?
Firewalls are put in place to protect the organization's network perimeter by preventing external threats. It provides immediate threat defense by blocking malwares, potentially unwanted applications, malicious URLs, phishing links, and other malicious objects from the web. In addition to immediate threat defense, firewalls perform important logging and audit functions. They keep a record of events, which can be used by administrators to identify patterns and improve rule sets in the future. Rules should be updated regularly to keep up with the ever-evolving cybersecurity threats, and vendors develop patches to cover them as soon as possible.
10 tips to improve security inside the firewall:
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Apply access-control lists
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Shut off unused network services
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Defend critical resources first
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Build secure wireless access
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Build secure visitor access
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Define and keep firewall rules simple
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Keep your firewall always turned ON
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Keep firewall operating system updated
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Run firewall vulnerability scan regularly
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Update firewall regularly
In today’s world, we can never be too careful with the organization’s cyber security and having a firewall protection is one of the elements of a good business cyber security strategy.