A firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls the incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. This can either be hardware or software based (ideally both) and creates parameters of whether to allow or block specific traffic based on those rules. In short, a firewall acts as a barrier between a trusted network and an untrusted network.
The term “firewall” may sound familiar to you as it has been used in fire prevention for years, and originally referred to a wall intended to confine a fire or potential fire within a building. Now the term means a high-tech wall to protect your system from outside influences that could harm your business data or system in general. Firewalls have been a first line of defense in network security for over 25 years.
With the explosion of the internet and the resulting connectivity between users and the rest of the world, firewalls have become a critical part of security for businesses. Firewalls have gone through their own form of evolution and have attempted to keep up with the rapid pace of technology. Here is a quick breakdown from Cisco Systems of the generations of firewalls including next generation firewalls.
- Proxy Firewalls – The earliest version of a firewall served as the gateway from one network to another for a specific application. Proxy servers can provide additional functionality such as content caching and security by preventing direct connections from outside the network.
- Stateful Inspection Firewall – Now thought of as a “traditional” firewall, a stateful inspection firewall allows or blocks traffic based on state, port, and protocol. It monitors all activity from the opening of a connection until it is closed.
- Unified threat management (UTM) Firewall – UTM device typically combines, in a loosely coupled way, the functions of a stateful inspection firewall with intrusion prevention and antivirus. It may also include additional services and often cloud management. UTMs focus on simplicity and ease of use.
- Next-generation firewall (NGFW) – A newer class of firewalls, next generation firewall – NGFW, filters network and Internet traffic based upon the applications or traffic types using specific ports. Next Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) blend the features of a standard firewall with quality of service (QoS) functionalities in order to provide smarter and deeper inspection.
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