A firewall is your first line of defense that guards against malicious activity from getting in to your secured, internal networks from outside (potentially insecure or untrusted) networks, like the internet. Unauthorized access into your system is how hackers and cyber criminals find, and use, your data. Needless, to say this barrier, which stands between your data and the outside world, is critically important for the security of your business.
When your company is considering deploying a new firewall, do you have an idea of what aspects are a “must have” before purchasing? Let’s take a closer look at things to consider when it comes time to purchase a new firewall.
The basic goal of a firewall is to protect confidential information from those who do not explicitly need to access it. It is also meant to protect your network and resources from malicious users. Firewalls can be a physical device (hardware) that is installed between a modem and your computer, or a software application that is installed directly on to a computer, or both! Either way, you want to be able to have some key aspects of your firewall depending upon your business needs.
Visibility and Control
Since firewalls are meant to be a barrier between your system and the “outside,” what about when you want visibility and control as to who has access to different aspects of the internet? For example, you may not want everyone to have access to YouTube, but what if your marketing team needs to show a video or explain social media to clients?
With the right firewall in place, you can apply policies to certain end-users or teams, allowing access to those with jobs pertinent to the applications being used. Before you purchase, be sure to understand each vendor’s security intelligence visibility functions to make sure it meets or exceeds your expectations.
Threat Protection
Next generation firewalls have become a veritable multi-tool of IT security. They can limit traffic and risks to your network by only allowing approved applications to be used. Sophisticated firewalls also include a feature that continuously updates the list of known good and known malicious applications. Find out how threats are evaluated and how advanced the protection really is before committing to a firewall.
Performance
When considering all the options that are out there for features and functions of firewalls, be sure to calculate not only what traffic or bandwidth you need now, but which you can potentially use in the future. Getting the features you want along with the performance you need to avoid any bottlenecks can be complicated.
Which functions do think are most important when choosing your next firewall? Don’t know where to begin? Call or visit M&H Consulting at 1-866-964-8324 or visit our website.
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