Enterprises are turning to next-generation firewalls for enhanced security due to the sophistication of recent cyberattacks and complex hacking techniques. Since this technology is relatively new, some of us are unsure what the term “next-generation firewall” means, what it adds to the old firewall, and why it is required.

The new generation firewall (NGFW) is an improvement over old firewalls. It is a firewall that provides extra layers of protection, such as application-level inspection, advanced intrusion defense system, and intelligence, to the perimeter of a regular firewall in addition to the usual port/protocol protection.

Do you want to know why every organization opts for a next-gen firewall? Please continue reading to understand why it is unique.

It is multifunctional

Traditional firewalls couldn’t discriminate between different types of web traffic at first because they only followed web protocols. They could only accept or reject all traffic due to their incapacity to examine network packet data and distinguish between commercial and malicious applications.

This made protection based on ports, protocols, and IP addresses impossible. Stateful inspections, basic packet filtering, network and port address translations, and even support for virtual private networks are some of the features of conventional firewalls.

However, a next generation firewall includes integrated intrusion detection systems (IDS) and intrusion protection systems (IPS), which detect attacks based on behavioral traffic analysis, threat signatures, or anomalous activity. Traditional firewalls have all the functionality of next-generation firewalls plus these additional features. This capability aids in conducting a more thorough examination and enhances packet-content filtering of network data up to the application layer.

Application compatibility and awareness

Traditional firewalls often block popular application ports or services on a network to regulate application access and keep an eye on particular hazards. But as network connectivity gets more complicated, more and more apps use many or different ports, making it very challenging for conventional firewalls to identify the targeted port.

Additionally, these ports are utilized in various other methods, such as tunneling, in which a network protocol is encapsulated within the packets carried by the second network and is de-encapsulated at the destination.

To combat this, next-generation firewall devices keep an eye on traffic at layers 2 through 7 and have the intelligence to discern precisely what is being delivered or received. The content is sent on if it adheres to the rules or is otherwise blocked.

Businesses can also design policies that consider the user and the application by using application awareness. With these programs, you can enhance packet-content filtering as they can detect, analyze, and respond to unusual deviations from the expected course of events, threat signatures, and intelligent attacks.

Protection from cyber threats

An NGFW includes a full suite of antivirus, ransomware, spam protection, and endpoint security to safeguard your company’s data. You don’t necessarily require separate tools for such tasks with the aid of these features. Since NGFW includes all of these functions, you save the necessary time and effort and make it simple for you to monitor and manage cyber threats.

Additionally, antivirus and malware protection is continuously updated automatically when new threats are found. By restricting the applications that run on it, the NGFW device also reduces the attack vectors.

Following that, it checks all of the allowed applications for any undiscovered flaws or instances of confidential data leakage and mitigates the dangers of any unauthorized applications. Additionally, it helps to eliminate any unnecessary traffic, which is impossible with conventional firewalls.

Simple infrastructure

Traditional firewalls need a unique security appliance for each new threat, adding to the expenses and work required to manage and update each device. Establishing the thousands of rules necessary to identify and handle the traffic becomes a convoluted mess when using dynamic IP addresses. Additionally, neither the material, programs, nor even users are given the necessary restrictions or security by these devices.

A next Gen firewall from Sangfor technologies only requires one device or console to provide integrated antivirus, spam filtering, deep packet inspection, and application control. There is no need for additional hardware, lowering the complexity of the infrastructure. That also makes it easy to manage and update the security protocols from a single source.

Consistent network speed

The truth is considerably different from what many suppliers of conventional firewalls claim to give, typically a throughput of one gigabit from each port. The expanded set of security tools and services tends to slow down the network when activated, and by the time the traffic reaches the end user, the claimed speed has been reduced by almost a third.

However, regardless of the devices or security methods, you can always obtain the potential throughput with the next-generation firewall. The throughput of a next-generation firewall is always constant.

It enables role-based access.

User identity detection is a built-in feature of next-generation firewalls. Additionally, organizations can use it to restrict the range of access for a specific person or group of people using various user roles. With this capability, businesses may control who has access to what parts of their data and what it contains. Organizations can also retain some of their confidential data to themselves while making other portions of it public.

Advanced policy control

Traditional firewalls operate using a simple deny/allow approach. Anyone with access to a good program can use this paradigm, and an application deemed hazardous should not be accessible to anyone; therefore, this model is no longer accurate.

Thankfully, NGFWs enable granular degrees of control. The right staff should have access to an application’s great features but be blocked from the negative aspects of the application. Organizations can use the source and destination IP addresses to offer this security.

conclusion

Traditional firewalls couldn’t discriminate between different types of web traffic at first because they only followed web protocols. Companies required a stronger security system that wasn’t limited by IP addresses. They also needed more modern standards for regulating how websites and applications were used within a network. Due to this, next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) with cutting-edge technology emerged. These firewalls offer enhanced application control and deeper inspection capabilities.