Why a Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) is Important

Next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) combine protective layers with intelligence to overcome the limitations of the traditional firewalls and help prevent cyberattacks as part of a strategic network security posture.

See below to learn all about the advantages and benefits that NGFWs provide companies:

Ensure multilayered protection

Multilayered defense has become more important in defending against cyberattacks, because single-layer protection is not as effective.

Traditional firewalls are confined to some basic layers, including the Data Link Layer and Transport Layer of the OSI model, but an NGFW goes farther and inspects traffic. Next-generation firewalls offer multilayered protection from 2 layers to 7 layers and include an integrated intrusion detection system (IDS) and intrusion prevention system (IPS).

See more: How Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) are Used by Softworx, PenChecks Trust, Flex, CNA, and Blackstone: Case Studies

Implement role-based access

Next-generation firewalls are generally not a one-size-fits-all solution and have an inherent ability to detect user identity. NGFW vendors offer many different effective features that help organizations to set role-based access. Those can work with different user roles and limit the scope of access as well as allow organizations to access certain portions of data and content.

Depending on work, each employee will require varied internet rights. NGFWs allow organizations to make some data public and keep the rest confidential. They also allow organizations to adapt network access to the needs of different users.

Manageable and policy control

The operation of traditional firewalls, like straightforward deny/allow models, defend against certain ports or protocols, but NGFWs are feature rich and have higher performance with manageability.

They can be easily accessed from a single console. NGFWs became popular partly because of their ease of use and maintenance with a standard design.

See more: 5 Top Next-Generation Firewall Software

What cyberthreats does an NGFW defend against?

Technology advancement creates a new level of cyberthreats where traditional firewalls are vulnerable. Next-generation firewalls provide protection against a range of advanced security threats across network, web, and application access:

Advanced malware

Advanced malware has become a more powerful cyberthreat, which makes it difficult to deliver effective security for firewalls against them. Next-generation firewalls were developed with a combination of multiple techniques to protect data against advanced malware and can significantly accelerate response to attacks.

NGFWs ensure an efficient and effective way to spot malicious codes and block them rapidly before they begin stealing data. The new firewalls also offer powerful tools for understanding malicious code that helps cybersecurity practices.

Intrusion threats

Intrusion is simply any unauthorized activity that often involves stealing resources and data.  Rapidly growing digital activity makes it difficult to indicate when an intrusion has occurred. Next-generation firewalls include some effective features, such as in-line deep packet inspection, intrusion detection, and website filtering.

The new firewalls have extensive control and visibility over the applications. NGFWs may employ whitelists or a signature-based intrusion prevention technique to differentiate between safe and malicious applications.

Application-layer threats

The application layer of the OSI model is designed to serve the end users, and all of the user services happen on this layer. The application layer covers what users see on a screen, from web browsers to software solutions.

Application layer threats include different types of malware, viruses, keyloggers, and ID-password sniffing. Next-generation firewalls address the advanced security threats at the application layer through intelligent and context-aware security capabilities. The NGFWs can filter packets based on applications and inspect the data in packets.

See more: How Does a Next-Generation Firewall Work?