The Sunday Mail
John Tseriwa
4IR Simplified
A LOCAL company recently experienced a significant breach in its network security.
While it is not within my jurisdiction to provide specifics regarding the incident, it is essential to acknowledge that businesses face a real and dangerous threat of cyber attacks.
The fact that most of these security breaches often go unreported only highlights the magnitude of the challenge.
Companies must safeguard their digital assets and protect themselves from potential breaches.
Cybersecurity awareness training is one of the most critical business requirements in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
We live in a digital ecosystem, and protecting our networks from potential attacks has become essential.
One of the most essential tools in this regard is the firewall.
Just like a perimeter wall protects your house and keeps trespassers at bay, firewalls are similarly used to secure a computer network.
Firewalls are security systems that prevent unauthorised access to a network.
They can be a hardware or software unit that filters incoming and outgoing traffic within a private network, according to rules to spot and prevent cyberattacks.
The firewall examines and blocks incoming and outgoing traffic using a set of rules.
Firewalls come in different types, each with its strengths and weaknesses.
It is essential at this point to differentiate between firewalls and antivirus.
An antivirus is security software, while a firewall can be hardware, software or a combination of the two.
The primary goal of antivirus software is to prevent, monitor and eliminate harmful code or software.
Firewalls focus on preventing unauthorised access and monitoring network traffic.
How do firewalls work?
Firewalls filter the network traffic within a private network.
They analyse which traffic should be allowed or restricted based on a set of rules.
Think of the firewall as a security guard at your computer’s entry point, allowing only trusted sources or IP addresses to enter your network.
A firewall welcomes only incoming traffic it has been configured to accept.
It distinguishes between good and malicious traffic, and allows or blocks specific data packets on pre-established security rules.
These rules are based on several aspects the packet data indicates, like their source, destination, content, et cetera.
They block traffic coming from suspicious sources to prevent cyberattacks.
It is vital to note that there are different types of firewalls based on their traffic-filtering methods, structure and functionality.
Packet-filtering firewall
A packet is a small segment of a larger message. Data sent over computer networks such as the internet is divided into packets.
Packet-filtering firewalls employ a set of rules applied to the incoming network traffic.
If a packet does not violate any rule, the firewall forwards it to the next destination, otherwise the firewall discards it immediately.
Proxy service firewall
This firewall protects the network by filtering messages at the application layer.
For a specific application, a proxy firewall is a gateway from one network to another.
Stateful inspection firewall
A stateful firewall keeps track of and monitors the state of active network connections, while analysing incoming traffic and looking for potential traffic and data risks.
Stateful firewalls can detect attempts by unauthorised individuals to access a network and analyse the data within packets to see if they contain malicious code.
Next-generation firewall
A next-generation firewall is a deep-packet inspection firewall that comes equipped with additional layers of security.
These additional layers include integrated intrusion prevention; in-built application awareness, regardless of port; and advanced threat intelligence features to protect the network from various advanced threats.
Cybercriminals now use advanced ransomware, social engineering, malware and complex distributed denial-of-service attacks to infiltrate networks.
Traditional firewalls that perform port and protocol inspection of packets cannot keep up with these advanced cybersecurity threats.
Unified threat management (UTM) firewall
A UTM firewall is a comprehensive system that provides a single protection point against many of the most common cybersecurity threats. A UTM appliance provides several layers of network protection.
These layers include next-generation firewalls, antivirus software, intrusion and detection prevention systems, website and spam filtering, and virtual private network functionality.
The type of firewall that is best for a particular network depends on the level of security required.
Regardless of the type of firewall used, their importance must be balanced.
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Firewalls are the first defence against cyber threats such as malware, viruses and hacking attempts.
By monitoring and controlling incoming and outgoing traffic, firewalls prevent unauthorised access to sensitive data and protect the integrity of the network.
This is particularly important for businesses that may hold vast amounts of confidential data such as customer information, financial records and trade secrets.
A breach in security can be devastating, both in terms of financial loss and damage to reputation.
Since most homes are connected to the internet, firewalls are crucial for home networks.
While individuals may not hold sensitive data on the same scale as businesses, they must protect their personal information and devices from potential attacks.
Hackers can use home networks to launch attacks on other targets, and compromised devices can be used to steal personal data or spy on individuals.
In conclusion, security needs are changing at lightning speed, thus, an effective firewall must possess robust security features, high performance, scalability and ease of management.
The firewall you choose should be able to detect cyber threats effectively and provide granular traffic control.
It should also be flexible enough to adapt to and integrate with other tools as needed and be easily managed by its administrators.
John Tseriwa is a tech entrepreneur and a digital transformation advocate focusing on delivering business solutions powered by 4IR technologies. He can be contacted at: [email protected] or +263773289802.
