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Back in the early days of corporate networking, IT departments typically deployed firewalls to keep employees from accessing non-work related content, like social media sites. While content filtering remains part of a firewall\u2019s job, it\u2019s no longer the primary reason for using one. In today\u2019s connected world, firewalls are fundamental to network security. Further, today\u2019s firewall solutions have evolved to respond to companies\u2019 changing needs, enabling organizations to micro-segment networks and protect web-applications.<\/p>\n
As part of a robust data protection program, you need to choose the right tools that help you implement some firewall\/network security best practices.<\/p>\n
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WHAT IS A FIREWALL?<\/strong><\/p>\n A firewall is a\u00a0network security<\/a>\u00a0device deployed as hardware or software that defends against external threats by monitoring and controlling network traffic, allowing authorized traffic while blocking unauthorized access and malicious traffic. To create a barrier between internal and external networks, firewalls apply a set of security rules to all inbound and outbound traffic to determine whether access should be allowed or denied.<\/p>\n Firewalls fall into two general categories:<\/p>\n Since each category has its unique strengths, many organizations use a combination of both.<\/p>\n When combined with services like unified threat management and antivirus, firewalls can provide robust protection against external threats.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n WHY ARE FIREWALLS IMPORTANT?<\/strong><\/p>\n A firewall\u2019s primary purpose is to apply security rules and detect suspicious network activity to:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n HOW DOES A FIREWALL WORK?<\/strong><\/p>\n Firewalls work by monitoring the tiny data pieces called packets. As files travel across the network, they get broken up into smaller chunks so that they can move faster. The firewall applies predetermined security rules to the packets so that it can allow them to access or block them from your network.<\/p>\n Depending on the type of firewall, it may use one or more of these methods:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n TYPES OF FIREWALLS<\/strong><\/p>\n The type of\u00a0firewal<\/a>l is based on the way it analyzes the packets. Each firewall type has strengths and weaknesses, so understanding what they are and how they work enables you to make the right choice for your organization.<\/p>\n Packet filtering<\/strong><\/p>\n Some characteristics of these firewalls include:<\/p>\n Proxy service<\/strong><\/p>\n These\u00a0network security<\/a>\u00a0devices include the following characteristics:<\/p>\n Stateful<\/strong><\/p>\n These network security devices include the following characteristics:<\/p>\n Next-generation firewall (NGFW)<\/strong><\/p>\n These network security devices combine traditional firewall capabilities with advanced security technologies, including characteristics like:<\/p>\n Fortigate<\/a>\u00a0v\u00e0\u00a0SonicWall<\/a>\u00a0are examples of NGFW.<\/p>\n Unified Threat Management (UTM)<\/strong><\/p>\n By combining multiple security technologies into a single device, these cost-effective and scalable solutions usually include:<\/p>\n Application-level technologies<\/strong><\/p>\n At the application level, you can choose between:<\/p>\n While each of these analyzes traffic in a different way or from a different network location, they all include the following characteristics:<\/p>\n Virtual firewalls<\/strong><\/p>\n Specifically designed to protect virtualized environments, these software-based firewalls run on servers and integrate with the virtualization platform. Some characteristics include:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n BEST PRACTICES FOR CONFIGURING FIREWALL\/NETWORK SECURITY<\/strong><\/p>\n When deploying firewalls to protect network security, you might feel overwhelmed, especially if you\u2019re using more than one type of firewall. However, by following these best practices you can implement security and monitor your controls effectively.<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0\u00a0 Plan deployment<\/strong><\/p>\n Since firewalls define network boundaries, your business needs should drive the definitions of network zones. To prevent firewalls from being a single point of failure, deploy them in a high availability (HA) cluster.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0\u00a0 Harden and secure the firewall<\/strong><\/p>\n To mitigate risks arising from vulnerabilities, apply security updates to the firewall\u2019s operating system prior to deployment. Additionally, you should change all default passwords and configurations.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0\u00a0 Block traffic by default<\/strong><\/p>\n By blocking all unknown traffic by default then adding access back on a case-by-case basis, you mitigate human error risks, like missing vulnerabilities that threat actors can exploit.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0\u00a0 Use the principle of least privilege<\/strong><\/p>\n When configuring the firewall, you should give users the least amount of access necessary that allows them to still complete their job function. This includes security rules and policies that apply to networks and applications.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0\u00a0 Secure admin accounts<\/strong><\/p>\n Set strong firewall admin passwords and require multi-factor authentication prior to granting access.<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0\u00a0 Restrict zone access<\/strong><\/p>\n Configure policies to restrict traffic flows across defined network boundaries to allow only legitimate traffic flows as defined by business needs.<\/p>\n 7.\u00a0\u00a0 Define source IP address<\/strong><\/p>\n To prevent anyone from accessing the corporate network, limit the IP addresses whose traffic can connect to it.<\/p>\n 8.\u00a0\u00a0 Designate destination ports<\/strong><\/p>\n Establish firewall configurations that define specific destination ports for connected services so you can limit connections to authorized accounts only, mitigating Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack risks.<\/p>\n 9. \u00a0 Designate IP address destinations<\/strong><\/p>\n Limit access to specific IP addresses to prevent unauthorized traffic to mitigate DDoS attack risks.<\/p>\n 10. \u00a0 Know necessary firewall ports<\/strong><\/p>\n Identify and open the ports that users need to access services and data based on the organization\u2019s servers and databases.<\/p>\n 11. \u00a0 Map policies to compliance<\/strong><\/p>\n Review configurations and policies to ensure that they align with the organization\u2019s compliance requirements.<\/p>\n 12. \u00a0 Test rules and policies<\/strong><\/p>\n With regular rule and policy testing, you can find issues that impede user access by blocking legitimate traffic or configuration mistakes that allow malicious traffic.<\/p>\n 13.\u00a0 Audit firewall software regularly<\/strong><\/p>\n Review the firewall\u2019s configuration, rules, and logs to ensure that software is up-to-date, everything is appropriately documented, and no suspicious activity is identified.<\/p>\n 14.\u00a0 Centralize monitoring<\/strong><\/p>\n With all firewall and network security monitoring in one location, you can enrich data for better visibility across both operations and security. For example, correlating firewall logs with identity and access management (IAM) tool logs enables more robust suspicious activity detection and faster investigation times.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n GRAYLOG: ENHANCED VISIBILITY FOR SECURITY AND OPERATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n With Graylog, IT and security teams can combine, enrich, correlate, query, and visualize all log data, including firewall logs, in a single location. Graylog offers pre-built dashboards and content for most major firewalls so you can get immediate value from your logs. With our high-fidelity alerts and lightning-fast search capabilities, you can increase productivity while reducing risk.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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