A firewall prevents hackers from breaking into a computers’ system, which can have a drastic impact on your business stability. Stolen sensitive data, financial loss, and a damaged reputation are the common consequences caused by hacking attacks. To improve protection for all of the computer devices used in your business, it’s important to use a firewall system.
It is common to have a hardware firewall at your network perimeter and if you are using a computer with a modern operating system, there is a chance that a software firewall is also running. Firewalls are widely used in any enterprise computing as well as individually. Firewalls are considered an essential component of cybersecurity systems.
What exactly are firewalls used for and what are the advantages? Could your business be at risk if you chose not to invest in a firewall? This blog post will explain everything you need to know about firewall systems, and why it plays a key part in your business cybersecurity.
What is a firewall?
A firewall is a security network device that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic, that is either permitted or blocked, depending on a set of security rules pre-established by your business. Its key purpose is to create a safe barrier between your incoming network traffic from external sources such as the internet, to detect and block malicious traffic coming from unauthorised sources, quite often turning out to be hackers.
How does a firewall work?
Firewalls analyse and filter all incoming network traffic and detect suspicious and unprotected sources to prevent cyber-crime. At a computer’s device entry point, called ports, where information is exchanged with external devices, firewalls guard and filter traffic. The example message can look like this: “Source address 195.82.95.34 is allowed to reach destination 192.15.1.1 over port 25.
Are firewalls really necessary?
Yes, firewalls create a protective barrier from potential external threats. When using a firewall, the chance that your business network will be breached is much lower than without firewall support. Additionally, if your device is running without a firewall, you would be allowing every internal and external connection request to access your private network from anywhere. This could lead to losing control over your network’s security and almost impossible to detect and block incoming unauthorised users.
What type of firewall should be considered for your business?
As part of any business cybersecurity, different types of firewalls should be employed. Depending on your business needs, you may also need software- based firewalls to filter unwanted network traffic.
For a maximum of protection and cybersecurity, it’s necessary to use an enterprise-grade firewall that provides extensive features and network monitoring. A business-grade firewall also enables you to take control of what devices on your network can connect with external networks. This function can allow you to choose what type of information, such as emails, can be sent out from your networks by which user. This way, you are preventing your employees from sharing sensitive or confidential information with unauthorised users.
How using a firewall can help cybersecurity?
- Secure your business-sensitive data and information;
- Prevent access to various applications and operating systems;
- Prevent unauthorised remote access;
- Protect from malicious software, such as viruses and trojans, from entering your network;
- Prevent hijacking of email sessions and SMTP (simple mail transfer protocols) server;
Why is it important to include firewalls in your cybersecurity?
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, cyberattacks have become a rapidly increasing concern for businesses worldwide. Hackers take advantage of remote workers and targeting these businesses that haven't prepared and educated their staff about cyberattacks. To help you understand more about cybercrime when working remotely, we have written an informative blog post - “How to protect your devices from cyber-attacks when working from home.” Please feel free to distribute this amongst your employees, as it is filled with useful tips that will help you avoid spam attacks on your business.
This is why implementing an enterprise-grade firewall will help to prevent unwanted entries to computer devices, risking damaging cyberattacks.
A firewall alone won’t fully protect you from all types of cyberattacks. Planning what systems will work together to prevent and protect you from cyber intrusions is a great step to increase your business security. If you would like to find out more about firewalls and business security, speak to us today and get advice from our IT experts.
ADT has been providing expertise and great customer service since 1993, we have plenty of great advice that we can share with you! Call us on 0330 333 7439 or simply drop us an email at sales@adtsystems.co.uk We have many interesting News posts that are worth reading, so, please take a look!
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ADT Systems Team