We’ve rounded up the best intrusion prevention systems to help make the selection process less daunting. Here are our top picks:

• Cisco Secure Next-Generation Intrusion Prevention System: Best for Comprehensive Network Security
• Fidelis Network: Best for Advanced Threat Detection Response
• Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention: Best for ZeroDay Exploits
• Trellix Intrusion Prevention System: Best for On-Prem and Virtual Networks

Top Intrusion Prevention System Comparison At-a-Glance

Here’s a look at how the top IPSs compared based on key features.

Jump to:

1. Key Intrusion Prevention System Features
2. How to Choose an IPS
3. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Cisco Secure Next-Generation Intrusion Prevention System

Best for comprehensive network security

Cisco offers advanced threat protection solutions with Cisco Secure IPS. This cloud-native platform offers robust security with unified visibility and intuitive automation. It gathers and correlates global intelligence in a single view and can handle large traffic volumes without impacting the network performance.

This highly flexible solution can be easily deployed across different network environments as its open architecture supports Amazon Web Services (AWS), VMWare, Azure, and other hypervisors.

Features

• Enhanced visibility with Firepower Management Center
• Constantly updated early-warning system
• Flexible deployment options for inline inspection or passive detection
• Cisco Threat Intelligence Director for third-party data ingestion

Pros

• Real-time data inputs optimize data security
• Easy integration without major hardware changes
• High scalability with purpose-built solutions

Cons

• Expensive for small-scale organizations
• Initial integration challenges

Pricing

Cisco offers free trials for most products, including its IPS, but does not make its pricing readily available. For details, contact Sales Support.

Fidelis Network

Best for Advanced Threat Detection Response

Fidelis Network improves security efficiency by detecting advanced threats and behavioral anomalies, employing a proactive cyber-defense strategy to more quickly detect and respond to threats before they can affect a business. Fidelis Network can bolster data security with rich insights into bi-directional encrypted traffic.

This specific network defense solution helps prevent future breaches with both real-time and retrospective analysis.

Features

• Patented Deep Session Inspection for data exfiltration
• Improved response with the MITRE ATT&CK framework and intelligence feed from Fidelis Cybersecurity
• Unified network detection and response (NDR) solution for simplified network security
• Customizable real-time content analysis rules for proactive network security

Pros

• Faster threat analysis and improved security efficiency
• Deeper visibility and threat detection with more than 300 metadata attributes
• Single-view and consolidated network alerts with rich cyber terrain mapping

Cons

• Complex configuration and setup
• High-traffic environments cause network latency
• Tighter integration with other tools is required

Pricing

Fidelis Network offers a 15-day free trial, and will schedule a demo before it to show off the system’s capabilities and features.

Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention 

Best for Zero-Day Exploits

Palo Alto Networks’ Advanced Threat Prevention is based on purpose-built, inline deep learning models that secure businesses from the most advanced and evasive threats. Powered by multi-pronged detection mechanisms that efficiently take care of unknown injection attacks and zero-day exploits, this infinitely scalable solution blocks command and control (C2) attacks in real time without compromising performance.

Features

• ML-Powered NGFWs for complete visibility
• Customized protection with Snort and Suricata signature support
• Real-time analysis with enhanced DNS Security Cloud Service
• Latest security updates from Advanced WildFire

Pros

• Ultra low-latency native cloud service
• Combined App-ID and User-ID identification technologies
• Customized vulnerability signatures
• Complete DNS threat coverage

Cons

• Overly complex implementation for simple configurations
• High upfront costs

Pricing 

Palo Alto Networks offers free trials, hands-on demos, and personalized tours for its products and solutions, but does not make its pricing models publicly available. Contact sales for details.

Trellix Intrusion Prevention System

Best for On-Prem and Virtual Networks

Trellix Intrusion Prevention System offers comprehensive and effective security for business networks, offering two variants: Trellix Intrusion Prevention System and Trellix Virtual Intrusion Prevention System. The virtual variant takes care of the private and public cloud requirements, and secures virtualized environments using advanced inspection technologies.

Features

• Botnet intrusion detection across the network
• Enhanced threat correlation with network threat behavior analysis
• Inbound and outbound SSL decryption
• East-west network visibility

Pros

• Both signature-based and signature-less intrusion detection
• Unified physical and virtual security
• Maximum security and performance (scalability up to 100 Gbps)
• Shared licensing and throughput model

Cons

• Older variants and models still exist
• Confusion pricing options
• High rates of false positives

Pricing

Schedule a demo to learn whether Trellix meets specific requirements. The vendor does not make pricing models publicly available; contact sales.

Key IPS Features

When deciding on an intrusion prevention system, make sure the features and capabilities match specific needs. Key features include the following:

Real-time alerts

Proactive threat detection and prompt incident response require real-time visibility. Timely alerts help implement preventive measures before any significant damage to the security posture. Advanced IPSs have real-time monitoring capabilities to identify potential vulnerabilities and minimize the impact of security incidents.

Integration with other security systems

Intrusion prevention systems cannot operate in isolation. For the efficient protection of the entire business security infrastructure, they must integrate with other security solutions and platforms for a coordinated response. This also helps with the centralized management of security incidents.

Type of intrusion detection

There are mainly two types of intrusion detection: network-based and host-based. While network-based intrusion detection examines and analyzes the network traffic for vulnerabilities, host-based intrusion detection checks individual systems like servers, endpoints, or particular assets.

Automatic updates

Automatic updates can help ensure an IPS adapt to the continuously evolving threat landscape of new threats and newly discovered vulnerabilities. They can also help keep pace with changing compliance and regulatory requirements and implement the latest security patches.

Threat intelligence

Threat intelligence helps an IPS enhance detection capabilities and minimize vulnerabilities with efficient mitigation strategies. With threat intelligence capabilities, IPS solutions access timely and actionable information to develop effective response strategies.

How to Choose an IPS

Here are some factors to consider when choosing an IPS:

Configuration type

There are broadly four types of IPS configurations depending on the network environment, security policies, and requirements where they will be implemented: network-based, host-based, wireless, and network behavior analysis system. Multiple configurations can also support complex pathways.

Detection capabilities

Intrusion prevention systems use different detection techniques to identify malicious activities—primarily signature-based, anomaly-based, and protocol-based. Signature-based detection helps detect consistent cyber threat patterns from a static list of known signatures, while anomaly-based detection can detect abnormalities within normal activity patterns. Protocol-based systems offer the flexibility to set references for benign protocol activities.

Integration options

Intrusion prevention systems can be integrated using dedicated hardware and software, or incorporated within existing enterprise security controls. Businesses that don’t want to upgrade system architecture or invest in products or resources can rely on managed service providers for security, but an IPS purchased and installed on the network offers more control and authority.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the difference between intrusion detection systems and intrusion prevention systems?

Intrusion detection systems help detect security incidents and threats and send alerts to the Security Operations Center (SOC). Issues are investigated by security personnel and countermeasures executed accordingly. Essentially, they’re monitoring tools. While intrusion prevention systems also detect potential threats and malicious incidents, they automatically take appropriate actions, making them highly proactive, control-based cybersecurity solutions.

How do intrusion prevention systems help businesses?

Intrusion prevention systems are key to enterprise security as they help prevent serious and sophisticated attacks. Some of the key benefits of IPS for businesses are:

• Reduced strain on IT teams through automated response
• Customized security controls as per requirements
• Improved performance by filtering out malicious traffic

Do intrusion prevention systems affect network performance?

Intrusion prevention systems may slow down the network in the case of inadequate bandwidth and capacity, heavy traffic loads, or computational burdens.

Methodology

In order to provide an objective and comprehensive comparison of the various IPSs available in the market, we followed a structured research methodology. We defined evaluation criteria, conducted market research, collected data on each solution, evaluated and scored them, cross-verified our findings, and documented the results. Additionally, we considered user reviews and feedback to gain valuable insights into the real-world performance and customer satisfaction of each intrusion prevention solution.

Bottom Line: Top Intrusion Prevention Systems

The top intrusion prevention systems all work to protect enterprise networks from the ever-present, always evolving threat of cyberattack, but some stand out for different use cases. Selecting the right one will depend on the organization’s security needs, goals, and budget. Regular evaluation and updates are crucial to staying ahead of evolving threats and ensuring a robust security posture—the right IPS can enhance network security, protect sensitive data, and safeguard a business against potential cyber threats.

This guide will help you understand how these tools often complement one another within an overarching network security approach. 

• EDR is best suited for organizations that need to oversee many endpoints, though it is rarely used as a standalone network security solution.
• NDR is best used when packet inspection is important to an organization, as this tool provides more context versus EDR and XDR.
• XDR is best used in larger network architectures that could benefit from a centralized, unified approach to threat detection.

Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)

EDR, as the name implies, protects networks at each connected endpoint, reducing the risk of network breach and attacks that occur at these oft-targeted locations.These systems identify tangible changes at the endpoint level. In modern enterprise networks, there can be hundreds or even thousands of endpoints connected to networked devices, including IoT devices like sensors and communication devices deployed in the field. 

Advanced EDR systems utilize tools like machine learning and AI to uncover new threats and suspicious behavior and activity. 

EDR Pros

Better protection of endpoints improves organizations’ overall security postures. Bad actors frequently target endpoints, so more protection at these vulnerable network connections is an overall positive. As valuable as EDR tools are, however, most organizations will require additional network security tools as well. This is especially true with more employees working remotely and in hybrid setups.

XDR, outlined below, may provide the best solution for these situations. 

EDR Cons

One significant limitation of EDR is that the detection logs generated by these tools do not always trigger alerts. Organizations will need to perform periodic, manual reviews of endpoint data to prevent cyber attacks. Also, EDR on its own often cannot be deployed on all devices, including many BYOD and IoT devices or in environments like the public cloud. Threat actors seek out these gaps in visibility, looking for opportunities to exploit these vulnerabilities. 

EDR Deployment Methods

EDR is typically deployed in one of two environments: on premise and via the cloud. 

On premise deployment works best for relatively small organizations whose assets are all located in the same geography, especially those that want to keep their data within reach. However, this approach is limited in that EDR deployed on premise can’t support real-time behavioral analysis. Also, the updating process can become laborious and time-consuming. This is also the more expensive option. 

EDR deployed in the cloud offers several advantages over on premise deployment, including more scalability, integrity, flexibility and better overall manageability. However, cloud-based EDR may not offer the same level of security, especially related to industry regulations around data privacy. 

For more information, also see: What is Big Data Security?

EDR integrations

Top rated EDR vendors that provide EDR integration include:

• SentinelOne
• CrowdStrike
• Trend Micro
• VMware
• Broadcom (Symantec)
• Malwarebytes
• Panda

EDR average price

EDR is usually priced per endpoint, per month, with fees starting around $10 per endpoint/per month. 

For more information, also see: Why Firewalls are Important for Network Security

Network Detection & Response (NDR)

NDR is unique to EDR and XDR in that it centers on the analysis of packet data located in network traffic versus endpoints or other data streams to uncover potential cyber threats. Packets contain a wealth of valuable information. 

NDR works by continuously monitoring and recording network traffic, in search of reliable patterns of expected network behavior. NDR uses that pattern to analyze packet data for anomalies of threats and then either alerts the security team or mitigates threats automatically.

Often, NDR solutions are packaged alongside other tools like security information and event management (SIEM) products and EDR, elevating the effectiveness of those cyber security tools by helping to reduce blind spots across a given network. 

NDR Pros

NDR increases security capabilities by equipping security teams with more network context and automated threat response. This contributes to better collaboration between network and security teams, and most important, quicker mitigation of threats and attacks. 

A key benefit of using NDR is the forensic information these systems can provide. Reports generated by NDR can help security determine how malware breached a network initially, information that can then be applied to mitigation solutions. 

NDR can uncover newer and more evolved malware, including polymorphic malware. It can also target so-called weaponized AI. 

NDR Cons

NDR does come with some limitations. First, these solutions can only analyze network logs — NDR cannot monitor or track endpoint events like process details, registry changes, or system commands. NDR is also unable to examine some cloud or identity data and some other sources of security information. 

These limitations underscore why NDR, like EDR, is not generally utilized as a stand alone security solution. It is a tool that can enhance an overarching security approach. 

NDR Deployment Methods

Like EDR, NDR can be deployed on premise and via cloud-based solutions, depending on organizational needs. 

On premise NDR deployment is better suited for organizations whose assets are all located in the same geography, especially those that want to keep their data within reach. Like EDR, updating NDR can become laborious and time-consuming and is the more expensive option versus cloud-based deployment. 

NDR can also be deployed in the cloud, which offers several advantages — more scalability, integrity, flexibility and better overall manageability. However, cloud-based NDR is, again, not as secure as on premise deployment and may not be well suited for organizations that need to adhere to various data privacy regulations. 

NDR integrations

Top rated NDR vendors that provide NDR integration include:

• Darktrace
• Cisco
• Cynet
• Vectra AI
• NetWitness
• ExtraHop
• Arista
• Blue Hexagon

NDR Average Price

NDR is typically priced per user, per month, starting around $20 per user, per month for medium sized organizations. 

For more information, also see: What is Firewall as a Service? 

Extended Detection & Response (XDR)

Of the three threat detection approaches compared here, XDR is most advanced and, unsurprisingly, provides the most holistic protection against cyber attacks.

One way to think of XDR is that is, in many ways, an evolution of EDR and NDR that integrates network, application, and cloud data sources to respond quickly and effectively to threats, as they emerge. There are three main XDR platform categories:

• Native XDR, which works exclusively with products from a single vendor.
• Open XDR, which works with all vendors.
• Hybrid XDR, which is capable of integrating data from some outside vendors, with limitations.

XDR Pros

XDR solutions are more proactive when it comes to threat detection and response. These platforms centralize visibility across multiple data streams, including endpoint data, network data, and cloud data. Used alongside tools like SIEM and security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR), XDR is capable of addressing very complex threats. 

XDR Cons

While XDR is attractive to organizations seeking to centralize cyber security oversight across multiple data types, most will still want to tap into the context provided by tools like NDR. 

XDR solutions can be expensive, even beyond the actual platform and vendor agreement. Organizations may need to retrain employees or hire expert staff to run these tools because they are more complex to deploy and maintain. As the cyber threatscape evolves, XDR will need to be enhanced periodically as well, which will incur additional costs. 

XDR Deployment Methods

Like NDR and EDR, XDR can be deployed on premise, in the cloud, or via a hybrid arrangement. Most organizations investing in a solution like XDR will deploy into a hybrid environment. 

Top rated XDR vendors that provide XDR integration include:

• Cynet
• Palo Alto Networks
• Sophos
• McAfee
• Microsoft
• Symantec
• Trend Micro
• FireEye

XDR Average Price

Similar to NDR, XDR is usually priced per user (or license), per month, starting at around $60 per user/month. 

For more information, also see: How to Secure a Network: 9 Steps

Bottom line: EDR vs. NDR vs. XDR

While all three threat detection solutions do, in fact, work to detect threats, EDR, NDR, and XDR vary in their capabilities.

EDR can monitor and mitigate endpoint attacks, but is limited in scope. At the other end of the threat detection spectrum, XDR offers benefits like a more unified platform approach — however, XDR reporting often lacks the network context available through an NDR solution that offers real-time packet monitoring. 

Many large organizations need solutions that incorporate both network and endpoint data monitoring with other, overarching security tools in order to gain a true, real-time viewpoint of network behavior. A comprehensive enterprise security solution often includes NDR, EDR, XDR, SIEM, and SOAR. 

On a related topic, also see: Top Cybersecurity Software

Some background: most businesses today choose to deploy their data and run applications on the cloud. But with cyberthreats increasing daily across the globe, it has become essential for these companies to take additional precautions and measures to safeguard their network. This is where ExtraHop and Darktrace play a key role.

Overall, these two solutions compare in the following ways:

• ExtraHop: ExtraHop is the best NDR solution for knowing where intruders are going and where they’ve been; it can be deployed with a more modest budget.
• Darktrace: Darktrace is best for providing effective solutions to prevent the most sophisticated cyberattacks, and can be more costly.

While these NDR solutions may be the best at what they offer, businesses must choose between the two. With this in mind, let’s shed some light on a few vital pointers to assist you with choosing the right NDR platform for your business.

ExtraHop vs. Darktrace Comparison Chart

ExtraHop vs. Darktrace: Portfolio

ExtraHop offers many solutions in terms of security, cloud, and IT ODS (operational data store). It enables users to leverage Dynamic Stream Processing along with data center migration services in a hassle-free manner. Businesses also use the platform’s Hybrid Cloud Monitoring feature and data exploration services.

Darktrace offers varied products like Darktrace PREVENT, Darktrace DETECT, and Darktrace RESPOND. The platform assists organizations in a multitude of aspects, including cloud, network, email, and applications.

ExtraHop vs. Darktrace: Partners

ExtraHop partners are an extension of the team, so to speak, working with government agencies to improve security and performance with high visibility, definitive insights, and immediate answers. The company partners with channel partners and technology partners.

Similarly, Darktrace collaborates with channel partners and technology partners to enhance their product reach and technologies. As is true throughout the tech industry, greater interoperability leads to greater adoption.

ExtraHop vs. Darktrace: Use Cases

ExtraHop

Asante Health: Asante Health is an Oregon-based health care provider, with 200,000 customers and 6,500 employees across six hospitals. Maintaining a strong security posture is a big challenge with such a wide range. ExtraHop Implemented continuous packet capture to log network data. The company offered solutions that seamlessly integrate with existing SOAR and SIEM products to gain increased visibility and higher fidelity of detection.

bet365 is one of the world’s leading online gambling groups with over ten million customers in 200 different countries. bet365 needs visibility to ensure the delivery of mission-critical applications and detect anomalous behavior in their environment. ExtraHop executed a correlation between changes made with improvements/degradations in application performance.

Darktrace

Duferco: Ruth Amui, Duferco’s IT Manager, oversees her organization’s IT and OT security needs with only a small team, meaning time constraints have long been a limiting factor. The team turned to Darktrace’s Self-Learning AI to protect their business. The technology learns ‘normal’ for every user and device from the ground up to spot and stop anomalous, threatening activity. Autonomous Response can be set up in human confirmation mode to only take action on the request. However, having seen it operate across the digital estate, Amui trusts AI decision-making.

Boardriders: Boardriders has a global footprint compromising over 700 retail locations across six continents, 20 e-commerce sites, and multiple warehouses worldwide. From a security perspective, the greatest challenge was protecting a truly global business with only a small team. The company turned to Darktrace’s Self-Learning AI and Autonomous Response to gain comprehensive visibility and protection over its network and cloud environments. The technology immediately began learning the normal ‘patterns of life’ for every user and device in the organization, revealing subtle deviations that indicate a potential threat.

Top 5 Alternatives to ExtraHop and Darktrace

In addition to ExtraHop and Darktrace, here are a few other alternative NDR platforms that offer similar solutions:

• IronDefense: A network detection and response software that leverages AI and ML technologies to identify, analyze, and respond to cybersecurity threats.
• Gigamon ThreatINSIGHT: Cloud-native NDR platform that helps security teams find potential network threats.
• Vectra Platform: An AI-driven cybersecurity platform that can detect attacks in real-time and help security teams perform incident investigations.
• Symantec Security Analytics: NDR solution with advanced network traffic analysis and a host of features that offer complete visibility into enterprise security.
• Plixer Scrutinizer: A security solution that helps manage network traffic and offers detailed network insights and security issues.

Bottom Line: ExtraHop vs. Darktrace Vulnerability Scans

While ExtraHop has a robust portfolio due to its varied use cases, and can integrate well with existing security applications like SOAR and SIEM, Darktrace offers a multitude of services with advanced technology, included targeted use of artificial intelligence. As noted above, ExtraHop can be more modestly priced.

Ultimately, whether Darktrace or ExtraHop is the best choice for a business is determined by that company’s unique cybersecurity needs and budget.

Their primary task is monitoring and responsibly blocking incoming traffic that originates from public networks and internet connections. This enables them to effectively block malicious traffic and unauthorized individuals and servers from accessing the network’s operating system.

Host-based firewalls are only available as software and are best used to protect individual devices or servers within a network rather than the entire infrastructure.

Continue reading to learn more about how host-based firewalls work, their advantages and disadvantages, identifying the ideal situation for employing a host-based firewall, as well as the best providers of software on the market.

For more information, also see: What is Firewall as a Service?

How Host-Based Firewalls Work?

Used to protect a relatively small section of a network, host-based firewalls are much easier to set up and typically don’t function in complex ways.

Host-based firewalls are list-reliant firewalls. They require the network’s admin or device used to create a set of rules that specify with great detail the type of traffic that should be allowed to enter the host, and which should be blocked.

While this may seem too simple to be secure, the rule lists allow for an incredible level of detail. You can freely include and exclude IP addresses, ports, communications and encryption protocols depending on what you deem safe.

The rules can be set manually for ultimate control, which is sometimes the only available option, especially for budget-friendly or older software releases.

More modern versions of host-based firewalls can be set to generate list items and update them automatically. They’re able to do this by monitoring the network’s incoming traffic over a prolonged period of time and identifying patterns of malicious and suspicious behaviors as they arise, and blocking them.

For more information, also see: Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity

Pros and Cons of Using a Host-Based Firewall

When it comes to making a decision on the type of firewall to implement for your cybersecurity strategy, it’s important to first look at both the advantages and disadvantages of the solution.

Host-based firewalls perform a very niche role in network security. This allows them to be highly efficient in certain areas while falling short when employed to protect network resources for which they weren’t designed.

Advantages of Using a Host-based Firewall

The numerous benefits and advantages of using a host-based firewall are the reason for the popularity of the solution, especially among organizations and businesses that prefer to provide added protection for individual devices.

Host-based firewalls are some of the most affordable firewall solutions out there, with some available as the result of open-source projects. They are entirely free to use.

Even when looking for a paid solution with added features and support from the vendors, most host-based firewalls are priced under the $100 price tag.

Because the firewall software is deployed directly on the machine, host, or application it’s protecting, they automatically follow when the host is moved between environments, servers, and clouds.

Additionally, the set configurations and rules lists don’t change during the move. However, if the firewall is set to automatically update the rules through traffic monitoring, it’ll likely start adding new rules based on the new environment and its associated threats.

Host-based firewalls are more often than not implemented as the second layer of defense, rather than the first. This grants you an additional chance to detect and block malware or a malicious connection before it reaches the rest of the resources.

Paired with adequate segmentation and behavior control, host-based firewalls can be used to add a layer of protection to particularly vulnerable or critical hosts.

Using proper configurations and rule lists, host-based firewalls can also prevent insider attacks. They can be made so any user, device, or application is unable to access the protected host without meeting a set of criteria.

The firewall software installed on each device can be configured separately depending on that device’s security and privacy needs.

Additionally, the rules and configurations of individual devices are completely customizable and can be adjusted at any time, giving you full control over the functionality of the firewall.

For more information, also see: Data Security Trends

Disadvantages of Using a Host-based Firewall

Host-based firewalls aren’t an all-in-one solution. Even when implemented and configured properly, they still come with their fair share of cons that may be a deal-breaker to some users.

Host-based firewalls aren’t ideal for wide-scale use. The installations, configurations, and management of them quickly become tedious and incredibly time-consuming. Additionally, there is an increase in the total number of possible points of error, where the configuration wasn’t ideal or the software wasn’t up-to-date.

Also, traffic analysis and diagnostics aren’t their strong suit. Even if a host-based firewall successfully blocks a malicious flow of traffic, it makes it difficult for network admins to further investigate the reason for the block.

Adding to it, host-based firewalls aren’t particularly sophisticated or advanced in their approach. When they block incoming traffic, that is a sign the malicious traffic has already made its way through the perimeter of your network, where your more advanced firewall and network security solutions are situated. The further from the source the threat is, the harder it is to trace back.

For more information, also see: How to Secure a Network: 9 Steps

Host-based Firewall Guidelines

There is a set of recommendations and guidelines you should follow when implementing a host-based firewall solution, in order to ensure the best at the device level for your network.

Minimizing Remote Host Access

When working with hosts where remote access is necessary, such as wireless printers and IoT devices and networks, it’s important that you limit the number of allowed connections to the host.

For access requirements by remote users, using identity authentication and encrypted communications tunnels enables you to minimize the risks.

Connect to Network Vulnerability Scanners

Since it’s best for the host to also be protected by a more comprehensive security solution, such as a network-based firewall, it’s important to allow it access into the host when needed.

This ensures that the firewall-protected host is included in any and all vulnerability checks, audits, and malware scans performed network-wide.

Control Outbound Traffic Flow

Unmonitored outbound traffic flow can be exploited for data leaks and insider attacks. Depending on the type and the role of the host in the network, you should either restrict or outright ban outbound traffic.

Activity Logging

Activity and behavior logging, while not necessary for the active protection of the host, is incredibly beneficial for analyzing the security status of the network, audits, and conducting cyber forensics investigations when needed.

When You Should Use a Host-Based Firewall

Host-based firewalls aren’t a stand-alone solution. You should only consider adding them to your family of network security tools once you have a more holistic solution applied.

While options such as network-based firewalls and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) can be used to elevate the security of your network, those tend to be more extreme approaches and are not always suitable for smaller organizations and businesses.

You should consider using a host-based firewall if you have a handful of devices, servers, or applications that carry particularly sensitive data and information. They can act as an added line of defense which you can enforce with strict rules and configurations that might otherwise be too restrictive for your network as a whole.

Furthermore, it can be used as an emergency solution to protect your most vulnerable assets until a more comprehensive security solution is installed.

Best Host-Based Firewall Providers

Following are a couple of the best providers of host-based firewalls on the market:

Check Point

Check Point is a San Carlos, California-based vendor of hardware and software solutions. It offers a wide variety of security products and solutions, from cloud and endpoint security to network security and security management.

ZoneAlarm is Check Point’s anti-ransomware, host-based firewall solution that’s capable of detecting, analyzing, and blocking suspicious behavior and activity on your device. It uses Check Point’s proprietary firewall technology, OSFirewall, to stop malicious individuals from accessing your network.

It’s highly rated on multiple third-party review sites, such as PeerSpot, with a 4 out of 5 rating, and G2 with a 4.4 out of 5 rating.

GlassWire

GlassWire is an Austin, Texas-based cybersecurity company and provider of advanced network monitoring and protection solutions that includes a built-in firewall. It’s most known for its outstanding capabilities in bandwidth control and remote server monitoring.

GlassWire can also be deployed as a host-based solution, allowing you to visualize network activity for analysis and audit, in addition to alerts that ring out as soon as it detects malicious traffic or behavior.

It’s widely respected by users as showcased in its overwhelmingly high reviews on third-party review sites. It has a 4.6 out of 5 rating on G2, and a 4.7 out of 5 rating on Capterra.

Bottom Line: Host-Based Firewalls

Host-based firewalls are used to boost the security of individual devices, applications, or servers within a network. They can be configured either manually or left to develop the rules based on traffic monitoring.

While a host-based firewall is incredibly beneficial as an affordable solution that’s easy to control, it can’t be used on a wide scale.

For more information, also see: What is Big Data Security?

Firewalls control traffic between:

• External networks (the internet) and internal networks.
• External networks (the internet) and DMZ (demilitarized zone) networks.
• Between internal networks.

Firewalls apply predetermined rules to control network access and can vary greatly in their ability to manage specific network threats. Most enterprise networks will include a mix of firewall types, including basic and multilayer firewall systems with built-in redundancies and advanced security features. 

For more information, also see: Why Firewalls are Important for Network Security

Firewall Placement and Network Segmentation

Complex networks are typically considered in terms of network segments, smaller physical or logical components of a larger network. This allows security teams to quickly close off sections of a network if a threat arises and streamlines the management of sprawling enterprise network architecture.

For communication to flow between segments, traffic flows through routers or firewalls so that it can be inspected before passing through to other network segments. This strategy adds security redundancies throughout the system and strengthens overall network security. 

On a related topic, also see: Top Cybersecurity Software

Firewall Placement for Different Network Segments 

These guidelines cover the main types of network segments; most networks will include multiple instances of each of these network connection types. 

External networks (the internet) and internal networks

It is highly important to place strong controls on firewalls protecting the internal network from external connections. Not only can malicious attacks occur from outside sources, but data leakage is a significant concern.

As a general rule, net connections should not be allowed from external to internal networks — servers for external servers should reside in DMZs.

External networks (the internet) and DMZ networks

DMZs, or “perimeter networks,” are isolated from other network endpoints and typically contain servers that offer services primarily for external access. Here, firewalls control traffic in and out of each DMZ from both external and internal networks (typically, only a few, specified services must be allowed).

Servers in DMZs are frequently targeted for attacks, so connections between DMZs and internal networks must be strictly managed.

Between internal networks

While internal networks do handle confidential data, connections between these networks can be more permissive than network connections between internal and external traffic. Still, there are unique network threats to consider because sensitive data needs to be transmitted between users frequently. In each network segment, security teams can create a variety of boundaries with varying degrees of security protection. 

For more information, also see: Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity

Multi-layer firewall placement

As the cyberthreat landscape has become more complex, it’s important for organizations to take a multi-layer firewall approach. This proactive, layered security strategy helps to bridge gaps between network segments to catch threats like malware as they are delivered versus a reactive approach in response to already-deployed attacks. 

Multilayer firewalls can add protection from attacks launched through email attachments, adware, links, apps, and file attachments, including malware that frequently changes identifiable characteristics like file name and type. Multilayer firewalls also typically include DNS-level security that protects against network level threats.

Multilayer firewalls rely on dynamic packet filtering to examine incoming data across a network’s active connections. This is a step up from simple packet-scanning firewall protection — note that some firewalls within a multilayer firewall structure may be simple packet-scanning firewalls, but the multilayer firewall is focused on dynamic packet filtering. 

A multilayer firewall approach is a convenient, efficient approach that brings multiple firewall technologies together. 

Firewall Placement Best Practices

Within a segmented network structure, SOCs identify various security zones, groups of servers and systems with similar security requirements. Organizations typically have a secure internal network zone and an external (untrusted) network zone and intermediate security zones in between. 

Firewalls control traffic to and from hosts and these security zones at the IP, port, or application levels. As all organizations require their own unique network architecture, there is no single configuration that would apply to all businesses and networks, but there are best practices that can be applied generally to help guide firewall placement within a segmented network:

• Keep internet-facing servers in separate zones (for example, web servers and email servers) – this can help minimize damage if an internet-facing server is compromised.
• Maintain only one-way traffic between internal zones and demilitarized zones (DMZ) (for example, DMZs used for proxy, email, and web servers).
• Keep web servers and database servers on separate machines – ideally, these should be kept separate and placed in different DMZs.
• Enable direct internet access for users on the internal network through an HTTP proxy server located in the primary DMZ.
• Disallow direct traffic to the internal zone from the internet.

Security teams will also need to establish best practices around firewall maintenance, which can become quite complex and vulnerable to neglect. Every firewall connection should be routinely checked for up-to-date settings and effectiveness. If certain network segments experience unexpected spikes in traffic, it may become necessary to upgrade firewalls protecting those segments to handle the traffic spike while maintaining system performance. 

For more information, also see: How to Secure a Network: 9 Steps

Bottom Line: Firewall Placement

Network segmentation is a fundamental security approach to network infrastructure design that adds layered protection throughout large enterprise network environments. Most organizations will install firewalls throughout these segments to handle various connection types (internal communications, internal-to-external traffic, and DMZ traffic).

This comprehensive multi-layered approach adds system-wide protection against a wide range of network threats, including external cyber threats. 

As firewalls are placed throughout a segmented network, security teams should follow a standard set of best practices to ensure uniformity throughout. While these practices will vary by organization, it’s best practice that standards focused on how each firewall is part of the overall security architecture should be applied. 

Firewalls are one tool in the network security toolbox, and in some ways, these are relatively simple, fundamental elements of a larger network security approach. They are, however, integral and have outsized roles to play even within network security environments that include advanced tech features like AI and network traffic monitoring services. A large percentage of network security vulnerabilities can be stopped at the firewall level. 

For more information, also see: What is Big Data Security?

To safeguard one’s business and personal data from these cyber attackers, people rely on firewall security technologies from Amazon Web Services and Palo Alto Networks.

Amazon Web Services, of course, offers many services, including cloud computing and machine learning. Palo Alto, a leading security company, aims to cater to every security requirement by offering secure digital transformation.

With this in mind, here’s everything you should know about AWS and Palo Alto to choose which cybersecurity vendor is best for your business.

For more information, also see: Why Firewalls are Important for Network Security

AWS vs. Palo Alto at a Glance

AWS vs. Palo Alto Portfolio

Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services offer a range of technical and IT services to organizations seeking expertise in analytics and cloud financial management. The platform is known for cloud computing and providing database management as well as front-end expertise for websites and mobile phones.

A few well-known Amazon Web Services products include tools like AWS loT SiteWise, Amazon API Gateway, and AWS loT TwinMaker. Amazon Web Services also integrates Alexa for businesses to streamline in-house operations.

Palo Alto

Palo Alto is more focused on providing businesses with products and services to reduce and prevent cyberattacks. With services like global customer services and threat intel and incident response services, the platform has acquired quite a strong reputation among numerous businesses in the corporate world.

Palo Alto’s portfolio incorporates a variety of products for endpoint security, network security, and Cloud-Native Application Protection. The company deep focus means it’s a good fit for companies looking for a robust security solution.

	AWS	Palo Alto
Breadth
Depth
Specialization
Overall

For more information, also see: What is Big Data Security?

AWS vs. Palo Alto: Partners

Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services collaborates with high profile companies in several industries, including education, industrial software, and the government. The company further partners with well-known platforms in the financial services and healthcare sectors.

Palo Alto

Palo Alto has a NextWave Partner Community comprising NextWave Partners from many industries. These include cloud service providers, security service providers, and technology partners. You can find many global systems integrators, other solution providers, and a part of the NextWave Partner Community.

	AWS	Palo Alto
Breadth
Depth
Specialization
Overall

For more information, also see: What is Firewall as a Service?

AWS vs. Palo Alto: Use Cases

AWS

Yamato Logistics – Yamato Logistics (HK) developed a data pipeline using Amazon S3 and leveraged Amazon QuickSight to create serverless dashboards within minutes, increasing operational efficiency and generating insights to innovate faster.

SmartSearch – SmartSearch seamlessly moved its software-as-a-service-based staffing and recruiting solutions to AWS using Application Migration Service.

Chris O’Brien Lifehouse – Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, a dedicated cancer hospital, enhanced health benefits for its patients by migrating electronic health records to AWS. Using AWS, it can focus resources on putting patients first.

Palo Alto

Avrasya Tüneli is a connected security platform comprising best-in-class, integrated network, endpoint, and IoT security. The company was facing issues with implementing a forward-thinking, efficient IT security strategy to protect end-to-end IT infrastructure and ensure a fast, uninterrupted journey for 50,000+ drivers daily. This issue was resolved with the Palo Alto Networks platform that comprises Strata NextGeneration Firewall (NGFW) with Threat Protection, URL Filtering, DNS, WildFire, GlobalProtect, DLP, and IoT Services.

Globe Telecom offers the following services: Mobile telephony, fixed-line telephony, broadband services, and mobile payment and remittance service (via GCash). The challenge they faced involved managing multiple vendors and siloed security functions. The company struggled to keep pace with digital transformation as well. Palo Alto offered standardized security through an end-to-end security solution providers that enabled consolidation and simplification. It offers ease of integration with the company’s evolving digital infrastructure. The company also deployed best practices to gain the benefit of business agility (reduced time and cost savings).

For more information, also see: What is Big Data Security?

AWS vs. Palo Alto: Ratings

Both Amazon Web Services and Palo Alto possess pretty high ratings from well-known platforms like Capterra and G2.

	AWS	Palo Alto
Gartner Peer Reviews	4.5/5	4.6/5
Capterra	5/5	NA
Trust Radius	8.6/10	8.5/10
G2	4.5/5	4.5/5
Overall

Amazon Web Services and Palo Alto: Alternatives

If you’re seeking to discover more platforms that offer similar services to Amazon Web Services and Palo Alto, here are a few you could check out:

• Microsoft Azure
• Alibaba Cloud
• Google Cloud Platform
• Tenecent Cloud
• Oracle

Bottom Line: Amazon Web Services vs. Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto specializes in services that safeguard businesses from cyberattacks, while Amazon Web Services offers a range of cloud and data services in addition to security.

So Amazon Web Services provides a good choice for companies that want to bundle many services together, while Palo Alto is a good choice for firms who seek a dedicated cybersecurity provider.

The basic steps for performing a network vulnerability scan are:

1. Plan and define the scope of the scan
2. Identify vulnerabilities
3. Perform analysis
4. Mitigate identified vulnerabilities

Notably, vulnerability scans are also frequently used by attackers seeking vulnerabilities to exploit. Even when attackers are unable to access a network internally, vulnerability scans can be conducted from the outside. This is the key reason organizations often choose to perform scans while logged in as network users and without access to a network. 

For more information, also see: Why Firewalls are Important for Network Security

How Does a Vulnerability Scan Work?

Typically, vulnerability scans are conducted by an organization’s IT department, although some organizations outsource this process to a third-party security service provider. Organizations that operate within sectors like finance and banking often perform vulnerability scans through approved vendors to adhere to industry regulations.

In most instances, organizations will deploy a vulnerability scanning tool to automate much of the vulnerability scanning process. These scanners start from the endpoint of the person inspecting the attack surface being examined. The scanner compares details about the target attack surface to a known security hole database, attempting to exploit each vulnerability as it is discovered. 

Vulnerability scans fall into two overarching categories: authenticated and unauthenticated. During an unauthenticated scan, testers behave like an intruder who does not have trusted access to the network. This reveals vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit without needing to log into the network. 

Authenticated vulnerability scans are conducted while logged into the network as a trusted user (or an attacker who has gained access by pretending to be a trusted user). 

Within these two categories, a variety of different network vulnerability scans can be conducted, including:

• Network based assessments scan wired and wireless networks.
• Database scans look at databases in an effort to prevent attacks like distributed denial of service (DDoS), SQL injection, and brute force attacks.
• Web application scans evaluate web applications and their source codes.
• Host-based scans examine server workstations and other network hosts, including related ports and services.

For more information, also see: Data Security Trends

How to Perform a Vulnerability Scan in 4 Steps

There are many viable options for performing a vulnerability scan. These four steps are likely to be a part of any properly run vulnerability scan, but you may need to adjust some aspects of these steps (or add additional steps) based on your unique organizational needs. 

1. Plan and define the scope of the scan

Before you start to conduct a vulnerability assessment of your network, it’s a good idea to define the parameters of the scan. These steps can help narrow the scope of your scan:

• Identify where your most sensitive data is stored across the network
• Hunt down hidden sources of data
• Identify the servers that run mission-critical applications
• Determine which systems and networks you want to assess
• Check for misconfigured ports
• Check for misconfigured processes
• Create a map of the entire network infrastructure, including digital assets and connected devices
• Select an automated vulnerability scanning tool that offers the features you need — for example, reporting capabilities

Be sure to create a centralized place for information sharing information across your security team.

2. Identify vulnerabilities

As you work through the process of scanning the network for vulnerabilities, take careful notes. Your list should include as much detail as possible about any underlying security threats.

The easiest and quickest way to identify specific vulnerabilities is through the use of an automated vulnerability scanning tool, though some organizations also opt to conduct a manual penetration test, a step that can help you validate findings (and reduce false positives). 

3. Perform analysis

Utilize the reporting features built into your automated vulnerability scanning tool. Ideally, these reports should include risk ratings and vulnerability scoring that allows you to prioritize which vulnerabilities to address first. A common scoring system used by these tools is the common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS), which assigns a numerical value to each identified risk. 

Depending on the automated scanning tool you are using, you may need to run multiple scans across different network segments. This is especially true when the network is large or contains a mix of internal and external endpoints. 

4. Mitigate or remediate identified vulnerabilities 

Once you have identified and prioritized vulnerabilities, it’s time to determine how best to mitigate these risks. Mostly, you’ll want to address vulnerabilities through either remediation or mitigation. 

Remediation

Remediation is a process for fully eliminating a vulnerability to prevent exploitation by threat actors. Sometimes, remediation is as simple as refreshing security tool protocols or updating products. Other conditions call for the skills of advanced security analysts.

Mitigation

In cases where the solution for fixing or patching a vulnerability is not clear, mitigation tactics can be applied to at least reduce the likelihood of an attack. Later, as tools evolve or more information becomes available, these vulnerabilities can be completely remediated. 

Typically, a mitigation approach will involve additional tools like antivirus software, real-time antivirus scanners, additional firewalls, or tools used within advanced security solutions like predictive AI threat detection. Each of these tools can help bridge the gap between known and unknown network risks. 

For more information, also see: How to Secure a Network: 9 Steps

When Should you Perform a Vulnerability Scan?

IT teams are advised by many oversight bodies to scan internal and external systems at least quarterly, but ideally, monthly assessments should be considered, even if they are not comprehensive in scope. Assessing parts of the network that house particularly sensitive data on a regular basis is a good best practice. 

Bottom line: How to Perform a Vulnerability Scan

By following these four steps, you’ll have a much better sense of the vulnerabilities located throughout your network. Vulnerability scans can help you prioritize risks to ensure your team is tackling the most urgent exploit risks sooner, rather than later. 

Whether you perform quarterly or monthly scans, you can feel certain that the vulnerability scanning process is worthwhile. Without the insight provided by this process, security teams are less equipped to adequately assess an organization’s actual risk.

On a related topic, also see: Top Cybersecurity Softwar

Firewalls are critical elements within a larger network security structure, serving as gatekeepers for incoming, outgoing, and internal network traffic. As traffic flows across the network, firewalls located at each network segment evaluate traffic packets, blocking traffic that does not meet pre-established security parameters. While firewalls are effective network security tools, they must be kept up-to-date and routinely monitored. That’s where the firewall audit process comes in. 

On a related topic, also see: Top Cybersecurity Software

Why is a Firewall Audit Important?

The primary reason to invest time and resources into firewalls audits is the inherent nature of firewalls — they need constant updating to remain effective against rapidly evolving threats.

It’s also an important best security practice to monitor firewall rules to ensure they have been properly configured. Improperly configured rules can weaken firewalls and attract unauthorized access. If firewalls are unable to identify, isolate, and reject malicious traffic packets, an entire enterprise network can be put in significant danger. 

Firewall audits are also important for maintaining compliance with various industry regulations focused on network security and data protection. By performing in-house audits, organizations can feel assured they will be ready for an unexpected network audit by a regulatory body.

Firewall audits address the fact that firewall management can be complex and time-consuming. Having a step-by-step process for working through the review process helps to make sense of what can feel like an overwhelming task. 

For more information, also see: What is Big Data Security?

How to Perform a Firewall Audit: 6 Steps

These 6 steps will help you develop a firewall audit plan. For organizations operating in sectors like finance and banking, healthcare, and other industries where sensitive public data needs to be protected, you may need to seek out additional checkpoints to include in your firewall audit process. 

1. Gather Information Ahead of the Firewall Audit

Before you launch your firewall audit, it’s important to ensure you have good visibility into your network, including a good handle on hardware, software, policies, risks, and how users interact with the network. Gather the following information:

• Information from prior audits, especially documents and reports covering firewall objects, policy revisions, and most importantly, details about firewall rules that have been applied.
• List of every internet service provider (ISP) and virtual private network (VPN) used by the organization.
• Security policy documentation (including updates that have been communicated but not added to official documentation yet).
• Firewall log reports (at least at a high level — make sure you know how to quickly access more detailed information you may need later).
• Firewall vendor information like OS version, default configurations, and reporting on the latest patches that have been provided onsite or remotely.

At this stage, be sure to centralize this information in a place where other people involved in the firewall audit can access it. This will make it much simpler to keep everyone on the same page and to avoid situations where time is being wasted tracking down redundant information. Establishing a “single source of truth” goes a long way toward conducting a good firewall audit. 

2. Evaluate the Organization’s Change Management Approach

A firewall audit is a good opportunity to determine the effectiveness of the organization’s change management processes. Before making firewall changes, it’s a good idea to make sure the process is well-documented and uniform. The goal should always be to have a stable, reliable change management process. When changes are made in haphazard ways, myriad issues can arise. Consider these questions as you evaluate the change management process:

• Who is implementing changes? It should be easy to determine who “owns” every change made to a firewall. 
• Are changes being tested? Documentation about testing should be available to review during a firewall audit. 
• Who is approving requested changes? Ideally, there should be a reliable “chain of command” when it comes to making substantial changes to any firewall across the organization’s network. 

Ultimately, firewall changes should be governed by a formal, documented process that maintains integrity. Every category of firewall changes should be handled in the same way, every time. 

For more information, also see: Data Security Trends

3. Audit the Operating System and Physical Security of the Firewall.

This step relates to the rate of responsiveness an organization has for neutralizing cyber threats. Can your organization quickly isolate and stop attacks before they spread throughout the wider network? A close examination of each firewall’s physical and software security perspectives can help to answer this fundamental network security question. Here are a few ways to perform these evaluations:

• Introduce controlled access to secure firewall and other relevant servers.
• Determine if the operating system conforms to standard hardening checklists.
• Examine device administration procedures to ensure they are robust enough.
• Verify that vendor patches and updates are being implemented fully and in a timely manner.
• Review a list of authorized users who can physically access firewall server rooms.

4. Take a Hard Look at Firewall Rule Settings

One big advantage of performing a firewall audit is the opportunity to clean things up and optimize the rule base that determines which traffic a given firewall will allow or deny. As you examine firewall rules, here are a few questions to consider:

• Are there rules in the mix that don’t serve a purpose?
• Can you disable any unused or expired objects and rules? 
• Are firewall rules related to performance and effectiveness prioritized correctly?
• Are there any unused connections, including irrelevant routes?
• Are objects labeled according to standard object-naming conventions?
• Are VPN parameters up-to-date? Are there any expired or unattached groups, expired or unattached users or unused users? 
• Do firewall logs reveal whether policies are being applied adequately? 
• Are permissive rules still relevant or do these need adjusting or updating?
• Are there similar rules that could be merged into single rules?

5. Perform a Risk Assessment and Address Issues that are Uncovered

Risk assessment is a major component of any firewall audit. After all, your main goal is to determine whether the organization’s network is sitting vulnerable due to firewall inadequacies. Take your time to determine whether firewall rules truly comply with internal policies and evolving industry regulations and standards. 

This step will be unique to each organization, so be sure to apply the industry standards and best practices that apply to you. Every organization also carries its own determination of acceptable risk (a financial services company may have a much lower tolerance for risk versus a small outbound call center, for example, though both rely on up-to-date firewall protection). 

As you evaluate the list of rules, consider whether:

• The rule permits risky services from your demilitarized zone (DMZ) to the internal network.
• The rule permits risky services inbound from the internet, in general.
• The rule permits risky services outbound from the internet.
• The rule contains “ANY” in any user field.
• The rule runs afoul of corporate security policy.
• The rule falls short of corporate security policy requirements.

It’s also a good idea to review firewall configurations and rules against any regulatory standards that may apply, including:

• J-SOX
• FISMA
• Basel-II
• NERC CIP
• ISO 27001
• SOX
• PCI-DSS

6. Make a Plan for Conducting Ongoing Audits

Keep the momentum going. Once you’ve had success with your first firewall audit, make a goal of continuous compliance. These steps can help:

• Create a process that can be replicated in the future, and make sure the process is well-documented so that any analyst can conduct the audit based on the materials.
• Consider smart automation that could be integrated into the process, with a goal of eliminating error-prone manual tasks.
• Be sure any significant changes impacting firewall policy and rule changes are communicated to the point person or team responsible for conducting firewall audits so that these modifications can be considered during the next audit.

For more information, also see: Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity

Bottom Line: Firewall Audits

By creating a process for conducting ongoing firewall audits, you’ll have a better handle on your organization’s overall security posture. Firewalls are integral to any network security approach, so it is vital they are maintained and monitored as thoroughly as any other network asset. 

While this process can feel overwhelming, having a firewall audit checklist like this can help keep things organized and straightforward. 

See below for five case studies on how organizations across different industries are employing web application firewalls solutions to help solve their network security challenges.

For more information, also see: Why Firewalls are Important for Network Security

NTT TechnoCross

Since its genesis in July 1985, NTT TechnoCross has provided innovative IT solutions and advanced technology to its customers. A subsidiary of the leading telecom company Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), NTT TechnoCross leverages its network, security, and cloud technology in the development and operations of client businesses. Today, the company employs around 2,000 professionals.

TechnoCross was facing an increasing demand to transition to cloud computing. Their in-house security department was understaffed and couldn’t fight at two fronts: keep the site up to date while also thwarting cyber attacks. The investigation chain, right from analysis, to testing, responding, and reporting results, became too much for two officials to undertake. The team knew they needed automation, but they just didn’t know how. 

Ryo Sakamoto, Section Manager in charge of sales at NTT TechnoCross, says, “Reliably defending the website against global-scale threats that evolve on a daily basis, such as DDoS attacks, became essentially impossible under in-house operation. Of even greater concern was the risk of overlooking a threat itself because of insufficient response.”

Given these challenges, the organization needed a solution that could help reduce its operating load, attain stable operation, and increase the ease of implementation. TechnoCross needed a solution that could be used as a service, not an asset.

Imperva’s cloud WAF solution helped NTT TechnoCross strengthen its website operation and bring down the operational load by completely managing the response to cyber threats. With Imperva, TechnoCross kept using their custom policies, streamlined across the NTT companies, while ensuring IPv6 compatibility throughout, in a minimal time period. 

Industry: Technology

Web application firewall provider: Imperva

Outcomes: 

• Reduced operational workload
• Cut down on expenses, from several million to just thousands Yen  
• Continued addition of new features as a part of its service
• Prompt response to threats and queries
• Helping NTT move across domains by freeing up vital resources. 

SHOPYY 

Launched in 2018, SHOPYY started with an ambitious goal of becoming the largest e-commerce platform for independent brands in China. The team offers technical support to small businesses and wholesalers so they can move their shops online without much hassle. 

With a growing customer base, SHOPYY’S self-build platform found it hard to manage the traffic influx. What was even difficult was repurposing SSL certificates with frequent system crashes when faced with excessive requests. Any further development of the platform not only meant an increase in management costs but would also come at the expense of the website’s reliability. 

Cloudflare’s WAF solution enabled SHOPYY’s homegrown e-commerce platform to address some of these security challenges that came with hyper growth. Cloudflare automated the management of SSL certificates, allowing SHOPYY to focus on other operational tasks without having to oversee the certificate handling. Cloudflare’s WAF solution blocked 4.09 million malicious attacks within the first 30 days of its implementation, strengthening the platform’s reliability and security. 

“Our web application firewall has created a dedicated security defense system for us, significantly making SHOPYY more secure and giving peace of mind to all our users,” says Yuanming Chen, Founder and CTO.

Industry: Ecommerce 

Web application firewall provider: Cloudflare

Outcomes:

• Reduced operational and maintenance costs by 60%
• Blocked 4.09 million cyber attacks in the first 30 days
• Reduced the average times of page load by 72% in the United States.

For more information, also see: What is Firewall as a Service? 

Steelcase

Steelcase is a renowned manufacturer of office furniture. Founded in 1912, Steelcase puts a lot of emphasis on user-based research to create spaces for the world’s leading organizations. With over 10,000 employees, the company has established a global network of distribution that includes company-owned and independent dealers, as well as direct end-users. 

Steelcase is currently developing a cloud-based e-commerce platform, requiring the team to ramp up their security control system. The organization wanted to fill critical gaps in Microsoft products, including absence of analytics, logging for outbound traffic, or primitive firewalling available for incoming data. 

Frank Stevens, a cloud security architect at Steelcase, says, “The security controls and visibility provided with the cloud platforms are basic and not to the level of sophistication that our policies require.” 

The company deployed Fortinet FortiGate next-generation firewalls to provide additional security for its e-commerce platform. The firewalls help target and suppress undesirable traffic, allowing the company to have a clearer picture of customer behavior. 

“It makes sense to use a common firewall for both the Microsoft and Amazon cloud service platforms: Doing so gives us the protection we require and economies of scale as we don’t have to learn and maintain two different systems,” says Stuart Berman, global security architect at Steelcase.

Industry: Retail

Web application firewall provider: Fortinet

Outcomes:

• Unified protection across domains — on-site and in multiple cloud-based platforms 
• Supplemented visibility and security gaps within other services
• Simplified management

Canterbury School

Founded in 1915, Canterbury is a co-ed boarding and day school for students from grades 9-12. Canterbury School staff about 200 professionals attending students in various capacities.

Canterbury needed a more advanced security system that could optimize its network security performance while also protecting the school’s data. SonicWall’s firewall solution met the organization’s security requirements by ensuring seamless data protection and increasing the school’s visibility. The WAF solution’s single-pane-of-glass management and reporting called Capture Security Center and an integrated VPN made it possible to have security measures across remote sites.

“I program it and it works. If I need to make changes, they are easy and the new CSC is getting better every day,” says Matthew Glaser, IT Director, Canterbury School. “We use HA, CFS and other security services, as well as VPN for both users and a remote site to complement the firewall efforts.” 

Industry: Education

Web application firewall provider: SonicWall

Outcomes:

• Increased business efficiency 
• Decreased IT infrastructure costs 
• Better overall system uptime, and faster performance 
• Increased data and information protection

For more information, also see: Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity

Aevitae

Aevitae is a leading Netherlands-based insurance company dealing in corporate and direct insurance plans. With a small team of 200 employees, Aevitae has served thousands of customers, processing over 800,000 paper, and 6 million digital claims. 

Aevitae’s aging on-premises infrastructure meant that the company had to leverage cloud-based services to cater to its customers. But the hybrid solution lacked end-to-end data visibility as well as a satisfactory firewall solution. 

The insurance firm deployed Barracuda CloudGen Firewall and Barracuda CloudGen WAF on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform and on-premises to address the security concerns within the existing model. Barracuda proposed using Premier Partner Data Unit and the three companies formed a single partnership to implement a security solution suited to Aevitae’s requirements. This enabled Aevitae to have access to firewall’s expertise on cloud-based services and getting Data Unit’s experience with infrastructure whenever the need arose.

“Using a web application firewall provided the solution that enabled us to react to our fast-changing business and IT environments – the speed and flexibility of reaction, the simplicity of implementation, meant we could maintain and enhance this solution going forward very easily,” says Pascal Wenders, ICT Team Leader of Aevitae. 

Industry: Insurance

Web application firewall provider: Barracuda

Outcomes:

• End-to-end visibility and security within a hybrid model
• The simplicity of management and operability
• A flexible and scalable platform that caters to Aevitae dynamic business.

For more information, also see: Data Security Trend

Bottom Line: Web Application Firewalls Case Studies

As the case studies in this article demonstrate, Web Application Firewalls boost the security performance of online businesses. Breeches and and other security challenges are extremely harmful to businesses in any number of ways. To protect against them, WAFs harden the enterprise perimeter by blocking non-authorized traffic. 

The five case studies this article provides shows that WAFs can help solve network security challenges across many industries. 

For more information, also see: How to Secure a Network: 9 Steps

Ideally, firewalls block dangerous traffic and allow non-threatening traffic. While virtually every networked organization should have some level of firewall control, not every network will require the most expensive, state-of-the-art firewalls on the market. This guide will help you determine which level of firewall protection may be right for you. 

There are five basic categories of firewalls:

• Packet Filtering Firewall
  
• Circuit-Level Gateway
  
• Application-Level Gateway (“proxy”)
  
• Stateful Inspection Firewall
• Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW)
  
• Choosing the Right Firewall for You
• Types of Firewalls

For more information, also see: What is Firewall as a Service?

Packet Filtering Firewalls

Packet filtering firewalls are among the earliest types of firewalls. As such, this firewall type is more limited in the level of protection it can provide. On their own, packet filtering firewalls are not sufficient for protecting enterprise network architectures. 

Packet filtering firewalls are placed at junctions within enterprise networks where routers and switches are located. Unlike some other firewall types, packet filtering firewalls do not route packets. Instead, this type of firewall compares packets to a set of pre-established criteria that typically includes attributes like:

• IP address
• Packet type
• Port number
• Packet protocol header aspects

When a packet does not pass muster according to the pre-established rules (called access control lists), it is flagged and usually, dropped (not forwarded on to other network segments). 

Packet filtering firewalls are implemented on the network layer of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. 

Common use cases for packet filtering firewall

Packet filtering firewalls are best suited for situations where a lower level of security is acceptable. They are also an adequate solution for budget-constrained, smaller organizations to provide at least a basic level of protection against known threats, a significant advantage over having no firewall protection at all. 

Within larger enterprise networks, packet filtering firewalls can be integral components of a multilayered defense strategy, especially between internal departments. 

Packet filtering firewall advantages

The main advantage of using packet filtering firewalls as part of a larger network security approach is that they are quite fast and nearly transparent to users. They are also affordable versus more advanced firewalls. 

Packet filtering firewall disadvantages

As the earliest widely used type of firewalls, packet filtering firewalls are quite limited in their ability to provide network protection. They are easy to bypass if the firewall is not kept up-to-date and easy to trick by hackers who manipulate headers to get around pre-established rules. 

Packet filtering firewall average price

Packet filtering firewalls start at around $20 USD. 

For more information, also see: Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity

Circuit-Level Gateways

Circuit-level gateways monitor the common TCP handshake protocol and other network protocol session initiation messages as they are established between local and remote hosts. When sessions are determined to be illegitimate, these gateways block the connection. Unlike packet filtering firewalls and other firewall types, circuit level gateways do not inspect packets even at a high level. 

Common use cases for circuit-level gateways

A step up from packet filtering firewalls, circuit-level gateways are still insufficient to provide comprehensive network protection. As such, these firewalls are typically used alongside other systems like application-level gateways, which gives organizations benefits of both packet filtering firewalls and circuit-level gateways. 

Circuit-level gateway advantages

The primary advantage of using circuit-level gateways is that they are easy to set up and manage. It is also easy to block most traffic as only requested transactions are processed. Circuit-level gateways are lower in cost and do not tend to impact system performance. 

Circuit-level gateway disadvantages

On their own, circuit-level gateways offer no protection against data leakage from devices within the firewall. They also cannot monitor the application layer and require ongoing updates — if these firewalls are neglected, they can go out of date and be easily bypassed by bad actors. 

Circuit-level gateway average price

Packet filtering firewalls start at around $200 USD. 

Application-Level Gateways

Also called proxy firewalls, application-level gateways function as the only endpoint into and out of a network. These firewalls filter packets according to destination port rules, but by characteristics like HTTP request strings. These gateways provide a much stronger defense against data loss, but can have a marked negative impact on network performance. 

Common use cases for application-level gateways

The most common use case for application-level gateways is to protect organizations from web application threats. These firewalls can block access to harmful sites and can prevent sensitive information from being leaked from within a firewall. 

Application-level gateway advantages

Application-level gateways provide a deeper level of network protection over simpler packet filtering firewalls. These firewalls check not just IP addresses, port, and TCP header information, but the actual content, before allowing traffic to pass through the proxy. These firewalls can be fine-tuned to, for example, allow users to access a given website, but only specific pages. Application-level gateways also provide a level of user anonymity.

Application-level gateway disadvantages

The most significant disadvantage of using an application-level gateway is that this technology is resource-intense, putting network performance at risk. These firewalls are also more expensive than some other options. Also, application-level gateways do not work with all network protocols.

Application-level gateway average price

Application-level gateways start at around $1,000 USD, with many units in the $3,000-$6,000 range. 

On a related topic, also see: Top Cybersecurity Software

Stateful Inspection Firewalls

Stateful inspection firewalls (or “state-aware” firewalls) examine not only each packet, but they can also track whether or not the packet is part of an established TCP or other network protocol session. These firewalls require a larger investment over packet filtering and circuit-filtering firewalls, but do drag down network performance. 

Common use cases for stateful inspection firewalls

Stateful inspection firewalls are popular network security tools for most larger enterprises. They provide a more robust gateway between computers and other connected assets within firewall perimeters as well as resources that exist outside the organization. They are also frequently used to defend network devices against specific attacks like distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. 

Stateful inspection firewall advantages

The primary advantage of using a stateful inspection firewall is that these tools monitor the entire session for the state of connections, while checking IP addresses and payloads. Users have a higher degree of control over the content that is allowed in or out of the network. These firewalls do not need to open multiple ports to control traffic flow. Users can also access detailed logs generated by stateful inspection firewalls.

Stateful inspection firewall disadvantages

The main disadvantage to stateful inspection firewalls is that they require a great deal of resources, which interferes with the speed of network communications. These firewalls are also significantly more expensive over less advanced firewall technology. Finally, stateful inspection firewalls cannot provide authentication capabilities, leaving networks vulnerable to potentially spoofed traffic sources. 

Stateful inspection gateway average price

Stateful inspection gateways start at around $3,000 per hardware unit. 

Next-Generation Firewalls

Next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) combine packet inspection with stateful inspection. They also include deep packet inspection capabilities and incorporate network security systems like malware filtering, antivirus, and intrusion detection systems (IDS) and intrusion prevention systems (IPS). 

Traditional firewalls inspect packets, but only examine the protocol header. Deep packet inspection looks at the data within each packet. These firewalls can even track a web browsing session in progress, and are capable of telling if a packet payload – when assembled with other packets in an HTTP server reply – is a legitimate HTML-formatted response. 

Common use cases for next-generation firewalls

Next-generation firewalls are commonly used by organizations in the healthcare and finance sectors, which are heavily regulated. Any organization that manages highly sensitive data, especially data protected by various data-protection regulations, benefit from the added security and logging capabilities available with next-generation firewalls. 

Next-generation firewall advantages

Primarily, next-generation firewalls are advantageous because they are more advanced, combining deep packet inspection and other controls to filter traffic. Next-generation firewalls track all traffic from Layer 2 to the application layer. Also, security teams can configure these firewalls to be updated automatically. 

Next-generation firewall disadvantages

As with other firewall approaches, next-generation firewalls are best used within a larger security infrastructure, which can become complicated and time-consuming to manage. These firewalls are also expensive, putting them out of reach for many organizations. 

Next-generation firewall average price

Stateful inspection gateways start at around $4,000 per hardware unit. 

Choosing the Right Firewall Type for You

Every organization will require its own unique approach to network security. Smaller organizations with fewer resources to protect may feel well protected without moving into the more expensive categories of firewalls like stateful inspection and next-generation models. On the other hand, organizations tasked with protecting and managing sensitive data will want to explore options within the next-generation firewall category. 

Bottom line: Types of Firewalls

Firewall technology has evolved rapidly since these network security devices were first introduced in the 1980s. Still, even the most rudimentary firewall approaches, packet filtering, are often still a part of an overarching, comprehensive security umbrella. To protect against modern threats such as those presented by web applications, users will want to consider firewalls that provide higher levels of protection. Often, security teams will deploy a variety of firewall types to protect different network segments. 

For more information, also see: Why Firewalls are Important for Network Security