What is a Next Generation Firewall?

A traditional firewall works only based on Ports, Protocols, and IP addresses; it decides whether to allow/deny traffic based on the information till the OSI layer 4.

Next-Generation Firewall is an advanced traditional firewall with more capabilities, including Advanced Threat Protection, Application Layer Protection using SSL Encryption/Decryption, Data Leak Prevention, and Centralized Network-based Anti-Virus, Intrusion Prevention System, Web filtering, and Application Control all in a single device. It can perform the role of an Edge/Internet, Internal/Data Center Firewall, or IoT/Industrial Firewall and is the keystone of security architecture. The different landscapes of next-generation firewalls combine to create exceptional benefits for users. NGFWs can often block malware before it enters a network, which was not possible previously.

Why does the organization need NGFW?

The cyber threat landscape has increased due to cloud adoption and remote workers (Work from Anywhere). Traditional firewall organization doesn´t block cyber-attacks because of the limitation of scanning the packets (Scans packets only till OSI layer 4). Mostly nowadays, the attack comes from the payload, and it needs devices that analyze/scan the packet from OSI layer two to Layer 7. Next-Generation Firewall gives all the benefits of the traditional firewall plus additional help in preventing Advanced malware, Viruses, Ransomware, Trojans, and connections from bad reputation IPs/Domains.

Key benefits of using Next Generation Firewall

• Better role-based control
• Network Visibility
• Improved Security provided by AV, IPS, Sandboxing, IP Reputation, Web filtering, and Application Control.
• Better third-party device integrations and Regulatory compliance support
• Multi-Layer Protection.