In today’s world, you can never be too vigilant about your organization’s cybersecurity. And if your workers are accessing the internet, a firewall needs to be a core part of your cybersecurity technique.
Firewall tools are not only useful for protecting digital assets and securing hardware but can also be used to prevent workers from accessing unauthorized sites and to filter web traffic. Certain firewall settings will also warn you off if a data breach or intrusion happens, which means you can fix problems quickly to deter or avoid cybersecurity attacks. That’s essential since a rapid response time can dramatically mitigate damage in the event of a data breach or other cybersecurity event.
Why would I need a Firewall?
An efficient, managed firewall will significantly reduce the risk to your company. Without a firewall, your company might easily fall into a cyber-attack, causing you to lose all of your valuable data. This would not only interrupt business processes, but it would also decrease efficiency and likely harm your reputation and brand.
Cybercriminals can easily probe any device connected to the internet and try to infiltrate their systems. Without a firewall, they can gain access to your sensitive data, depositing them, deleting them, or using them maliciously. The possible consequences of this can be devastating, sometimes leading to substantial financial loss, reputational harm, and fines from authorities.
But a properly designed, maintained, and controlled firewall can protect your data, network, and devices. Importantly, you need to ensure that your firewall has the ability to handle normal and encrypted internet traffic without slowing down your devices or sacrificing security. If you have a good IT support partner, they can configure and maintain the firewall for you as well as taking care of all security updates.
Here are the top 5 reasons why businesses need a Firewall
Threat Detection
A managed service provider (MSP) can configure your firewall to send a warning if anything in your network appears suspicious. For instance, we can add features that will search outgoing network traffic for sensitive information such as social security numbers or credit card details. That way, we can spring into action and begin protecting data and mitigating the damage from a possible data breach if we identify malicious traffic.
Block Unauthorized Access
Most companies can’t afford the effects of a security breach. However, larger companies also have greater resources to divert into security. For small to mid-sized companies, having their IT systems brought low by a cyberattack can be devastating. Unauthorized access to their system files may lead to the loss of sensitive data, the leak of sensitive client information, or the compromise of other security features.
A properly maintained firewall will nip this problem at the source. If an unauthorized user is attempting to access your files remotely, then a firewall will block access and notify your team of a potential security breach.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS)
Denial of service (DDOS) attacks are highly orchestrated, targeted attacks on a particular target. It requires multiple machines asking to access a single server at the same time. When the server responds and tries to create a session the other party disappears (Similar to a prank phone call where the caller hangs up as soon as the individual answers). When these requests are made quickly and relentlessly the target servers become overloaded and crash. The attacks may be organized by volunteers operating on individual machines but it’s more likely to be the work of thousands of hacked computers or Internet of Things-connected devices, defined as a botnet.
Defending Local Networks
Protecting back-end servers is pivotal to maintaining the protection of your small business data, but if you leave your local ethernet and wireless networks exposed then you are creating just as much risk. Hackers are actively searching for ways to hack organizations from a single machine or system so that they can launch a broader attack from there.
Firewall constraints should be extended at a global level, taking into account all users and hardware who need to link to the local network at your place of business. Only the IT team should be able to make changes to this policy, and the list of blocked IP addresses should be checked on a regular basis.
In addition to IP address filtering, firewall tools can also give you the option to monitor which network ports are allowed or disabled for computers on your local network. HTTP communication occurs across port 80 (or port 443 for encryption techniques with HTTPS). Leaving all ports open on a workstation will result in the device being hacked or infected with a virus.
If you want to host visitors or clients in your office place, you’ll certainly want to provide them with wireless connections. However, you can avoid allowing them complete access to your primary Wi-Fi network and instead set up a secondary guest network with limitations that are managed behind a firewall.
Protecting Remote or Mobile Employees
Many modern firms have employees attempting to navigate internal networks outside of the workplace. However, if users go outside of your ISP, it can be even harder to secure your network. A firewall can help by protecting connections between external users and your internal network. This way, other users on a shared or unprotected internet connection can’t disrupt or listen in on your traffic.
What Teceze’s managed firewall will provide you?
- A hardware firewall with the same day replacement if required
- A quick, global management system that’s easy to maintain and use, enabling central management
- The ability to expand as your business and technology needs dictate
- Fully managed by us, so you don’t need to think about future threats
- Built-in enhanced security features
- Configured backup and improvements, so your firewall is still working at its best
Get the Firewall That Fits Perfectly for Your Business
If you believe you need an IT consultation to determine the health of your current network firewall, then contact Teceze IT services, an established leader in network security and providing IT services. Call us at +44 02080505014 or email at Info@teceze.com today to talk to a qualified IT specialist and network security expert for details about how to get the right firewall in place for your business.
In today’s world, you can never be too vigilant about your organization’s cybersecurity. And if your workers are accessing the internet, a firewall needs to be a core part of your cybersecurity.What Benefits Could a Firewall Offer to Your Business?
