When it comes to protecting businesses, prevention is always better than cure. The evergrowing trends in cybercrime pose a continuous risk to business owners, who need to stay ahead of the game to protect their data and systems against cyber attacks. Never before has it been so important to protect your business from cyber criminals and a firewall can be a powerful shield to have in your armoury. Our Firewall-as-a-Service can be that shield.

In this article, we explore Firewall-as-a-Service and how it can help your business in the fight against cybercrime.

What is a firewall?

Before we delve into the fundamentals of a Firewall-as-a-Service, let’s first take a look at what a firewall is in the most basic of terms.

A firewall is a network security device that scans incoming and outgoing network traffic and detects any potential threats to your internal business network. Think of it as a protective barrier that sits between your internal system and the public internet.

Firewalls can prevent malicious software from getting into your network, whether that’s at home, in the office, or on the go.

What is Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS)?

With the rise of flexible working models since 2020, more and more businesses are using cloud-based technology for their communication and operation systems to accommodate teams working both remotely and on-site.

As a result, traditional firewalls have faced the challenges of scaling up and adapting to fast-changing network demands, as well as staying ahead of the increased efforts of cybercriminals.

Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS) is another security product that takes the traditional firewall to another level – from a physical appliance to the cloud. Not only does FWaaS act as a protective shield for your internal network, but it also forms a virtual barrier around your cloud platforms, infrastructure and applications as well.

FWaaS – advanced security features for your physical and cloud-based systems

This cloud-based firewall security service offers businesses a more simplified solution for their IT infrastructure with a system that not only protects the on-premises internal network, but also all of their cloud-based data and systems.

FWaaS can deliver advanced firewall capabilities, such as ATP (Advanced Threat Protection), DNS (Domain Name System) security, web filtering and IPS (Intrusion Prevention System).

In the current working landscape, flexibility is key for businesses of all sizes. FWaaS can scale and adapt to changing network demands and the ever-changing threat of cybercrime for all users whether office or home based.

Why does my business require Firewall-as-a-Service?

If your business is taking more of your operating and communication infrastructure to the cloud, it makes sense to bring your protective firewalls with them in a way that can be centrally managed.

In the new era of hybrid working, traditional firewalls simply can’t protect businesses as effectively. By not replacing firewalls with an FWaaS solution, businesses run the risk of leaving their data, network and cloud-based applications vulnerable to a cyber attack.

By choosing a cloud-based solution for your network security, you’re essentially enlisting a managed service provider to take over the responsibility of managing the protection of your network.

Leaving this task in the expert hands of your managed service provider can have many benefits for your business, as you will see below.

How exactly does Firewall-as-a-Service Work?

FWaaS works similarly to a traditional firewall, as it filters network traffic, protecting the business from both internal and external threats. It can examine the traffic in a more detailed manner, inspecting the content of each data packet to identify malware attacks and other threats.

The information contained in the header of the data packet can be analysed to give insight into its origin, as well as to identify behaviours that could signal malicious intent.

The FWaaS then delves deeper into the content of the packet and can alert the threat response team to a potential danger found under a seemingly innocent header. By analysing how data packets behave and identifying unusual patterns, risks can be mitigated immediately.

What are the benefits of using Firewall-as-a-Service?

Cost-effectiveness

The cost and maintenance involved in traditional hardware firewalls make FWaaS a more cost-effective option.

With all adjustments and updates being carried out by the managed service provider, businesses can use their time and resources more productively.

Proxy-based architecture

FWaaS is designed to inspect traffic for all users, applications and devices regardless of their locations.

It examines SSL/TLS traffic at scale to detect malware concealed in encrypted traffic and enables granular firewall policies spanning multiple layers based on network app, cloud app, domain name (FQDN), and URL.

Clear visibility and simple controls

FWaaS can empower your business with real-time visibility, centralised control and immediate policy enforcement across your entire system. Every session is logged in detail for all users and the advanced analytics can provide a connection with events.

FWaaS identifies potential threats and vulnerabilities for all users, applications and locations from one single console.

Cloud IPS

A cloud-based intrusion prevention system (IPS) delivers protection and coverage regardless of the connection type or location. All user traffic, on and off the network, is inspected, even SSL traffic which can be difficult to monitor.

Optimal DNS security and control

Preventing users from reaching domains with malicious intent is the first line of defence and a cloud-based firewall does precisely this by optimising DNS (Domain Name System) resolution, which in turn provides a better and safer user experience.

Zero trust readiness

Adopting a zero-trust policy when it comes to cloud security is essential in this era of remote working. FWaaS facilitates this by bringing security policies to users at their endpoints.

Greater scope for flexibility and scalability

If you need to scale your network requirements up or down, it’s as simple as a discussion with your managed service provider, who will be able to advise you on the best solution based on your needs.

Every business has different operating and communication systems in place, so you can decide where you want to deploy your protections.

Easy to deploy and maintain

FWaaS can be set up efficiently – your managed service provider will have all the resources on hand to deploy a new network protection system. Using a managed service provider allows you to take advantage of the most up-to-date advances in software and new technologies.

Choose Firewall-as-a-Service from Calnet IT Solutions to protect your business

Is your business in need of secure and vigilant cyber protection? Then look no further than Calnet IT Solutions. You can find more information on our best-in-class FWaaS protection here.

Our highly-skilled and experienced team have been protecting and securing businesses across Ireland since 2003. We understand that flexibility is key for businesses of all sizes in this everchanging economy, so our goal is to offer tailor-made solutions to suit our client’s needs and working practices.

Get in touch today to find out what steps you can take towards securing your business, and don’t forget to also check out our blog and resources for the latest trends in the IT world.