Is Cloud Firewall the Future for Enterprises?
The world has embraced the idea of cloud computing with open arms. While it is undeniable that the cloud offers flexibility, sustainability, and a competitive edge to businesses, it is necessary to be aware that every advantage has a corresponding disadvantage, namely malicious attacks, phishing attacks, SQL Injection attacks, and Denial of Service attacks. Hence, the need for a cloud firewall – a software-based security product hosted in the cloud that can filter your network traffic and protect you from all that is mentioned above and more.
But with traditional firewalls available in abundance, what is the need for implementing cloud firewalls? The answer is deep-rooted in the fact that not all firewalls are created equal. Despite sharing the same basic goal, the features, capabilities, and levels of sophistication can vary considerably. A traditional firewall operates on a stateless level. Traditional firewalls have fewer layers of security built into them in order to protect against the more sophisticated threats of the modern age. They cannot go beyond the static inspection and cannot have application-level control.
Reasons to choose a cloud firewall
Identity Protection
With a business operating on the cloud, it becomes necessary to filter traffic from multiple sources. Malicious websites could potentially infect your cloud infra with malware or other forms of malicious software. A protective barrier such as a cloud firewall can essentially act as an additional layer to your defences, thereby enabling you to safeguard your systems.
Maintain a regular test and validation schedule for your firewall configuration to ensure that it is operating as intended and providing sufficient protection. As part of this process, you will perform penetration tests and vulnerability assessments to identify any weaknesses in your security system.
Application Control
Cloud firewalls can seamlessly identify the application that created a particular traffic flow and will actively block applications that may perform any unauthorized activity that could compromise your network or put your data at risk.
You can also detect and react to security incidents in real time by regularly monitoring your network traffic.
Secure access by employees
While traditional firewalls allow any traffic to access and view an entire network's resources, cloud firewalls implement a need-to-know access model. The users have access to only the resources they require for their work rather than all the resources and applications. It ensures maximum network security and protection.
Control access to your cloud resources by establishing a set of policies. You can do this by setting up rules for inbound and outbound traffic, and defining who is authorized to access which resources.
Reduced operational costs
Thanks to flexible subscriptions, Cloud-based firewalls can easily be procured. Plus, they can be more cost-effective compared to on-premise firewalls because they require no heavy hardware for hosting. Unlike the latter, cloud-based firewalls do not require maintenance.
For a more comprehensive security solution, ensure your cloud firewall is integrated with intrusion prevention systems, anti-virus software, and web application firewalls.
Easily Deployable and Less Maintainance
Cloud firewalls are based on software and so can easily be deployed for your business. Provided they have a protected communication path, they can be virtually installed anywhere in an organization. They cause minimal downtime for your business and require a minimal amount of maintenance once deployed.
Set firewall rules according to your business's needs and the traffic types you expect to encounter. A number of criteria must be set up in order to allow or block traffic, including IP addresses, ports, and other criteria.
Contrary to this, an on-premise firewall requires a physical location with sufficient space and resources for deployment. Usually, the enterprise is responsible for the upkeep of the firewall and all processes related to it.
Scalability
It is easy to scale cloud-based firewalls in the event of an increase in demand. These firewalls, owing to their software-based characteristics, can be scaled infinitely; they can automatically adjust as bandwidth increases. In contrast, on-site firewalls are more difficult to maintain and have limited scalability.
Real-time updates
With the features of cloud-based firewalls, a business would be able to receive automatic updates over the internet in real-time to get constantly updated on the latest cyber-attacks. Traditional firewalls lack in offering an automatic response.
Conclusion
Today the world is fighting sophisticated cyber-attacks which has driven the need for a solution that can identify them and combat them in the blink of an eye. A cloud firewall can offer fruitful results in this regard. It can provide the ultimate level of protection to any cloud infra, thereby allowing businesses to operate safely without facing any downtime.