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In today’s interconnected world, where almost every business and organization relies on computer networks to conduct their operations, But, what does cybersecurity do and how does it function? Cybersecurity has become a critical concern. With the constant threat of cyber-attacks, businesses must ensure their networks and data are protected from unauthorized access, theft, or damage. A firewall in cybersecurity is one of the most critical tools used for this purpose.
What Is A Firewall In Cybersecurity?
A firewall is a network security device that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. Its primary function is to block unauthorized access to a network while allowing legitimate traffic to pass through. They use various methods to control network traffic, such as packet filtering, stateful inspection, and application-level gateways.
To get better insights into the role of a firewall in cyber security, you must read why cyber security is important.
What is the Role of a Firewall in Cybersecurity?
The role of a firewall in cybersecurity is to protect an organization’s network from unauthorized access and cyber-attacks. Firewalls act as a barrier between the organization’s internal network and external networks and monitor and control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. Case in point, cyber security monitoring in banking is important. Banks must ensure that systems and networks are constantly monitored for malicious activity. Automated scanning tools should be used to detect potential threats and respond to them quickly.
Controls Network Traffic
Firewalls use various methods to control network traffic, such as packet filtering, stateful inspection, and application-level gateways. These methods help to prevent malicious traffic from entering the network and to stop sensitive data from leaving the network without authorization.
Provides Security
The firewall’s main role is to provide security by enforcing access control policies. It determines what traffic is allowed to pass through the network and what traffic should be blocked. By doing this, the firewall helps to prevent unauthorized access to the network, which can lead to data theft or other malicious activities.
Prevents Viruses and Malware
Firewalls also play an essential role in preventing the spread of malware and viruses. They can be configured to block traffic from known malicious sources and prevent infected machines from connecting to the network. By doing so, firewalls help to prevent the spread of malware and other threats throughout the network.
How Does a Firewall Work?
Firewalls use various methods to control network traffic, such as packet filtering, stateful inspection, and application-level gateways.
Packet Filtering
Packet filtering is the most common method used by firewalls, where each data packet is examined as it passes through. The firewall in cyber security checks the source and destination addresses, port numbers, and protocols of each packet and determines whether to allow or block the packet based on its configuration rules.
Stateful Inspection
Stateful inspection is another method used by firewalls, where the firewall maintains a record of each connection and only allows packets that belong to that connection to pass through. This method is useful for preventing unauthorized access to the network.
Application Level Gateways
Application-level gateways or proxies are used to monitor specific applications and protocols, such as FTP or HTTP. The firewall in cybersecurity examines the contents of the packets and determines whether they are allowed to pass through based on the configuration rules.
Hardware and Software Firewalls
Firewalls can be implemented as hardware, software, or a combination of both. Hardware firewalls are physical devices that are placed between the organization’s internal network and external networks. They offer high performance and are often used in larger organizations. Software firewalls are installed on individual computers or servers and provide protection for a specific device. They are often used in smaller organizations or for individual users.
You might be interested to know what does cybersecurity do and how does it function?
Why Intone Gladius?
As cyber criminals develop new methods of breaching networks, businesses require powerful network security solutions to defend their networks. Hence, Gladius integrates all your security tools into a single real-time platform for continuous control monitoring, with no manual aggregation. With Gladius’s cyber security monitoring, you can design and customize your monitoring of IT security metrics and other performance analytics for better decision-making and faster, more effective responses to cyber threats. Gladius allows you to customize your controls and monitoring alerts in ways that most security tools cannot offer. Benefits of using it include:
- Equips you to custom-craft your security controls.
- Monitors endpoints, databases, servers, networks, and data security in real time from a single platform.
- Reduces costs by achieving and proving your compliance faster and with less effort.
- Comes with a centralized IT compliance platform that helps you overcome redundancy between control frameworks, such as SOC, NIST, IASME, COBIT, COSO, TC CYBER, CISQ, FedRAMP, FISMA, and SCAP.
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