Firewall: A Vital Constituent of Network Security

With the rapid advancement in technology, exchanging information over networks has never been easier than it is today. However, connecting to external networks without compromising internal network assets remains an eternal challenge faced by most establishments and individual users. In the current circumstances, where attackers can easily exploit vulnerabilities in systems and network infrastructure, the firewall continues to play a pivotal role and remains the first line of defence for protecting network infrastructure. In recent years, the number of internet users has increased exponentially, and the use of the internet has changed significantly. Attackers have also become more sophisticated, and threats have increased significantly. Traditional firewalls are no longer sufficient to protect current internet users from emerging threats. To effectively deal with these present emerging threats, firewalls need to be more sophisticated, proactive, and fortified with advanced technologies. Gartner Research has termed these evolved and enhanced firewalls as “Next Generation Firewalls,” which are designed to address the current emerging threats in network security. Next-generation firewalls are equipped with a wide range of techniques and features, including application control, IDS, IPS, sandboxing, AV, DLP, threat intelligence, advanced analytics, and many more to tackle modern threats. This chapter will provide details about firewalls, different firewall technologies, their advantages, and disadvantages. It will also present next-generation firewall technologies designed to counter the recent advances in network security threats.