Why a secure firewall is vital for your business

Anyone who uses computers every day is familiar with the term firewall network. Do you know its purpose? Are you aware of the importance of a firewall for your personal and professional computer?

SpartanTec, Inc. aims to provide IT support and services of high quality, while educating our clients.

What is a firewall?

A managed firewall is a critical component of any IT infrastructure. The firewall acts as a filter between the internet and networks. Administrators can control what is allowed in the network and what can be accessed. This provides security against both internal and external threats.

Personal computers are often set up with firewall protection to prevent hackers and cybercriminals from accessing personal computers. This is to protect personal information and to keep them safe. Personal computers need more protection than firewall protection. Businesses, large or small, need firewall protection.

Why should a business have a firewall protection?

Business use firewalls that are more advanced than those used on their home computers. Large market companies have complex firewalls in place to protect their networks from cyber threats.

There are four levels of firewall protection: multilayer, application, circuit, and business network. No matter what type of firewall you use, it is important for all businesses to have a firewall that has a business-grade rating. This will ensure that your company’s data and network are protected from online threats.

A managed IT service provider Wilmington NC has many benefits. It protects your computer and network from cybercriminals. It comes with anti-malware and anti-spyware to protect users. These functions protect the network from cybersecurity threats like malware designed to trick users into giving out private and confidential data.

A business-grade firewall can provide protection against internal threats to your organization. It can prevent users from visiting unwelcome websites and provide reports about activities that are not related to business. Administrators can prevent users from accessing social media sites through their networks while boosting their productivity.

SpartanTec, Inc. can help you set up a firewall network that will protect your company from cybercriminals.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255
http://manageditserviceswilmington.com

Serving: Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Florence

What is a managed firewall and do you need one?

Managed security service providers (MSSPs) are qualified to provide managed firewall services. This service provides a solution for firewall administration, monitoring, maintenance, and operation. An MSSP can help you set up, manage, and modify firewall rules. They will also monitor your network and provide feedback, analysis, and reports.

The MSSP can perform web content filtering, application control, firewall installation and firewall installation depending on the terms of the service agreement. They also assist in determining which web content (URLS), to block. They can also manage patches and updates.

Are you looking for a managed firewall solution?

Firewalls are essential to protect network traffic and the flow of sensitive information. Firewalls are essential for complying with mandates such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR. A managed firewall service can be used by companies that lack the resources to manage their firewalls or other security devices. This will help close data security gaps and prevent data breaches. While most companies that our auditors audit employ IT staff to manage their firewalls and other security devices, many choose to use a managed firewall service to allow them to focus on their core business goals.

Comprehensive firewall management requires expertise and constant monitoring. Firewalls cannot be set up and forgotten. The first step in configuring and purchasing a firewall is to configure it for your environment.

A managed firewall service can provide significant security for a network, whether it is for compliance or data security.

Common failures in firewall management

Cybersecurity analysts are often faced with serious security risks when it comes to the proper management and configuration of firewalls. Here are some of the problems they have seen:

Multiple firewalls

Each firewall in an environment requires maintenance. If there are many firewalls, or if staffing is insufficient or lacking the critical skills necessary to maintain them properly, security problems can lead to serious data loss or compromise.

No firewall auditing

A firewall audit is where a company regularly checks and audits its firewall rules. This is often overlooked. An MSSP will often perform firewall audits as part of their core services. This is a benefit.

SecurityMetrics audit revealed that no IT staff from a health organisation had ever logged in to view the firewall configuration in any instance. An auditor discovered that the firewall was connected to the home network of the former IT employee. The sensitive data within their network was at risk because this organization had not been able to manage their firewall effectively.

Understanding firewalls

Not all IT support professionals are familiar with certain concepts related to firewall management. It is important to secure the area between the network’s external and internal facing networks (called the “demilitarized zones” or DMZ). An audit found that some firewall ports/services had been left open on both sides of the DMZ. This made the network vulnerable and exposed to external malicious activity. The company didn’t initially consider this a problem.

Lack of supervision and inexperience

IT staff are often expected to “make it work.” It is a huge responsibility to ensure that systems are up and running in order to support business operations. Sometimes this pressure can lead to dangerous or careless configurations, such as in the case where a merchant used the IT department’s any/any rule approach to diagnose the root cause of a firewall problem. This made the merchant’s network very vulnerable. There is also the risk that the rule may not be disabled/removed after the testing is completed.

Security vs. convenience

After 4 years of working with a customer, a security analyst was stunned to discover that the customer had changed hundreds of firewall rules after they reviewed and approved them. This was to make it easier for the executive team.

Firewall is not PCI DSS compliant.

The MSSP might not be PCI compliant even if a company uses a managed firewall. The company would be considered non-compliant in this case. As evidence, ensure that you find a PCI-compliant service provider.

Security gaps in firewalls are the norm

Security gaps and firewall misconfigurations are not an exception, as our security analysts have seen firsthand. A firewall misconfiguration that allows outside traffic through has been the source of many breaches in large restaurants and retail stores.

It is crucial for companies to have a solid understanding of how to install, manage, and maintain their firewall and other security devices. For help with managing their firewall, it’s a good idea to consult an experienced and properly certified provider. It’s amazing how many times another pair of trained eyes can spot a potential vulnerability that might otherwise go unnoticed.

SecurityMetrics Pulse SIEM/SOC

SecurityMetrics Pulse SOC/SIEM provides visibility into the unreachable areas of your extended network. Pulse detects threats to a business’ location so you can take steps against them and prevent data breaches from happening.

Pulse Firewall Security

You need to have a well-managed firewall in place to protect the locations of your organization’s data. Pulse Firewall Security will alert you when potential threats are identified. This will allow you to stay safe at all locations, protect your data, and comply with compliance requirements.

• The Pulse Firewall also includes: Managed security for your extended network, not just visibility
• High-quality firewalls and internal vulnerability scanning technologies
• Managed firewall service to make sure firewalls are installed correctly and work properly

Call SpartanTec, Inc. if you’re interested to get managed firewall services for your business.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255
http://manageditserviceswilmington.com

Serving: Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Florence

Effective Firewall Tips To Help Block Ransomware

Firewall is a type of malware that blocks a company’s access to the system and their confidential files. Ransomware can be downloaded by visiting a secure and dangerous website or opening an attachment in an email. Ransomware can be offered by individuals and companies to cybercriminals in exchange for a fee. The operating system of computers has not kept up with the new developments in most cases. Because bitcoin is untraceable, cybercriminals were able to avoid detection.

There are many ways to deal with ransomware attacks.

• IT professionals can be hired to help restore the computer operations of your company using various technical methods, including trying to find the decryption keys.
• You can either live with the ransomware attack’s consequences or you can stop running your business.
• It is possible to take proactive steps to lower the chance of a ransomware attack. You can ensure that your business can continue operating even if it is attacked.

Ransomware Prevention Tips

• To be able to restore data from ransomware attacks, you should backup your data offline and on other systems. Backups should be done on a daily or weekly basis. You should make sure to test your backups regularly in order to ensure that they work after a cyberattack.
• Your employees should be taught how to open attachments in email, browse the internet, and download files.
• Access to the system by more people increases the risk of ransomware being introduced. Only system administrators should have access to key operations.
• Ransomware can be installed in administrator mode, but not all ransomware.
• Regular updates are required for anti-malware and antivirus software. They must be able scan URLs and attachments, as well as notify users if danger is detected.
• Software must be selected from a company that regularly updates its software to ensure it can respond effectively to ransomware attacks.
• It is important to establish policies that limit the types of attachments that may be opened and then sent.
• It is worth considering removing administrative rights from localities.
• Permissions must always be reset so that only IT administrators can deal with sensitive files, and only authorized personnel can modify or write information.

Firewall Tips To Boost Your Defenses Against Ransomware

Firewalls limit or block remote desktop protocol and other remote management services. A software program is required to detect spam emails and create a spam list. Spam mails should be deleted promptly to prevent users from opening or accessing bad attachments. Firewalls should also be capable of warning or deleting certain file extensions.

These are some firewall best practices that you should know:

• Make sure you have the right firewall engine.
• Remember that open ports can be entry points for ransomware. It is important to close all non-essential ports. When accessing remote sources, use VPNs instead.
• It is important to secure the ports that are still open.
• Remember to separate local area networks into virtual network LANs, or smaller zones. These can be connected securely via your firewall.
• You should set up appropriate IPS policies to govern network traffic to prevent worms or bots from spreading between segments of your local network.
• It is important to isolate infected systems immediately.

What should you do if a Ransomware attack occurs?

Here is a summary of system memory.

• Disconnect the system from power supply and disable automatic backups
• Server access blocked
• Examine emails
• Notify law enforcement

SpartanTec, Inc. can help you set up firewall best practices to minimize the chance of ransomware attacks.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255
http://manageditserviceswilmington.com

Serving: Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Florence

The Basics of Firewall Explained

A firewall is a computer software or hardware security device that could help in protecting your network. It filters the traffic and blocks unauthorized users from getting access to your computer’s private data. Not only does a firewall stop unwanted traffic, it could also help in preventing malicious software from infecting your network or computer.

Firewalls could offer different levels of protection. They important thing is knowing how much protection your network needs. Here are the basics of firewall that you need to know.

What is the purpose of a firewall?

A firewall Wilmington NC can be considered as a gatekeeper. It checks attempts to get access to your operating system and it will block unrecognized sources or unwanted traffic. A firewall will serve as a filter or barrier between your computer and the internet or another network. You can think of it as a traffic controller. It will protect your information and network by regulating your network traffic. This will include stopping unsolicited incoming network traffic and then validate the access by evaluating network traffic for any potential malicious activities such as a malware or even a hacker.

How does it work?

Firewalls will analyse the network traffic according to rules. It will only allow incoming connections that the firewall has been configured to accept. It will not allow or it will block specific data packets, units of communication that you send through digital networks, according to pre-established security policies.

What are the types of firewalls?

There are hardware and software firewalls that can help prevent data breach. Every format will serve a different yet crucial purpose. A hardware firewall is your broadband router while a software firewall is a program on your computer that will work through the port numbers as well as applications.

You’ll also find cloud based firewalls which are also called as firewall as a service. They can grow with your company and just like hardware firewalls, they perform well with the perimeter security.

 

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There are many types of firewall based on their functions and structure. If you need help, you can always get in touch with SpartanTec, Inc. for expert help.

Packet Filtering Firewalls

These are firewalls that serves as a management program. They could block the network traffic IP control, a port number, and an IP address. This kind of firewall is considered to be the most basic form of protection and it is ideal for smaller networks that want to improve their cybersecurity.

Proxy Service Firewalls

The proxy service firewall is a kind of system that can protect your network security. It filers the messages within the application layer. It will serve as the middle man or gateway between the outside servers and the internal network. It is also referred to as a gateway firewall.

State Multi Layer Inspection Firewalls

They have standard capabilities including tracking established connections. It filters the traffic according to the protocol, port, and state, as well as the administrator defined context and rules.

Unified Threat Management Firewalls

It is a program that mixes the functions of the SMLI firewall and antivirus and intrusion prevention.

Next Generation Firewall

They are more sophisticated programs than the packet filtering and stateful inspection firewalls. They feature more levels of security, which range from basic packet filtering to checking a packet in general.

Call SpartanTec, Inc. now for more information about our managed firewall solutions and managed IT services.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255
http://manageditserviceswilmington.com

Serving: Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Florence

Powering Security at the Speed of the Business

Cyber Threat Risk Webinar

Identify security risks and understand general network usage.

July 21st  11:00 am EST
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Why the FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall Is at the Apex of the Industry

Executive Overview

Stolen data fuels a highly profitable cyber-crime economy, one where organizations are under constant attack. In response, network engineering and operations leaders are in search of network and security solutions that increase network visibility, enable immediate threat intelligence sharing, and unlock automated threat protection at all network edges. Fortinet FortiGate next- generation firewall (NGFW) provides real-time and intelligent protection against malware and emerging threats. As part of the Fortinet Security Fabric, FortiGate NGFWs integrate with other Fabric-Ready partner security solutions to improve network visibility and control while simplifying network infrastructure.

Trends Driving NGFW Adoption

In the third quarter of 2018, almost 34,000 new malware variants were detected—a 43% increase over the second quarter and an 129% increase over the first quarter of the year.1 This trend has continued into 2019, and it poses a serious problem. As threats evolve to become increasingly sophisticated, the risk of a data breach is nearly inevitable at many companies. The median organization in one survey experienced 20 breaches in the past 24 months.2 Morever, 68% of breaches are not discovered for months or longer.3 In terms of impact, a 2019 report from Ponemon and Accenture recorded an 11% increase in the number security breaches last year—yielding a 12% higher average cost of cyber crime per company (reaching $13 million USD in 2018).4 To reduce both exposure and damage caused by a data breach, organizations must re-evaluate their network security strategy.

Network throughput is critical to operational success. Enterprises need security designed to keep up with the digital growth and direction of their network traffic needs. By 2021, global IP traffic is expected to show a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR)

of 26%, while interconnection bandwidth (for the private exchange of data between businesses) is expected to jump by 48%.5 Furthermore, encrypted traffic recently hit a new all-time high of over 72% of all network traffic—nearly a 20% increase year-over- year.6 At the same time, encryption technologies such as secure sockets layer (SSL) and transport layer security (TLS) hide up to 50% of cyberattacks, making inspection of encrypted traffic a non-negotiable feature.7

Network Security Challenges

IT executives consider network security a critical priority, but they also need to reduce the complexity associated with supporting multiple disparate security products. More than three-fourths (77%) of organizations rely on non-integrated point security solutions to some degree—which leaves network defenses vulnerable to cyberattacks.9 New and evolving compliance requirements further complicate network management in terms of manual workflows for reporting and auditing.

External threat vectors are not the only problems that need to be addressed. With 34% of breaches now attributed to trusted internal users,10 it has become imperative to segment users, devices, and applications for greater control. With granular access control, a compromised user credential or infected device can easily be isolated, quarantined, or blocked to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive content.

Key NGFW Deployment Requirements

Network engineering and operations leaders need to improve compatibility and shared intelligence across their security solutions. They also need a high level of reliable network performance and open application programming interfaces (APIs) to coordinate and automate responses. Beyond these broader requirements, NGFW evaluation should focus on the following areas:

Highly effective security. A NGFW solution should leverage global threat research and artificial intelligence (AI) as well as local zero-day threat intelligence to reduce the risk of data breaches. A fully featured NGFW solution goes beyond intrusion prevention, application control, and user identity. It should also support capabilities such as web filtering, IP reputation, SSL/TLS inspection, anti-malware protection, and sandboxing to help break the kill chain of attacks.

Visibility and control over network traffic. Establishing transparent visibility across all parts of the distributed organization is essential to securing increasingly complex and distributed networks. A NGFW should use deep inspection to identify applications, users, devices, and threats and then deliver better protection through context-aware policy controls. It should also inspect both clear-text and encrypted traffic to discover things like hidden malware attachments. An effective NGFW solution should also come with single-pane-of-glass management, advanced visualization components, and rich reporting to inform strategic security decisions.

Performance and reliability. NGFW capabilities are only useful if the platform’s performance can keep up with normal network operations when all desired NGFW features are enabled. Further, reducing cost and complexity can only be achieved if the NGFW can consolidate traffic from various firewalls or run multiple security services concurrently. To support business continuity and bandwidth requirements, a NGFW platform must deliver highly reliable and resilient firewall Wilmington NC capabilities at high-throughput speeds.

Risk mitigation. A truly successful NGFW solution should reduce risks by segmenting network and infrastructure assets in accordance with business intent and continuously evaluating the trust of users and devices. It should provide cost-effective, advanced Layer-7 security for defense in depth.

The Fortinet NGFW Solution

FortiGate NGFWs deliver unparalleled protection, operational ease of use, and the industry’s best threat protection in a compact form factor. Powered by AI and machine learning (ML) from FortiGuard Labs, FortiGate NGFWs offer a wide range of integrated security capabilities and services.

• NGFW threat protection
• SSL/TLS inspection
• Intrusion prevention system (IPS)
• URL filtering
• Security rating
• Intent-based segmentation

• IPsec/SSL VPN
• User/device identity and authentication
• Sandboxing
• Networking (LAN, WAN, Wi-Fi)
• Management and reporting

                                 

Figure 1: FortiGate NGFW solution deployment.

Unparalleled Protection

Effective security solutions keep attacks from damaging organizations—and the more threats blocked, the better. Fortinet technologies are the most validated by independent tests conducted by industry experts. Most recently, FortiGate NGFWs received a “Recommended” rating in NSS Labs 2018 NGFW industry tests by achieving an 100% block rate for live exploits and delivering the

lowest-per-protected Mbps total cost of ownership (TCO).11 FortiGate also delivered high SSL/TLS inspection performance with minimal performance degradation, receiving the best scores in this area among all other tested vendors.

FortiGuard Labs delivers the most advanced threat intelligence to address all phases of the attack lifecycle with top-rated security effectiveness. Threat researchers around the globe keep close watch on the threat landscape 365x24x7. This enables the FortiGuard Labs team to deliver updates to the entire Fortinet Security Fabric ecosystem with some of the fastest response times in the industry.

Increasingly, enterprises look to implement network-based threat protection; however, most network security vendors only offer limited capabilities in this area. In contrast, Fortinet offers an effective, AI-powered threat protection engine that was developed in-house by FortiGuard Labs. Its features include one-to-many signature matching, heuristics, decompression, and emulation. This engine consistently receives ratings from Virus Bulletin, AV-Comparatives, and NSS Labs that are as good or better than other threat protection vendors.12

In addition to traditional threat protection, organizations are now also looking to NGFWs for protection from the latest advanced threats. Fortinet FortiSandbox, which earned the coveted NSS Labs Recommendation in the 2018 Breach Detection System and 2017 Breach Prevention System Test,13 analyzes objects for malicious behavior and is proven effective against zero-day threats. FortiSandbox natively integrates with FortiGate NGFWs and is available as a physical or virtual appliance on-premises, as well as a cloud-based or managed service.

Single-Pane Orchestration, Automation, and Response

The unique, single-platform approach of Fortinet’s NGFW solution delivers end-to-end protection that is easy to purchase, deploy, and manage. Single-pane-of-glass security management and visibility helps to simplify the problems of multiple complex consoles.

This centralization enables true automation-driven network management with features for flexible deployment. A highly intuitive view of applications, users, devices, threats, cloud service usage, and deep inspection provides unparalleled transparency of what is happening on the network at all times. With this strategic view, one can easily create and manage more granular security policies designed to optimize security and the allocation of network resources.

Figure 2: FortiManager dashboard view.

Using real-time threat intelligence, FortiGate NGFWs enable network engineering and operations leaders to:

• Identify thousands of different applications with application control (including deep application control specific to cloud services) to set up effective application-aware policy The FortiGate can inspect SSL/TLS-encrypted and -evasive traffic as well as traffic running on the latest protocols. By integrating this capability with AI-based threat intelligence and sandboxing, FortiGate NGFWs can help uncover both known and unknown malware hidden within applications or encrypted sessions.
• Set granular policies for different types of users with FortiGate user identity management capabilities integrated through Active Directory (AD), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS), Microsoft Exchange, and other authentication This integrated NGFW capability is easily expanded to many more sources for user identity through the addition of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator for large, diverse networks.
• Uniquely identify the type and operating system of devices being used on the network without requiring agents or additional products to set stronger security policies for riskier types of
• Speed incident response with advanced visualization, such as custom threat maps specific to the organization, one-click policies (e.g., device quarantine), and
• Reduce administrative workload by leveraging the broadest range of enterprise-class security This now includes mobile malware and local sandbox intelligence—all consolidated and managed from a single-pane-of-glass console.

Industry’s Fastest Platform

Fortinet purpose-built security processing units (SPUs) drive performance at the heart of the FortiGate platform, delivering industry- leading threat protection and SSL/TLS inspection performance. This level of throughput is needed to deliver on the promise of a great NGFW solution that consolidates multiple security functions on a single appliance—thereby reducing cost and complexity while boosting operational efficiency to keep up with rapidly evolving enterprises.

At the same time, the FortiGate software architecture also leverages parallel path processing to optimize the high-performance hardware and software resources available in packet flow for maximum throughput. As a result, FortiGate NGFWs provide extremely high throughput and exceptionally low latency, while still delivering industry-leading security effectiveness and consolidating functions.

Best-of-Breed Security Reduces Risks and Complexity

Along with new sophisticated threats and escalating breach statistics, organizations simultaneously must manage rapidly evolving network environments that demand more connectivity and greater bandwidth. New and better security solutions are needed—but not at the cost of latency and complexity that impede operations. FortiGate NGFWs deliver the security effectiveness, robustness, and performance needed to secure transforming enterprises without slowing down the business.

Call SpartanTec, Inc. now and let us help make sure that your network is secured from common and new online threats.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 420-9760
https://www.spartantec.com/

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255
http://manageditserviceswilmington.com

Cities Served:
Wilmington, Silver Lake, Sea Breeze, Carolina Beach, Eagle Island, Leland, Wrightsboro