Five Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Managed Firewall

High-speed Internet connections are increasingly important for businesses to connect their offices, store data and use cloud computing to manage customer relations, billing and office productivity. Your business will become more connected, so it is more critical that your data is protected from outsiders like cyber criminals and one way to do that is through managed firewall solutions.

Small businesses often lack strong managed firewalls Wilmington NC to protect them against external threats. They utilize a free firewall software, such as Windows PC firewalls and a firewall software that is bundled carrier-based, which is provided by Comcast or CenturyLink. These solutions are not effective against sophisticated threats and it is a good idea to upgrade to a business-class firewall.

Firewalls Wilmington NC may not offer complete protection, even if it is well-maintained by qualified personnel. Without regular maintenance, even the most powerful device will lose its effectiveness over time. Business class firewalls keep your data safe by making sure that firmware and threat definitions are current, backups are made, and the system is monitored 24-7-365. Today’s business-class firewalls offer Unified Threat Management and bandwidth failover features.

Reasons You Need Managed Firewall Services

Here are five reasons small businesses would be better off with managed firewall services:

IT is not your core business. Most likely, you got into business to do something other than firewall network security. You aren’t an expert in security management. You could certainly hire someone to help you with your IT but it would mean that you are wasting valuable time and money on products or services you don’t need. It is essential to hire a certified IT company/managed service provider who is certified with a business-class firewall provider.

It is costly to hire consultants. You will need to hire a consultant to configure your firewall, at $150 an hour or more, if you don’t have a managed service. If something goes wrong, or you need to change a configuration, you will be charged $150 per hour. The new consultant will also spend at least one hour trying to figure out what the previous consultant did. Your managed service provider will have certified engineers who can manage and support your business-class firewall network.

A failure in network security could spell doom for your business. You will need a plan to recover. Firewalls can sometimes fail, just like all hardware. If this happens, it’s important that you have a plan in place to quickly restore connectivity. Who makes sure that your router configurations are backed-up, secures a prompt replacement from the manufacturer, and ensures that the device is properly configured and installed?

There are some cybersecurity threats that can come from within your company. Online video, social media and gaming can all drain productivity and expose your business to viruses. These internal threats to productivity and security can be managed with properly configured URL filtering.

Security threats change daily. Every day, new viruses, worms and malicious cybersecurity Wilmington NC attacks are developed to exploit vulnerabilities in networks and steal confidential information. Professional network security personnel will keep your network’s security devices up-to-date with the most recent firmware and threat definitions through a managed firewall service.

Call SpartanTec, Inc. now if you need more details about managed firewall solutions.

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

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

Comprehensive Managed Firewall Services are Essential for Effective Cybersecurity

Businesses in Wilmington NC recognize the importance of firewalls to their network security. They filter traffic to ensure legitimate communications can flow freely and prevent unauthorized access. Managed firewalls are becoming more complex due to rising management complexity.

Today’s managed firewalls have more security features than their predecessors to combat sophisticated threats. This means that you need to carefully configure, monitor and update your firewalls. The management requirements of a mid-market company with 100 firewalls can quickly become overwhelming.

The problem is that firewall interfaces are often complex and not intuitive. This increases the risk of making mistakes that could have severe consequences. Expert analysts believe that 99 percent of firewall breaches are due to misconfigurations, rather than technical flaws. This is evident in the Capital One breach of last year. In the third largest recorded U.S. security breach, a hacker used a poorly configured firewall to steal customer records worth 106 million.

Access to the Right Expertise Given the critical role firewalls play for network security, many companies should consider outsourcing the management to qualified managed service providers (MSP) such as SpartanTec, Inc., Wilmington NC. However, not all MSPs will be equal. Only MSPs with expertise in firewall configuration or policy development can provide the type of dedicated monitoring and management that will ensure your firewalls are properly patched, up-to-date and audited.

SpartanTec, Inc. security solution includes firewall management. The comprehensive approach starts with the installation of a firewall. This firewall incorporates application-aware packet inspection and access control. In order to detect and prevent malicious traffic, it also provides intrusion prevention services.

SpartanTec, Inc. offers all hardware and software. After installation and configuration, we: All administrative tasks, User accounts can be added or deleted, Modify firewall rules or update configurations, Remotely install updates, bug fixes, and patches as required.

Reduce Rules Sprawl

The service’s rules management is particularly important. To keep up with changes in the network environment, user-defined rules which determine how firewalls filter traffic must be maintained. Firewall rules need to be updated every time users, remote sites, or applications are added or removed from the network.

Expired, duplicated or obsolete policies can lead to a bloated rule base that drives firewall actions. A recent Illiumo survey found that nearly two-thirds of IT professionals have over 1,000 rules for each firewall. Larger companies with multiple firewalls may have thousands of rules.

Firewall rules that are too complex can not only make management more difficult but also create compliance problems. According to the PCI-DSS standard, organizations must review firewall rules at minimum once every six months. However, surveys show that very few organizations conduct these audits regularly. A study showed that the majority of organizations only audit their firewalls once a year. Up to 20% never audit.

SpartanTec, Inc. will maintain, modify and establish firewall rules in order to eliminate obsolete rules that cause security and compliance gaps. Our ongoing monitoring provides more insight than companies get from managed firewall management services or do-it yourself firewall management. Our Network Operations Center analyzes logs and other events to provide regular reports on firewall performance, active users, and traffic patterns. Any suspicious patterns will be immediately alerted.

Although firewalls are the first line defense for network security, many organizations are introducing risk by insufficient management practices. Call us to discuss your firewall environment and how we could help you reduce complexity and improve security with comprehensive firewall monitoring and management.

Call SpartanTec, Inc. now if you want to learn more about managed IT services and managed firewalls.

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

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

4 Things To Know About Managed Firewall Services

Managed firewall architecture of your company can mean a huge difference between becoming the latest firm to suffer a data breach or having an efficient defence against cybersecurity breaches. Several firms know that firewalls are important components of their network security. However, there’s more to having an effective management of the firewall than having one installed between the internet and your network.

Firewalls that are improperly managed can lead to conflict in rules, gapes in the offered protection, and a decrease in the performance of the network. But, several companies just don’t have the appropriate resources for an in-house firewall management. So, they opt for managed security service providers for a top quality managed firewall solutions.

What exactly are managed firewall services and why should you use them? Here are a few things you need to know about managed firewall services.

Can managed firewall services help your company cut costs?

The cost is almost always the first thing that companies ask about when hiring a managed firewall service provider. But instead of asking how much it will cost you, why don’t you ask how much it can save you instead? You have to evaluate the risk of ignoring or using a certain resource or tool. If you don’t use a managed firewall Wilmington NC solution, you will be putting your company at a higher risk of getting breached. So, consider how much you will pay if you do not have a firewall that’s well managed.

What IT services do you get with a managed firewall solution?

When you signed up for a managed firewall solution, you need to know what type of firewall services they will provide. Some kinds of managed firewall services that may be offered are firewall auditing services, firewall configuration services, firewall monitoring and alerts, as well as co-managed firewall services. Knowing what services your IT company will provide is important when you want to get a managed firewall service.

What service level agreements can be set for the firewall management?

SLAs or service level agreements represent your expectations regarding the managed IT service you get. You need to know what SLAs can be met by the managed firewall service provider like how frequently the firewall rules will be updated, the time to notify for security breaches, and the time needed to contain a cybersecurity breach. Several reliable companies offering cybersecurity services will combine other solutions like intrusion prevention with their network firewall monitoring service to minimize the time it takes to respond to an ongoing security breach.

Not All Managed Firewall Solution Is Suitable For Your Company

When it comes to cybersecurity, there is no such thing as a cookie cutter solution. Every company has unique needs and that includes the configuration of your firewall. Look for a company that will leverage their years of experience to set up a customized firewall configuration that will provide optimal protection to your company with minimal to no disruption to your company.

Call SpartanTec, Inc, now if you’re looking for a reliable provider of managed firewall services.

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

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

Do I need a managed firewall?

Qualified managed IT service providers generally offer managed firewall services as a solution for firewall administration, operation, monitoring, as well as maintenance of the firewall infrastructure.

The service provider can help create, maintain, and change firewall rules, check your network and offer feedback, reports, as well as analysis to improve your company’s computer security Wilmington NC.

Based on the extent of your service agreement, the service provider can do firewall installation, application control, as well as web content filtering because they help in determining what web content and applications must be blocked. They could also assist in managing updates and patching.

Do you need a managed firewall?

Firewalls are essential when it comes to protecting network traffic and that includes the flow of confidential data. They’re needed for compliance with regulations such as the GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. Firms that do not have the personnel resources needed to manage their firewall or other devices that could fill in the gaps in data security and better prevent data breaches can use managed firewalls Wilmington NC. Some companies use internal IT personnel who can manage their firewalls but others would rather use an experienced, reputable, and trustworthy managed firewall service so that they could concentrate on their business goals.

 

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In-depth firewall management needs constant vigilance and a high degree of expertise. Firewalls aren’t just a set once and forget it type of technology. Buying and configuring a firewall that is suitable for any given setting is just the start.

Whether it is for data security or compliance, a managed firewall service could a significant amount of security to your company’s network.

Common Failures in Firewall Management

Security analysts often come across security risks that involve firewall configuration and management. The common issues are as follows:

Multiple firewalls – having one firewall needs regular maintenance and monitoring daily. You have to check the rule sets, patch the firmware, and update the configuration. You have to multiply the work if you have several firewalls Wilmington NC in place. This can be a problem if you lack the staff or critical skills needed to maintain them. It could lead to overlooking serious security problems which could lead to compromise or loss of sensitive data.

No firewall auditing –firewall auditing, which involves checking and auditing the firewall on a regular basis, is left undone by many firms. One advantage of hiring an MSP is that they can do regular firewall audits, which they commonly include in their core services.

Misunderstanding of how firewalls work – not all IT personnel are familiar with all the aspects of firewall management. The area between internally facing the network and externally facing the network should be secure. Some organizations leave their network exposed and at risk to external malicious activity because they left some firewall ports open internally or externally.

Lack of oversight and inexperience – IT personnel are usually expected to just make sure that their network, computers, and other devices work. There is immense pressure to keep the systems operational every day. This pressure could lead to careless or risky configurations that could leave your network vulnerable.

 

Call SpartanTec, Inc. now and let our team of IT experts protect your business from cyberthreats by having a well managed and properly configured firewall.

 

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

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