On the Edge: In the good old days, a basic firewall was the cornerstone of network defense, keeping the bad guys on the outside of the network. Not anymore. Today’s hacker has a myriad of tools like worms, Trojan horses and even social engineering to help him get into your network. So today’s firewall is necessary but no longer sufficient, and the nature of the threat changes almost every day. The current threat level is high, with day one exploits like Sasser becoming more common. ALL organizations need to implement layered security using firewalls with deep packet inspection, multiple layers of antivirus, patch management, and a disaster recovery plan. Managed security solutions ensure that a trained consultant is paying attention to your network.

A firewall, or Internet Security Appliance, forms the basis of your network defense, and it consists of two components: the basic appliance and add-on services/capabilities. Most add-ons are subscription-based services that need to be renewed annually. Costs for both the appliance and the services increase as the number of users increases.  Because new threats are developed constantly, you should expect an appliance based on current technology to last anywhere from one to three years. Your appliance may also need to be replaced if your needs or the number of users changes significantly.

We routinely encounter otherwise intelligent network administrators who believe that their network is adequately protected simply because they are unaware of the current threats and their defenses. Many others have implemented technology that works, but is not cost effective. If your organization is still running CheckPoint solutions with Nokia devices, last-generation firewalls implemented usually before April 2004, or one of the expensive subscription-based content filtering solutions, we can probably improve your security posture while saving you money.