By Simon Saffidine, Chief Technology Officer at Evolve Business Group.
In light of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Simon Saffidine, Chief Technology Officer at Evolve, explores the challenges the traditional firewall is facing in the modern digital landscape, and suggests how next generation firewalls may help businesses become better equipped to face increasingly dynamic cyber threats.
Cyberattacks are evolving faster than ever, driven by the world’s growing reliance on digital technologies. With global data breaches reaching new peaks between 2021 and 2023, rising by 72%, it’s clear that the technology behind traditional firewalls needs to be updated to reflect the growing needs of an increasingly digital world. The rise of cloud computing, IoT devices, and sophisticated attack patterns have exposed significant vulnerabilities in legacy security systems.
As businesses navigate this interconnected landscape, future-proofing network security has never been more critical. This raises a crucial question: Is it time to leave traditional firewalls behind in favour of modern cloud-driven solutions that are better equipped to handle today’s threats?
Are traditional solutions able to keep pace with cloud –native security tools?
Traditional firewalls, once effective in securing centralised, on-premises networks, have lagged in protecting users from the complex demands of growing business networks. Workloads and data now spread across multiple cloud platforms, with applications using dynamic ports and encrypted traffic that traditional firewalls can’t effectively handle. Relying on outdated methods like port- and protocol-based filtering, legacy firewalls are unable to provide the necessary visibility and control across these modern business environments.
Encrypted traffic, while essential for protecting sensitive information, has further exacerbated these challenges. Legacy firewalls typically cannot decrypt this traffic, creating blind spots where malicious activities can go unnoticed. Moreover, IoT devices introduce countless new endpoints, many using non-standard protocols that traditional firewalls are ill-equipped to manage. As cyberattacks grow in scale and sophistication, with over 300 million victims in 2023, it’s clear that legacy firewalls are no longer sufficient.
Next generation firewalls: Adapting to modern security demands
Businesses must now embrace next generation firewalls (NGFWs) and cloud-native security tools to stay ahead of evolving cyber threats. NGFWs go beyond the capabilities of traditional firewalls by offering deep inspection of application-layer traffic and leveraging real-time threat intelligence. These advanced systems use machine learning (ML) to analyse traffic patterns, detect anomalies, and respond to threats dynamically – far beyond what legacy systems can handle.
One of the key advantages of NGFWs is their ability to adapt to decentralised infrastructures and cloud environments. Whether it’s protecting IoT devices or managing multi-cloud platforms, NGFWs provide greater visibility and control. ML enables these firewalls to continuously learn from network data, updating security policies automatically to reduce human error and enhance security efficiency. This capability allows businesses to respond quickly to new threats, ensuring their networks are always protected.
By transitioning to NGFWs, businesses not only enhance their security framework but also future proof their networks against emerging threats. The automation of policy updates and threat detection reduces the administrative burden on IT teams, freeing them to focus on strategic tasks. This shift towards intelligent, automated security tools marks a critical step in modernising network defenses.
Embracing advanced solutions for the future of cybersecurity
As cyber threats continue to evolve, so must the tools designed to protect against them. Traditional firewalls, while once essential, can no longer address the complexity of today’s network environments or the sophistication of modern cyberattacks. Furthermore, the rise of edge computing, 5G, and cloud adoption is reshaping the network security landscape, pushing businesses to adopt NGFWs and cloud-native solutions that can handle decentralised infrastructures and cloud-native solutions. The future of network security lies in embracing next generation firewalls that offer comprehensive protection for cloud and IoT ecosystems – leaving outdated firewalls behind.
