Investigating Viable Firewall Solutions for Enhanced Security and Scalability

Investigating Viable Firewall Solutions for Enhanced Security and Scalability

Since the organization has had a firewall for four years and has yet to receive severe attacks, it is befitting to assess and optimize it for the harsh world, which is essential to combating newer threats. This aspect shows that even though the current firewall may not have experienced major attacks, it does not mean that the current firewall is the best. That is why the organization is exploring probable firewalls to be considered in the future.

First, the current firewall should be reviewed to determine general issues and recommendations, along with an evaluation of risks. This will help in leading to the required level of protection and potential risks. In addition, the survey of typical firewall policies, settings, and efficiency will also be helpful. The subsequent step is to define the major specifications of the new firewall. These are factors such as the organizational needs of the specific organization they are being compared with; for instance, the organization’s inherent network, the size, and extent of the network, the type of traffic and applications to be protected, compliance matters, budget, and compatibility with the existing structures. Hence, the assessment can be conducted in the best way to cater to the decision of the most suitable firewall that can meet the needs of the organization, given the above requirements.

The following is the research done on the different types of firewalls. These are packet-filtering firewalls, circuit-level gateway firewalls, application-level gateway firewalls, stateful inspection firewalls, and next-generation firewalls, also known as NGFWs (Boyle, 2020). They have unique features and demerits relating to capability, flexibility, and compatibility with physical frameworks. Thus, concerning such factors, the set of choices may be limited to the most suitable ones.

The next step that needs to be followed is to compare the vendors providing the shortlisted firewall options. Aspects like the credibility of the vendor and customer experience, the product’s characteristics and efficacy, compatibility with other security solutions and services, adaptability, and manageability, prices and payment structures, and security standards and legal compliance are all accommodated. This means that by assessing these factors, the appropriate vendor can be selected.

For the second level of assessment, penetration testing ought to be exercised based on the available firewall options. This entails exposing the firewall to different kinds of attacks to measure its ability to recognize and prevent them. Also, the level of simplicity that characterizes the configuration, management, and maintenance of each firewall must be considered.

Lastly, the evaluation criteria should be documented, including the list of shortlisted options and the pen testing results. This will ensure there is clear and open documentation of the different evaluation aspects. An explanation of the preferred firewall option and the vendor must be written and presented to the CIO, and a guide will be used to deploy and manage the firewall in the future.

References

Boyle, R. J. (2020). Corporate Computer Security, Global Edition. (5th ed.). Pearson

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Your organization has had a firewall in place for the past 4 years. The organization has not experienced any substantial attacks, but the chief information officer (CIO) wants you to investigate at least three viable file
Options are for future consideration.

Investigating Viable Firewall Solutions for Enhanced Security and Scalability

Please explain your thoughts and approach to this activity. You will want to identify things organizations deem important when selecting a new firewall vendor,