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Best Firewall Practices for Securing Your Network

By February 21, 2021No Comments6 min read
Firewall Practices for Securing Your Network

A network firewall can protect your network from attackers. Network firewall configuration is generally a hard task for network admins. They need to balance between the speed and security of your network.

Make sure that your network firewall configuration is also protecting your network from malware. There are various future security threats that you need to focus on. In this article, we are going to share some best firewall practices that will help you in securing your network.

  1. Block all the traffic by default

Make sure that you are blocking all the traffic by default. You should only allow some specific traffic which is important for sensitive applications. This will ensure that you will have full control over your network. You can stop security breaches by blocking all the traffic by default.

The firewall is going to act as the first layer of protection. Thus, you should ensure that everyone doesn’t have access to your network. You can use user permission control for ensuring that only authorized admins can change the firewall configurations. Every change done by the authorized admin will be recorded in the log files for maintaining compliance. It will ensure that you can easily detect any unwarranted configuration changes in your network.

  1. Create a firewall configuration change plan

You also need to update your network firewall from time to time. This is important as it will ensure that your firewall will remain strong. It will help you in protecting your network from new threats. Make sure that you have a change management plan. This plan will ensure that the entire process will be secure and smooth. If you are doing any unplanned configuration change, then it will open loopholes in your network.

  1. Optimize the firewall rules

Your network firewall rules should be well-defined and optimized. This will provide expected protection to your network. Make sure that you are regularly cleaning up your firewall rules.

Sometimes your firewall rules will have duplicates, redundant elements, and unnecessary rules. Due to this, your guidelines will become more complicated. This will reduce the efficiency of your firewall plan. Thus, you should get rid of such rules. You can follow these steps for clearing your firewall plan:

  • Eliminate all the duplicate and redundant rules from your firewall plan. These rules can decrease your firewall performance.
  • You should remove the firewall rules that are obsolete in nature. Due to this, firewall management will become more complex. This can be a threat to your network security if you are not updating it.
  • You should remove all the shadowed rules from your firewall rules. Sometimes you might neglect critical rules due to these shadowed rules.
  • You should remove all the conflicting rules.
  • You should remove all the inaccuracies or errors in the rules.

  1. Update your firewall software

Every firewall vendor will generally release new software updates. The main aim of these software updates is to deal with new security threats. Firewall vendors will make small changes to their software for dealing with new security threats. It is important to ensure that you are regularly updating your firewall software. This will help you in securing your network from attackers. It will also ensure that there are no loopholes in your system. You can work with an MSP if you don’t want to update your software manually. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire will help you in tracking all the software updates. They will ensure that all the software is updated.

  1. Conduct firewall security audits

Security audits are very important for your organization. These audits will ensure that your firewall is working properly. Sometimes unauthorized configuration changes can lead to con-compliance. They might violate your organization’s policy. Thus, your IT security staff and admins should regularly check your network security. This will ensure that your IT team is updated with the necessary changes. It will help you in protecting your network from potential risks. Security audits are very important when you have installed a new firewall. It is also important to track the firewall migration activity. Thus, you should ensure that you are regularly performing firewall security audits.

  1. Automate the firewall updating process

Technology is continuously improving with time. Thus, many processes are becoming easier and faster with time. Your IT admins might need to constantly check for software updates. After that, they need to manually perform the software updates. Due to this, your network will be at risk.

You should try to automate this entire process. An automated system will help you in checking for software updates. They will also implement the updates automatically. This will reduce human intervention. Thus, your firewall system will become more robust and secure.

  1. Centralized management tool

Most organizations are using multi-vendor firewalls. This will ensure that you are using additional layers of security for protecting your network. Every firewall will have a different architecture. Thus, you should ensure that all the firewalls are working properly together.

You should ensure that all the firewalls are centrally in one place. This will ensure that you can quickly check the condition of your firewalls. You can use a firewall management tool for creating unified firewall rules and policies. It will ensure that you can quickly manage and compare firewall rules. You can also perform security reporting and auditing easily. This tool will help you in troubleshooting configuration issues. You can use it for managing multiple firewall software.

Conclusion

These are the best firewall practices that you can use for securing your network. The firewall will help you in protecting your network from attackers. Thus, it is very important to implement the best firewall practices. Your firewall is going to act as the first layer of defense. If you don’t have access to firewall experts, then you should consider working with an MSP. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire have access to a large IT security team. This will ensure that they can protect your network from most attacks. They will help you in implementing the best security practices. If you need more information regarding IT security services, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™  services and solutions in how we can help your business.