Continuous Firewall Updates are Key to Network Security

Introduction

Best practices dictate that your firewall system should forever live in a state of on however, to stay abreast with the ever-changing environment of cybersecurity. Firewalls are your network’s first line of defense, situated between your inside systems and anything external. But firewall systems are only as good as they tend, that is the reality. In this blog, we discuss the importance of continuous firewall upgrades to keep your network safe and methods P J Networks uses to ensure our firewalls are always current.

Boot into Firewall Updates

Essential firewalls, an essential level of defense against cyber attackers. Incoming and outgoing traffic is filtered according to organizational security policies. Firewalls secure networks by examining data packets and protecting against entry of unidentified people. But in today’s world, when cyber threats evolve and occur more frequently than ever before, a static firewall system may not be enough. As with any software, the continued patch of Sentry is important to stay ahead of new attacks and close off newly found vulnerabilities. These updates may be patches for security vulnerabilities, improvements in feature performance and can also cater to the changes made on your network configurations.

Outdated Firewalls Risks

The consequences of utilizing an obsolete firewall can be unfathomably serious. You risk serious threats to your network by not updating these systems including:

• Vulnerability Exploits: Cyber attackers will often target known vulnerabilities that are fixed in the latest firewall update. This is a big security hole in your network since these outdated firewalls can be hacked without any difficulty.
• Reduced efficiency: An inefficient firewall may slow down your network further affecting business productivity.
• Lack of Adherence: Typically, regulatory bodies may demand the use of new versions or ranges for security tools. Organizations with antiquated firewall solutions could find themselves incurring major penalties, or losing important compliance designations.
• Zero-Day Attacks: Zero-day attacks are highly sophisticated and take place on the same day a new vulnerability is detected. With best-in-class, continuous updates you are able to respond immediately when new threats emerge.

How P J Networks Automate Updates

We know how important it is to keep your firewall alive and kicking! We have automation in place with our firewall management, meaning all update get done as soon as they are released and your network is always safe.

• Automated Patch Application: Our systems are setup to install patches/updates as soon as they were released. It removes the chances of making errors or manually updating text after a long time period.
• Firewall Systems Monitoring: We monitor your firewall systems 24/7 to identify new attack vectors and patching them before any potential threat is utilised.
• Compliance Checks: P J Networks makes certain that all updates are compliant with industry standards and the latest regulations.
• Scheduled Maintenance: In addition to the real-time automation we are continually running a scheduled maintenance in order to identify possible inconsistent behavior or missed updates.

Real-World Examples

• Healthcare sector: A healthcare organization narrowly averted severe data breach in year 2020 when it updated firewall just on time. The automatic update from P J Networks, which was meant to patch a security hole that could have allowed access to confidential patient information. The swift actions not only saved the data but also ensured the organization stays compliant with healthcare regulations.
• Financial Institutions: A major bank was attacked; the attackers tried to pass through firewall by exploiting a known vulnerability. Luckily for me, P J Networks had already made the required updates. The attack was successful, according to reports from both banks leaving them able only to confirm that an attempt had been made but it has prevented financial losses and reputational risks.
• Retail Industry: At an era of high transits in online, a retail company experienced cyber threats more than what they had signed up for. Thanks to the always-updatable firewall catwalk of P J Networks, none of these threats breached into their network This not only kept customer data safe but ensured business continuity.

Conclusion

With an era that is more focused on digitalization and where cyber threats are both advanced as well as widespread, it has become important to make the best use of up-to-date firewall forms. For an organization, outdated firewalls could have major repercussions like risk of exploit for vulnerabilities, operational efficiency reduced to zero, exposed non-compliances and defenseless against zero-day attacks. Automate security updates with P J Networks solution which provide an end-to-end firewall update management and protection your network real times. For businesses that need to rent both firewall systems and routers, having the security of knowing these hotfixes are installed on an ongoing basis helps makes security compliance easier. Cyber threats never stop, so should your business. Outsource your firewall maintenance to P J Networks, and spend more of your time running your business.