what is fortinet firewall?

what is fortinet firewall?

Cyber Security   /   Aug 16th, 2023   /  A+ | a-

                                     Empowering Network Security for a Dynamic World

In today's hyper-connected world, where digital transformation is reshaping industries and communication is paramount, the need for robust network security has never been more critical. With cyber threats evolving at an alarming pace, organizations require comprehensive solutions to safeguard their sensitive data, intellectual property, and customer information. Enter Fortinet Firewall - a cutting-edge security solution designed to provide advanced protection, seamless connectivity, and simplified management for modern networks.
The Fundamentals of  fortinet Firewalls

A firewall is a network security solution that protects your network from unwanted traffic. Firewalls block incoming malware based on a set of pre-programmed rules. These rules can also prevent users within the network from accessing certain sites and programs.

Firewalls are based on the simple idea that network traffic from less secure environments should be authenticated and inspected before moving to a more secure environment. This prevents unauthorized users, devices, and applications from entering a protected network environment or segment.  Without firewalls, computers and devices in your network are susceptible to h ackers and make you an easy target for attacks.

While an advanced firewall can no longer single-handedly defend a network against today’s complex cyber threat landscape, these devices are still considered to be the foundational building block for creating a proper cybersecurity system. As part of the first line of defense against cyberattacks, firewalls offer essential monitoring and filtering of all traffic, including outgoing traffic, application-layer traffic, online transactions, communications and connectivity— such as IPSec or SSL VPN— and dynamic workflows. Proper firewallconfiguration is also essential, as default features may not provide maximum protection against cyberattacks.
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Understanding Fortinet Firewall

Fortinet is a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, and its firewall offerings are at the forefront of its product portfolio. Fortinet Firewall is more than just a traditional network security device; it's a unified threat management system that combines multiple security functions into a single, cohesive solution. These functions include firewalling, intrusion prevention, antivirus and antimalware, web filtering, application control, and more. This integrated approach to security makes it highly effective in countering both known and emerging threats.

Key Features and Benefits

  1. Comprehensive Threat Protection: Fortinet Firewall employs a combination of signature-based and behavior-based threat detection mechanisms to identify and thwart a wide range of cyber threats, from viruses and malware to advanced persistent threats (APTs) and zero-day vulnerabilities.

  2. Multi-Layered Security: The firewall's multi-layered security approach ensures that even if one layer is breached, subsequent layers remain effective. This approach minimizes the risk of successful attacks.

  3. Application Control: With the rise of cloud-based applications and remote work, controlling which applications can access the network is crucial. Fortinet Firewall offers granular application control, allowing organizations to manage application usage based on policies and user roles.
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  4. User Identity Awareness: Identity-based security allows organizations to define policies based on specific users rather than just IP addresses. This is particularly important in today's mobile and remote work environments.

  5. Secure Connectivity: Fortinet Firewalls offer Virtual Private Network (VPN) capabilities, enabling secure communication between remote sites and remote workers. This is essential for maintaining privacy and data integrity over public networks.

  6. Centralized Management: The Fortinet Security Fabric provides a unified management platform that allows administrators to configure and monitor all connected Fortinet devices from a single interface. This streamlines security operations and reduces management overhead.

  7. Scalability: Fortinet Firewall solutions are designed to accommodate the needs of organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises. As network requirements change, these solutions can be easily scaled to meet evolving demands.

  8. Real-time Threat Intelligence: Fortinet's global threat intelligence network, FortiGuard Labs, continuously analyzes and shares threat intelligence with Fortinet Firewall devices. This ensures that the firewall is up-to-date with the latest threat information.
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    History of firewall

    Firewall security has been around since the 1980s. Originally, it only consisted of packet filters and existed within networks designed to examine the packets of data sent and received between computers. Since then, firewalls have evolved in response to the growing variety of threats:
    Generation 1 firewalls—antivirus protection: These consisted of antivirus protections designed to stem the proliferation of viruses invading PCs in the 1980s.

    Generation 2 firewalls—network protection: In the mid-1990s, physical firewalls had to be created to protect networks.

    Generation 3 firewalls—applications: In the early 2000s, firewalls were developed to address vulnerabilities in applications.

    Generation 4 firewalls—payload: These firewalls, developed around 2010, were designed to address evasive and polymorphic attacks.

    Generation 5 firewalls—large-scale protection: Around 2017, large-scale attacks using new and more complex methods necessitated advanced threat detection and prevention solutions.

    what does a firewall do?
     

    Originally, firewalls were divided into two camps: proxy and stateful. Over time, stateful inspection became more sophisticated and the performance of proxy firewalls became too slow., Today, nearly all firewalls are stateful and divide into two general types: network firewalls and host-based firewalls.

    A host-based or computer firewall protect just one computer, or "host,"  and are typically deployed on home or personal devices, often coming packaged with the operating system. Occasionally, though, these firewalls can also be used in corporate settings to provide an added layer of protection. Considering the fact that host-based firewalls must be installed and maintained individually on each device, the potential for scalability is limited.
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    Firewall networks, on the other hand, protect all devices and traffic passing a demarcation point, enabling broad scalability. As the name implies, a network firewall functions at the network level, OSL Layers 3 and 4, scanning traffic between external sources and your local area network (LAN), or traffic moving between different segments inside the network. They are placed at the perimeter of the network or network segment as a first line of defense and monitor traffic by performing deep packet inspection and packet filtering. If the content of the packets do not meet previously selected criteria based on rules that the network administrator or security team has created, the firewall  rejects and blocks that traffic. 






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    Mentor - Vyankatesh Panchal

    Intormation and research are sources from internet.
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