In today’s digital world, cybercriminals use many different methods to access your network and data. Traditional security solutions cannot keep up with these new threats and vulnerabilities. With the increase in IoT connections, attacks on the network have also increased. Therefore, you need a solution that can protect your network from all these external attacks.
Virtual firewall appliances are one such technology that can help you achieve this objective. VFAs are software-based virtual firewalls which operate as an extension of your existing security solution. These appliances prevent external connections to your internal resources by inspecting each and every connection request before it reaches its target. Here, we will explore some of the important pros and cons of using a VFA to protect your organization from hacking attempts and other network attacks.
What is a Virtual Firewall?
A virtual firewall appliance is software-based security solution that integrates with your existing security solution to protect your network from external attacks. It creates a barrier against hackers by inspecting each and every connection request before it reaches its target.
The obvious advantage of using VFA is the ability to protect all resources on your network, including sensitive data. With this technology, you can prevent hackers from accessing your network, even if they have already penetrated your firewall.
Another advantage is the ease of use. VFAs are easy-to-use and try to automatize as much as possible so you don’t have to worry about the security of your organization. When VFAs detect an inbound attack or breach attempt, they automatically block it from reaching its target without any human intervention required.
We also need to consider another important point: cost effectiveness. With a virtual firewall appliance, you do not need to invest in new hardware or increase the size of your current firewall appliance just for protection purposes. Instead, you can simply extend your existing security solution with a VFA and save money on hardware costs at the same time.
Why Should You Use a Virtual Firewall?
The advantages of using a VFA to protect your organization include the following:
- It is cost effective.
- It offers greater flexibility and security than other traditional security solutions.
- It helps in preventing network intrusions, which are the most common method used by hackers for gaining access to systems.
- It helps reduce operational expenses by reducing the number of breached systems due to failed logins.
- VFA can also help in ensuring better compliance with regulatory requirements, since it can provide automated reporting and real time protection against cyber threats.
Disadvantages of Virtual Firewal appliance
- VFAs are expensive and not easily deployable
- As VFAs require software, they can be more vulnerable to attacks than a firewall appliance built into the physical network
- Virtual firewalls can be used in only specific scenarios
- VFAs require knowledge of complex concepts like network virtualization and the Cisco Discovery Protocol
Conclusion
With the use of virtual firewalls, we can easily connect to the internet and share data with clients and other people. However, virtual firewalls are not as effective as they may seem. Here are some of the disadvantages of using a virtual firewall.