Firewall Management 201: Next-Generation Firewalls for Today’s Environment

The second whiteboard video in our series Firewall Management 201 with Professor Wool (don’t miss the first video on Managing Firewall Policies in a Disappearing Network Perimeter) examines the granular capabilities of next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) which provide control of both applications and users.

In the past week there’s been a discussion on the value of firewalls in today’s environment (see: “Why You Don’t Need a Firewall” and “Taking Issue with Article on Why You Don’t Need a Firewall” and a host of other blogs and articles), in which Roger Grimes, the originator of this discussion brings up how today’s attacks make firewalls outdated, but he never brings up next-generation firewalls and how they can provide more control through more granular policies. Many of Roger’s points overlook the innovation and evolution of firewalls and firewall policy management solutions (Roger, please check out this video!).

In this video, Professor Avishai Wool discusses why NGFWs have been developed and examines their capabilities including the enforcement of application and user-aware policies.