What's the best firewall for your network security?

The software firewall controls the data traffic between the network and the computer. It can be used to set various exceptions for programs, open ports or conveniently monitor data on the PC in real time. A software firewall monitors the network that the computer uses to connect to the Internet. The hardware firewall, on the other hand, is installed on an external device/system and in practice monitors two networks at the same time. It monitors the data traffic between the private network and the firewall and at the same time the traffic between the firewall and the higher-level network.

Hardware, because: - Security should always be on, even when other hardware devices fail or need maintenance. - It's protected from attacks on the host OS and its programs. - Far better performance by Fortigate firewalls. They use hardware that's specialized for network functions (content and network ASIC chips).

Whether its hardware or software firewalls, each has its own pros and cons. Hardware firewalls have the capacility to stand against attacks due to the fail proof custom OS, along with compatible configuration capabilities. But one thing it lacks is the way of new age attacks which are beyond IP addresses and this is where the software based firewalls comes in place with capabilites of both IDS and IPS Based on your organization better to have both ways in place in a hybrid approach but at the same time optimized cost

The best firewall for your network security depends on factors like your organization’s size, budget, and specific requirements. Options include Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) for comprehensive security, Unified Threat Management (UTM) firewalls for SMBs, hardware firewalls for robust perimeter protection, and cloud firewalls for cloud-centric setups. Choose based on your unique needs and consider consulting with a cybersecurity expert.

Stateless firewalls are usually defined in contrast to stateful firewalls. The main difference between them is that stateful firewalls track some information about the current status of an active network connection, whereas stateless firewalls do not. This is important because it allows the stateful firewall to identify and block seemingly legitimate but malicious traffic. For example, the TCP handshake involves a SYN packet from the client, followed by a SYN/ACK packet from the server, followed by an ACK packet from the client. If an attacker sends an ACK packet to an enterprise server that does not respond to a SYN/ACK, a stateful firewall would block it, but a stateless firewall would not.

We have to review the traffic first before making a decision. Not every traffic request and respone should be analyzed. For certain traffic we should have certain monitoring systems in place. Especially secure communication should always have a monitoring in place. Any unwanted traffic can be directly blocked at entry with right configuration

A typical next generation firewall (NGFW) offers much more than just examining traffic based on ports and protocols. In the past, it was common practice to create sets of rules when configuring a firewall that told the security solution which protocols could be transmitted in which direction and which ports were permitted for these transmissions. These rules usually looked like this: "Allow inbound traffic with SSH on port 22 to server one", "Allow data transfers via the SMTP and POP3 protocols to the Exchange server in the DMZ" or "Allow all traffic from the LAN to the Internet". The firewall then processed these rules in the form of a list, and in the event of conflicts, the rule that was at the top of the list was usually used.

NGFW is a new age firewalls which have the capability slightly compared above software firewalls. its enhanced features allow organizations to tackle advanced level security threats and it can also have the capability to act based on threat intelligence provided by their vendors

There are certain factors to keep into consideration before choosing a firewall. Factors, like Network size, architecure, volume, type of network and their ports, protocols, sensitivity and budget. We have to take a 360 level approach before choosing a firewall. Not every organization needs a expansive, too many featured firewalls. All matters is that how the firewall provides security to your organization

Select the firewall vendors that timely disclose vulnerabilities and provide workarounds to mitigate the risk even when the patch isn’t ready for 0days.

Regularly review the attack types and advisories on latest attacks. Review how every vendor in the market and how they tackle certain threats with their exisiting products Have demo sessions and sample traffic analysis

There is no 'one size fits all' solution. Architect a system with security and do what makes your company the most secure. Also, keep in mind budgeting.