5 Benefits of a Cloud Firewall

Firewalls have been a staple of almost every organization’s security since its inception in the late 80s. A firewall is a network security device that’s used to detect malicious traffic coming into and outside of a private network.

A cloud firewall has a number of advantages that make it a good choice for businesses that want to improve the security of their network.

First, it has centralized management, which lets managers watch traffic and enforce security policies across multiple locations and devices from a single interface.

This makes it easier to manage and update firewall rules, which makes the network safer and easier to keep an eye on. Second, cloud firewalls are very scalable, which means they can easily adapt to more traffic or more complicated network architectures without having to change the hardware.

This lets businesses grow without having to worry about their security systems becoming too small. Third, setting up and maintaining cloud firewalls is usually easier and requires less work than setting up and maintaining traditional hardware firewalls. This saves money.

However, the dynamic nature of the evolving cyber landscape has forced organizations to migrate their security services into the cloud.

According to TechJury.net, 61% of businesses migrated their workload to the cloud in 2020. They also predict the public cloud market will be worth $800+ billion by 2025. With that being said, the data stored in the cloud needs protection.

Along with Zero Trust security, having a cloud firewall is an integral part of a comprehensive cybersecurity plan. So, let’s look at the 5 main benefits of using a cloud firewall.

Table of Contents

What is a Cloud Firewall?
Benefits of a Cloud Firewall
1: Cloud Firewalls Have Great Scalability
2: Your Data Will Be Protected During Migration
3: Cloud Firewalls Can be Deployed and Maintained Easily
4: Identity and Access Management 
5: Cloud Firewalls Have Great Extensibility

What is a Cloud Firewall?

To start, a cloud firewall is essentially the virtual version of a traditional firewall, but it’s cloud-deployed. You set up and define the rules and the cloud firewall will keep it from entering your network.

This type of security is extremely important once data is stored in the cloud. Currently, around 80% of companies have reported an increase in bots that are run by malicious actors attempting to steal sensitive company data.

Having a cloud firewall in place can prevent malicious traffic from entering your website and keep your remote workforce safe.

They allow for centralized management, so managers can control security measures for all cloud services and apps from a single dashboard. This makes it easier to keep track of, change, and maintain security settings in real time, which makes cloud-based systems safer overall.

FAQ

1.What is cloud security and its advantages?

Cloud security is the set of policies, controls, processes, and technologies used to protect data, applications, and infrastructure in cloud computing environments.

The goal is to protect cloud-based systems from illegal access, data breaches, and other cyber threats while making sure they follow industry rules.

One of the best things about cloud security is that private data can be protected in one place. Since cloud services often combine data from multiple sources, it’s easier to keep an eye on traffic and private information. This makes it easier to rebound from disasters and use resources more efficiently.

2. Why is Cloud more secure?

The idea that cloud computing is naturally safer is based on the fact that specialized cloud service providers can put a lot of time and money into security measures, which may be hard for smaller businesses to do.

These providers put a lot of money into making sure their infrastructure is safe. They use cutting-edge technologies and teams of cybersecurity experts who watch for strange behavior around the clock.

The infrastructure in the cloud often has multiple backups and redundancies. This makes it more resistant to outages and data loss than standard on-premises setups.

3. What is the most effective security in cloud computing?

Determining the “most effective” security measure in cloud computing is challenging because effective security typically relies on a layered, multi-faceted approach rather than a single solution.

However, one of the foundational elements considered highly effective is encryption. Data encryption not only protects the information stored (at-rest) in the cloud but also the data that is in transit between the cloud and other systems.

Advanced encryption algorithms make it exceedingly difficult for unauthorized parties to gain any meaningful information even if they somehow access the data.

Additionally, Identity and Access Management (IAM) is pivotal in controlling who has access to what within a cloud environment, often leveraging multi-factor authentication and single sign-on capabilities.

Benefits of a Cloud Firewall

1. Cloud Firewalls Have Great Scalability

The main issue of a traditional firewall is that it cannot scale beyond its limitations. At a certain point, you’ll hit a bandwidth wall and have to perform upgrades.

A cloud firewall scales as your business grows, so you can add more users and licenses at a later time without any disruptions to your IT and security stack.

2. Your Data Will Be Protected During Migration

When you are transferring data into the cloud, it’s at risk of being unprotected. A simple S3 bucket misconfiguration in an AWS cloud environment can lead to a massive data breach.

A cloud firewall can be set up in cloud environments such as AWS or Azure to prevent misconfigurations and keep sensitive data from being leaked during cloud migration.

3. Cloud Firewalls Can be Deployed and Maintained Easily

Another benefit of a cloud firewall is that they are easy to install. The deployment process is fast since it’s software-based. Once deployed, everything can be managed with the click of a button, and any problems can be fixed directly through the cloud.

When it comes to maintenance, cloud firewalls make it very easy. The software will usually have a dashboard that can be used for managing the system.

A cloud firewall is going to have an extensive list of tools that can be utilized to create refined filters and rules for controlling what moves in and out of the private cloud within minutes.

It will integrate easily with your existing cloud infrastructure. That means you shouldn’t hit any bumps in the road during deployment.

4. Identity and Access Management

Admins are now able to set more granular policies and verify users across the organization with the identity and access management framework.

This gives admins more granular control over who gets to access which applications to prevent any lateral movement within the network, leveraging the core principles of Zero Trust Network Access of eliminating implicit trust. 

5. Cloud Firewalls Have Great Extensibility

One of the great advantages of a cloud firewall is that it can be managed from anywhere. Gone are the days of having to go to the office and tinker with the physical firewall device.

Cloud firewalls can be deployed to protect your private network from anywhere in the world. When you have a traditional firewall, any updates and maintenance need to be done at the actual location of the device.

This becomes a big problem for enterprises that have multiple branch locations with teams of employees and third parties spread out geographically.

The Bottom Line

To sum it up, there are many benefits to using a cloud firewall. Not only can it replace a traditional firewall and eliminate the need for a physical device, but it can also improve overall employee productivity and secure the hybrid workforce.

Up your network security game with a Firewall as a Service (FWaaS) and keep your corporate workflows protected from potential attacks.

Lastly, its high availability and redundancy make sure that your network is safe even if parts of your equipment go down.

A cloud firewall is a key part of a multi-layered security strategy for companies that are moving to the cloud or that already work in a cloud-centric environment.