On the other hand, because internal firewalls deal with an enterprise’s own applications and services, they can leverage a deeper understanding of that traffic in order to automate security policies and block suspicious behavior. Thus, it must be more advanced than a typical perimeter firewall in order to intelligently identify malicious activity. Because of this, internal and external firewall design differs in key ways:Īn internal firewall cannot rely on traditional port-based methods of identifying threats, and it needs to keep up with a high volume of internal traffic. The two types of firewalls are intended to solve different problems: While an external firewall simply protects against outside intruders, an internal network needs to monitor all traffic on the network to identify bad actors and potential threats. An external firewall monitors the network’s perimeter and prevents unauthorized access from the outside. Today, cyber-attacks are increasingly likely to make it past the network perimeter, and internal firewalls minimize the damage such attacks can do.Īlthough all businesses should have internal firewalls and similar security measures in place, internal firewalls are particularly useful for very large enterprises with multiple network segments for different departments, as well as for networks that have large attack surfaces due to running distributed services across public and private clouds.Īn internal firewall monitors and secures east-west (internal) network traffic, rather than north-south traffic at the perimeter. Unlike a traditional perimeter firewall, an internal firewall must proactively provide visibility and protection from internal threats, and it must be fast enough to keep up with the demands of internal traffic. When comparing an internal firewall versus a perimeter firewall, there are several key differences. A firewall, in general, is a device or software designed to monitor traffic and prevent unauthorized access, and an internal firewall is an advanced application of that concept. An internal firewall is a security solution designed to protect a network from attacks that have already gotten past the perimeter.
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