Managed Firewall Protection

If You’re Using BYOD, Is Your Current Firewall Enough?

More and more companies are using the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model to help save money on infrastructure, especially smaller companies. With employees bringing their own computers, phones, and tablets, to use in the office, is your current firewall enough to protect your business? This is where managed firewall protection comes in.

Sixty percent of businesses currently use a BYOD model, and forecasters suggest that number will rise to 90 percent in the years to come. Since employees take these devices home for personal use, you never really know if they might have a virus, malware, or something else that could wreak havoc on your network. Fortunately, some of the worries are relieved with the use of a good firewall.

Some companies, however, go with a firewall they might buy at a big box store, thinking that will be enough for them. Ask yourself this, are you willing to risk the health and security of your network by using firewall software made more for home use than business use? Add to that the constant worry that employees might email themselves sensitive information or start file-sharing software that could open your network up to attacks and, well, maybe that budget firewall package doesn’t sound so appealing.

With the rise of ransomware and other viruses, it’s more important than ever to have increased network security. One way to do that is through managed services that help manage your firewall.

Benefits of Managed Firewall Protection

Let’s face it, there are going to be times when someone in your company is going to download a file or open an email that will end up costing you a lot of money. The email could look harmless enough and the download could look like it’s from the employee’s friend. Regardless, once it’s opened or downloaded, your network will become infected and you’ll have to pay to get it removed from your servers.

Firewall protection can protect your employees against virus downloads while surfing the web by blocking hidden backdoor downloads from happening unbeknownst to employees. A strong firewall can also scan any documents or files being downloaded, to add another layer of protection along with local anti-virus software on employee computers.

As for employees emailing themselves sensitive data or opening file-sharing websites, a good firewall can block all that from ever happening. It can also block employees from visiting suspect websites, and log their activity in the event an employee is engaged in activities that are not productive, or worse, harmful to the company.

Managed Firewall Protection Just Part of the Success

Just like any computer, a firewall has to be kept up to date to ensure the best protection. Virus definitions change daily, new websites looking to trick people into sharing sensitive information are always popping up, and you never know what a disgruntled employee might end up doing out of frustration down the road.

By making sure the firewall’s software, definitions, and block criteria are kept up to date, a company’s data and network have a much better chance of staying protected versus plugging in a firewall and simply walking away, figuring the job is done.

You wouldn’t plug in a new computer and not run updates to its operating system, nor would you install anti-virus protection and leave the definitions as they were when the software was released six months earlier.

It’s vitally important to make sure security across the network is kept up to date, and that most definitely includes the firewall, which is many times the first step of defense. By making sure your company’s firewall is proactively managed, you can rest easy knowing that it’s up to date, and you’re being notified of any potential threats directed against your network (and blocked), along with potentially hurtful web habits or activities from your employees inside the network itself.

Not Just Managed Firewall Protection, Total Network Security

The digital age has given us many tools we can use to make our jobs easier, especially for companies that use BYOD. Cloud servers and all the software that allows for remote workspaces are all possible now. Sadly, people with nefarious intent use software to steal or block you from using your information. These hacks get better and better every day.

At Swift Systems, our main focus is on your company and the health of your network. We leverage industry best practices for security policies and regulatory compliance and select best-in-class security products to minimize risk.

If you’re worried your firewall is not enough, or if you want to make sure your company’s network safety is in the hands of trained professionals, look no further than Swift Systems.

By enforcing password complexity rules, careful user access control, automatic screen locks, and educating our customers about the dangers of phishing and malware, we enhance security where our customers need it most – human interaction. This is especially important for BYOD businesses.

Check out our managed IT services to see if they are right for you, and contact Swift Systems today to find out just how we can help you.