Firewall Security Hacking
Firewall Security How to Protect Your Network from Firewall Hacking
📷📷firewall security
Firewall
security measures are one of the most basic cyber protection tools
that Australian Companies of all sizes use to prevent data breaches and
hacking. Network security firewalls filter out incoming traffic to
prevent any serious malicious files from being downloaded and block
hijackers & attackers from accessing sensitive company information
systems.
There are many types of
firewalls used in today's security architectures. Unfortunately,
cybercriminals have heaps of experience in circumventing them as well.
Many hijackers attackers know how to break a secured firewall and some
insider threats can bypass them entirely.
What
are firewalls useful for? if they can be breached? When aren’t
firewalls useful? How does firewall hacking work? Most importantly, what
can you do to protect against hijackers hackers and the threats they
pose to you entire company network firewall security systems?
As
i said earlier, network security firewalls are useful as a kind of
filter for incoming network traffic from all over the world. These
firewalls sit on the perimeter of your network, (internet
Connection-Server Services- Common hadrware scanning equipment can scan
incoming data packets for potential issues that could indicate a cyber
threat. The specific way that these firewalls look for malicious data
packets varies based on the firewall’s type.
For
example, a simple packet-filtering firewall might just check the basic
destination/origin metadata for an incoming packet without looking at
the packet’s contents. The actual file type an if the file meets a
encryption code but meanwhile, circuit-level gateway firewalls might
check the packet’s handshake protocols (again, without inspecting the
actual data in the packet). Deep-layer inspection firewalls look at the
contents of the data packet to check for malware and other issues,
which is better for finding malware code that might penetrate your
network firewall settings, but has a higher resource draw to match.
When
installed as a perimeter filter on the network, firewall security
tools of all types can be instrumental for keeping casual intrusion
attempts from succeeding. When installed on individual network security
endpoints, firewalls can create strong internal segmentation that
helps to slow down attackers that are already on the network (such as
when insider attacks happen).
Different
types of firewalls will provide protection against different things.
Some of the things that firewall security tools can protect against
included are:
Malware Insertion.
Deep packet inspection firewalls can be enormously useful for
identifying and stopping malware code installation attempts from
outside sources. for example a file that is disguised as a simple file might be more that just this. It could be a complex script with malicious code to crack your network security
Insider Attacks.
When network firewalls are installed on a per-app and/or per-endpoint
basis, they create a defense in depth strategy that helps limit the
spread of attacks that breach the perimeter—including insider attacks.
Data Exfiltration.
Firewalls can check more than just incoming traffic. By checking
outgoing traffic for suspicious activity (such as trying to export
sensitive data to an outside server), perimeter firewalls can help
detect and prevent data exfiltration from an advanced persistent threat
(APT).
The best way
that hackers use to bypass this method is to step over the firewall an
encrypt your data an then send it back over to the other side. No
firewall can detect this intrusion.
It’s
important to note that these are just a few examples of the types of
threats that network security firewalls can help to prevent. However,
each of these use cases requires a specific type of firewall setup—and
none are immune to firewall bypassing techniques.
While
useful as a basic cybersecurity measure, network firewall security
tools can't stop everything. As a matter of fact, attackers have spent
years figuring out ways to bypass network and device-based firewalls
entirely by using clever tactics or exploits.
Some examples of things that firewalls can’t protect against (at least, not 100%) include:
In
most small to large companies here in Australia, people are the
weakest links in the cybersecurity chain—and cybercriminals know this.
So, they launch phishing attacks against people in your network that
use emails or social media to trick people into downloading malware,
approving fake invoices, or surrendering sensitive data. This way is
just the hardest but sometimes the easiest way because the end user
doesnt have a clue of any security protocal to say the least even
telstra an the large companies dont train the every staff member not to
open suspicious emails. But you cant fool that nerd who sits at his desk
24 hours a day 7 days a week scanning every packet that comes through.
Malicious Use of Authorized Accounts/Devices
Most
firewalls are configured to defend against outside threats. Thus, they
often aren’t ready to guard against someone using a legitimate user
account and/or pre-registered access device in a malicious manner.
Internal firewalls can help curtail this, but they need to be carefully
configured to stop malicious use while still allowing legitimate
traffic to proceed unimpeded.
DDoS
attacks seek to overwhelm cybersecurity defenses via sheer weight of
volume (or by leveraging certain exploits to overload target systems).
While some firewalls can efficiently drop traffic without overly
impacting network performance, others might actually make DDoS attacks
worse by trying to scrutinize every data packet in detail. In either
case, firewall security measures can only do so much in the face of an
attack designed to overload their capabilities.
Unknown Exploits/Vulnerabilities
If
there are previously-unknown exploits and vulnerabilities in either
the firewall or the network assets it’s protecting, then attackers may
be able to use them to breach the network. This is why vulnerability
testing and management is so crucial to cybersecurity.
Direct Physical Access
If
a cybercriminal can walk straight up to a computer, server, or data
storage drive and take it, no amount of network security firewall
solutions will ever be enough to protect your information.
So,
to answer the question: “Can firewalls be hacked?” the short answer
is: “yes.” Unfortunately, there are all too many cybercriminals who
know how to hack a firewall or how to bypass it entirely to achieve
their objectives.
While
there are plenty of firewall hacking or bypassing tricks that
cybercriminals can use to break or get past your network firewalls, that
doesn’t mean you’re completely helpless and that you shouldn’t bother.
Instead, it’s important to recognize the risks you face and to take
proactive measures to limit them.
Although
there is no fool proof solution that will 100% guarantee that you’ll
never face a cybersecurity breach, there are some things that you can
do to manage your vulnerabilities and risk. Some specific things you
can do to limit your risk include:
We recommend REDHAT firewall solutions some of the best security protocols till today are developed here. Click Here
Using Multiple Firewall Solutions at Different Levels
No
one firewall, no matter how robust, will ever be proof against all
attacks. So, when creating a defense in depth strategy that segments
your network and apps, consider using multiple firewall solutions so
the same exploits and vulnerabilities won’t work against all of your
network firewalls.
Stay on Top of Security Patches/Updates
Many
attacks leverage known vulnerabilities in popular software and
security tools. These vulnerabilities frequently have security patches
that fix the issue, but many organizations are behind schedule on
applying them (which leaves the organization vulnerable). By applying
security patches to your hacker protection software, you can keep
cybercriminals out more easily.
Hijacked
user accounts are a common tool for attackers to bypass firewall
security tools. So, making it harder to steal and use account
credentials can help limit the risk of a breach. Setting strong
password policies (8+ characters long, use case-sensitive letters,
adding special characters, etc.) and applying multifactor authentication
can help prevent account hijacking.
Penetration
testing can help identify previously-unknown security vulnerabilities
in the apps and firewalls that your organization uses. Once discovered,
you can start taking steps to close these security gaps (hopefully
before an attacker can use them). Some common measures include applying
custom patches to software code and firewall rules, or replacing the
vulnerable solution with something that is better-protected.
These
are just a few of the potential fixes for the different ways that
hackers can bypass firewall security. Need help optimizing your
cybersecurity strategy? Reach out to the Nerdcore Australia team today!
Author nerdcore Australia
