Check Point – NGFR

27 ივნ, 2024

Check Point NGFirewall is ranked 2nd among the world’s leading brands offering Firewall solutions. As a result of the user survey, we learn that its ratings range from 8-10 points out of a 10-point system. Very often Check Point Firewall – Fortinet Firewall They compare. (see the blog). Check Point NGFW is popular with the large enterprise segment, which accounts for 55% of its customers.

What is Firewall

A firewall is hardware/software that controls and filters incoming/outgoing packets. Its main task is to protect the local network or individual nodes from unauthorized (dangerous) access. The firewall selects the packets to be “passed” in the traffic according to the established rules and policies, which means that the decision ensures that the network is arranged according to your wishes.

What does the firewall protect us from?

If we’re talking about incoming and outgoing traffic, it’s important to know what paths they take and what role the firewall plays in their journey. We need to know the term OSI LAYERS (The Open Systems Interconnection), i.e. open systems interconnection model. OSI describes the seven layers that computer systems use to communicate over a network. It is these seven layers that incoming and outgoing packets pass through to reach us and vice versa. OSI is divided into upper and lower layers.

We need to know the term OSI LAYERS (The Open Systems Interconnection), i.e. open systems interconnection model.

OSI describes the seven layers that computer systems use to communicate over a network. It is these seven layers that incoming and outgoing packets pass through to reach us and vice versa. OSI is divided into upper and lower layers.

Application Layer

The application layer is used by end-user software such as web browsers and email clients. It provides protocols that allow the software to send and receive information and present meaningful data to users. A few examples of application layer protocols are the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Post Office Protocol (POP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), and Domain Name System (DNS).

Presentation Layer

The presentation layer prepares data for the session layer. It is based on established protocol. Specifies how to encrypt and compress data. The presentation layer receives any data transmitted by the application layer and prepares it for transmission to the session layer.

Session layer

The session layer creates communication channels between devices called sessions. It is the session layer that is needed to ensure that the communication channels are open and everything is functioning properly during the data transfer.

Transport Layer

The transport layer processes information between devices that communicate with each other (end-to-end). Communication (information exchange) management involves taking data from the session layer and dividing it into parts called segments. At the receiving device, the transport layer reassembles segments that travel through the session layer to your screen. This layer uses protocols such as TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) to transmit data.

At the same level, TCP/UDP ports are defined (application layer protocols have predefined ports, for example, FTP – 25 ports, HTTP – 80 ports, etc.), through which the traditional firewall performs filtering. That is, we can open access to the network on 25 ports and close the rest through the firewall, which means that only requests coming to the 25th port will enter the network.

Network layer

The network layer provides data transfer between devices. The network layer divides the segments that are transmitted from the transport layer. They are also referred to as packages. Also the network layer acts as an efficiency tool. It determines the optimal path required for the data to reach its destination. This function is called “routing”.

data link layer

The data link layer establishes and terminates a connection between two physically-connected nodes on a network. It breaks up packets into frames and sends them from source to destination. This layer is composed of two parts—Logical Link Control (LLC), which identifies network protocols, performs error checking and synchronizes frames, and Media Access Control (MAC) which uses MAC addresses to connect devices and define permissions to transmit and receive data.

Physical Layer

The physical layer includes the physical equipment that transmits data such as L1 switches and cables. In this layer, Data is converted into 1’s and 0’s. The physical layer handles the communication between the device (computer, server, network printer, and other network equipment) and the data transmission medium (optical or copper cable). The physical layer includes various components: cables, radio frequency used to transmit data, Wi-Fi, required voltages and types of ports.

Check Point NGFR Features

Check Point NGFW uses packet inspection to identify and control devices in traffic. It also has features such as user control over the network. Integrated intrusion prevention (IPS) (see blog). As well as more advanced malware prevention capabilities, such as sandboxing.

Robust security: Check Point NGFW provides threat prevention through SandBlast Zero Day protection. SandBlast (SandBlast Zero-Day Protection is an innovative solution that stops unknown malware, targeted attacks from entering the network)

Constantly scans outgoing network traffic to protect against exploits and vulnerabilities. If a problem is detected, suspicious files are blocked until the administrator checks them and indicates the implementation of appropriate operations.

Security at hyperscale

With this feature, you have the opportunity to test your own network, carry out an attack on existing information yourself, and based on the experience gained (eg: discovered weaknesses) easily deal with future hacking attacks.

Unified management

Check Point’s SmartConsole makes it easy to manage your network security environment and policies. With SmartConsole you can manage all firewall ports simultaneously and install databases from one place. Unified management control across the network increases the efficiency of security operations and reduces IT costs.

Remote access

Through the VPN protocol, the feature provides remote access, allowing you to manage the network from your preferred location.

Users Ratings

Check Point NGFW stands out from the competition for many reasons. Two main differentiating features are the intrusion prevention system IPS function and its centralized management, which makes it very easy to implement firewall policies.
The network administrator of the Sekretaría de Finanzas de Aguascalientes writes:
“Package inspection has helped us a lot in detecting traffic problems that could have been the biggest threat to the company. Firewall policy configuration allowed us to maintain control over users for each facility within our company.”
David, Senior Network Engineer, notes: The best feature is centralized management. With centralized management, we can easily deploy and manage multiple firewalls, as well as create their diagrams and collect data.”