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Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls

Advanced protection with machine learning and AI-powered firewalls

Palo Alto Networks is a global leader in cybersecurity, recognized for its Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs), which provide advanced threat prevention, expanded visibility, and AI-powered security for modern organizations. Unlike traditional firewalls, which rely on port filtering, Palo Alto NGFW firewalls use a combination of App-ID, User-ID, Content-ID, and Machine Learning (ML) to provide granular control, intrusion prevention, and automatic threat mitigation.

Solution overview

Palo Alto’s Next-Generation Firewalls detect known and zero-day threats, including encrypted traffic, using information collected from thousands of locations globally, thereby reducing risk and preventing a wide range of attacks. In addition, they allow users access to data and applications based on business requirements and prevent credentials from being stolen as well as used by attackers.

PAN-OS is the software that runs on all Palo Alto Networks NGFWs. With technologies natively integrated into PAN-OS, organizations have complete visibility and control over the applications used by all users and devices in any location, at any time. Moreover, as a result of machine learning and constantly updating signatures, the firewall is constantly reprogrammed with the latest information, ensuring that all traffic is protected against threats.

Main functionalities

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls operate based on the following mechanisms:

Intelligent firewall for applications and users

App-ID identifies and controls apps regardless of port, protocol, or encryption, providing advanced protection. User-ID enforces security policies based on user identity, integrating with Active Directory (AD), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), and Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) for more accurate and secure access control.

Advanced Threat Prevention

Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention is the industry's first Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) that stops zero-day attacks inline, in real time. In addition to advanced prevention of known threats, it reliably blocks never-before-seen exploits and command-and-control attacks using the industry's only inline deep learning engines that offer 60% more protection against zero-day injection attacks than traditional IPS.

Advanced URL Filtering

Provides real-time web prevention, analyzing web traffic as it is generated and blocking new inline threats. Detect and prevent modern web attacks with inline machine learning (ML)-based web security that blocks new and hard-to-detect malicious URLs. Thanks to Palo Alto's advanced technologies, 76% of malicious URLs are discovered 24 hours in advance, compared to other providers.

Wildfire

Cloud malware analysis solution. Using innovative inline machine learning models trained on the industry's largest malware database, it prevents up to 95% of unknown inline malware in real-time, without compromising business productivity or deploying additional sensors.

DNS Security

Protects against domain-generated algorithms (DGAs), phishing, and DNS tunneling. Prevents DNS hijacking attacks with real-time DNS response analysis and automatic discovery and monitoring of your organization's publicly exposed domains to reduce the risk of a DNS-level attack. The Palo Alto Networks DNS Security service offers 40% higher threat coverage than other providers.

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

Locate sensitive organization data. Identifies data-at-rest and data-in-transit across your organization's network. Monitors and prevents insecure data transfers and non-compliance by enforcing unified protection policies. Meet compliance and data privacy requirements through custom policies that support GDPR, PCI DSS, HIPAA, CCPA, and more.

Prisma SD-WAN

Ensures end-to-end performance for all applications, including SaaS and GenAI. It offers built-in Zero Trust security with precise visibility into users, applications, and devices, including IoT. In addition, it uses Artificial Intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) and Autonomous Digital Experience Management (ADEM) to automate network operations and provide an exceptional user experience.

GlobalProtect

The GlobalProtect Network Security Client for Endpoints enables organizations to protect their mobile workforce by extending the Next-Generation Security Platform to all users, regardless of location. It secures traffic by applying the platform's capabilities to understand app usage, associate traffic with users and devices, and enforce security policies.

IoT Security

Discover 90% of devices within the first 48 hours. Extend visibility across all devices for IT and security teams. Enterprise IoT Security uses a patented, three-tier machine learning (ML) model combined with Palo Alto App-ID technology and crowdsourced telemetry. ML technology ensures speed, accuracy, and scalability in device profiling to reveal device type, vendor, model, and more than 50 unique device attributes.

Use Cases

Palo Alto NGFW firewalls are available as hardware, virtual (VM series), and cloud-native (CN series) appliances, providing continuous security across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.

1. Physical NGFW (PA-Series):

Are designed for on-premises data centers, organizations, and branch offices. Entry-Level models (PA-400, PA-800) are best suited for SMEs and subsidiaries, offering basic performance. The Mid-Range models (PA-3200, PA-5200) offer scalable performance for organizations, ensuring an efficient long-term solution. The High-End models (PA-7000 Series) are carrier-grade, chassis-based firewalls that offer up to 1 Tbps throughput, making them ideal for high-performance environments.

2. Virtual NGFW (VM-Series):

Are designed for virtualized environments (VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, KVM, Nutanix, OpenStack). They are cloud-ready, with support for deployment in AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. It also offers auto-scaling, API-based automation, and Terraform integration functionality.

3. Cloud-Native NGFW (CN-Series):

Are containerized firewalls designed for Kubernetes and microservices security. Provides granular inspection of containerized traffic with native integration into Kubernetes clusters. It also provides real-time security for cloud workloads.

What benefits do Palo Alto firewalls offer?

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls bring the following benefits:

Granular control over applications and secure use

Enables secure use of applications (including software-as-a-service applications) and content by classifying all traffic, regardless of port. It ensures that high-risk apps and dangerous behaviors (such as file sharing) are blocked by identifying apps based on their type, not just protocol and port. Also, SSL-encrypted traffic can be decrypted and inspected to prevent threats.

Threat prevention

Protects the network against viruses, worms, spyware and other types of malicious traffic by adapting according to the application and the source of traffic.

Centralized management through Panorama

You can manage each firewall through an intuitive web interface or command-line interface (CLI), or you can centrally manage all firewalls through Panorama™'s centralized management system, which features a web interface very similar to that of Palo Alto Networks' firewalls.

Malware analysis and reporting

The WildFire service analyzes and reports in detail the malware that passes through the firewall, and the integration with the AutoFocus service allows you to assess risks at the organizational, industry and global levels.

Detailed traffic visibility

Benefit from extensive reports, logs, and notification mechanisms to gain an in-depth understanding of network traffic and security events, identifying the applications with the most traffic and the highest security risk.

Versatility and speed in the network

The Palo Alto Networks firewall can complement or replace the existing firewall in the organization and can be transparently installed on any network or configured to support a switched or routed environment. Multigigabit speeds and single-pass processing architecture provide these services with little to no impact on network latency.

Ensures data center security

Protect data centers (including virtualized ones) by segmenting data and applications and applying Zero Trust.

Global security for mobile devices

GlobalProtect provides secure connectivity for client systems, such as laptops used in the field, providing easy logging and protection, anywhere in the world.

Resilient, fail-safe operations

High Availability (HA) support guarantees automatic failover in the event of any hardware or software failures. In the event that an equipment or system is not functioning properly, traffic is automatically redirected, guaranteeing continuity of services without interruptions or impact on the business.

Services provided by Safetech Innovations

Safetech Innovations is a partner of Palo Alto Networks in the NextWave program, at the "Innovator" level with the Hardware Firewall specialization. Within this partnership, Safetech Innovations has a team of certified Palo Alto Networks Sales Product Specialist (SPS) - Hardware Firewall and Palo Alto Networks Systems Engineer (PSE) - Hardware Firewall.

Thus, Safetech has the necessary expertise to effectively recommend, install and configure Palo Alto firewalls, whether physical or virtual, for superior cyber protection, completely adapted to the needs and objectives of each organization.

Safetech Innovations is one of the most experienced cyber security companies in Romania. We have 14 years of activity and over 600 completed projects in this field for clients from multiple economic sectors.

Currently, Safetech Innovations employs over 70 employees, of which 40 are members of the technical team.

By using Safetech's implementation and support services, you reduce deployment risks, and benefit from customization, scalability, and flexibility, as well as ongoing post-deployment support.

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