Internet Gateway Security is put into place to protect businesses against the potential security impact of modern technology trends. Yet in our recent survey we found that out of 500 IT Executives, one in seven of hadn't updated their gateway security systems since 2009! In fact over half a million UK businesses are potentially exposed to security attacks with old or untested gateway security. In this whitepaper we go over what is meant by internet gateway security, how cyber-threats have changed over the years and the three core pillars of defence against these attacks. To download the full paper visit: http://www.icomm.co.uk/Announcement-Modal-Pages/SonicWALL-Firewall-Whitepaper.aspx

1. Internet Gateway Security:
A state of the nation 2014
Executive Summary
With cyber attack methods growing increasingly
sophisticated many traditional internet gateway
solutions are no longer t for purpose. This
whitepaper reveals just how many organisations
are leaving themselves vulnerable to cyber
criminality by keeping hold of their legacy rewall.
We also examine how modern gateway security is
providing an appropriate defence to these more
complex threats and discuss what organisations
should consider when refreshing this technology.
[4283/FIREWALLWP/20140814/LH]
0121 248 7931
www.icomm.co.uk
Icomm Technologies Limited 45-55 Camden Street, Birmingham, B1 3BP.
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2. Internet Gateway Security: A state of the nation 2014
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of SMBs lack
knowledge of
firewall refresh
cycles
Approximately
782,240
UK businesses are at risk with old or
untested firewall technology
2
Introduction
Barely a week goes by without the media reporting a new cyber threat which is capable
of causing havoc. There are constant warnings of various forms of sophisticated malware
which have already infected thousands of computers across the UK. GameOver Zeus,
Cryptolocker and Shylock are just a few to hit the headlines this year.
Once networks are infected, these types of malware can give cybercriminals the ability
to steal corporate, personal or nancial details, encrypt les and hold them for ransom or
extort money from companies through denial of service (DoS) attacks.
The exact nature of the threats detailed in these media reports may change but the
accompanying quote from a relevant security expert is always the same, ‘in order to
protect yourself, keep your security defences up to date’. The three core pillars of
those defences include end point protection, gateway defence and software
patch updates.
Companies may be updating their client anti-virus and are regularly patching software,
but the Icomm Technologies Survey 2014 has revealed too many organisations are failing
to address the nal pillar by not upgrading their rewalls as part of their internet
gateway security.
In recent years cybercriminals have evolved their tactics in order to evade detection by
traditional rewall defences. Yet in many cases, the companies they target have not all
kept pace with this and some are still relying on legacy solutions which are no longer t
for purpose.
These organisations now need a next generation rewall which has the capability to
go deeper and inspect all tra c, regardless of the port and protocol. A modern rewall
solution can inspect even encrypted tra c and detect those threats.
Next generation rewalls are now also protecting businesses against the potential
security impact of modern technology trends, such as the consumerisation of IT and cloud
computing. These solutions can also provide granular control over website and application
usage, to ensure bandwidth is always available for the most critical business functions.
?
Many organisations are not
upgrading their firewalls
one sixth of companies
have never tested their firewall
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45-55 Camden Street,
Birmingham, B1 3BP.
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3. Internet Gateway Security: A state of the nation 2014
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A firewall older
than 3 years is
not fit for purpose
BUSINESSES small
3
Next generation fi rewall: an imperative
It is a disturbing fact that the methods deployed by cyber criminality will continue to
become more sophisticated. As a result, no one is 100% safe from attack.
Even the biggest technology rms such as Microsoft, Apple and Facebook - who you
would think could adequately defend themselves - have admitted to breaches.
From a nancial and reputational perspective, the consequences of these attacks can be
huge. In one of the largest global incidents to date, US retail giant Target saw the personal
and nancial details of up to 110 million customers compromised.
It is not just large companies being targeted, however. Research, by security rm
Symantec, has shown that 30% of all global cyber attacks are actually aimed at small
businesses - where defences are perceived to be weaker. Smaller targets may be less
lucrative to cybercriminals but it requires less e ort to attack several soft targets than one
which is large and well protected.
The security solution
The persistence of the threat, coupled with the increased complexity of these attacks,
has meant modern rewalls are now required to do much more than simply check where
tra c is coming from and going to. Cybercriminals have now found ways to con and trick
their way around these traditional defences.
“What is needed is deep packet inspection and that is what a next generation rewall
provides - it digs further down to check for a virus or an intrusion,” said Mark Lomas, IT
consultant at Icomm Technologies.
“If you have not refreshed your rewall within the last three years the chances are that you
are using a legacy rewall which is no longer t for purpose.”
In response to these evolving threats, security rms have rolled out rewalls in the last
few years which o er a more advanced defence. As cybercriminals are now capable of
smuggling malware passed traditional rewalls by burying it within encrypted tra c,
these solutions now provide SSL decryption and inspection.
“Today, up to 35% of enterprise tra c is secured using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
protocol. Cybercriminals know this, and they have begun to use SSL to hide their attacks.
Organisations which are still relying on legacy rewalls with no or limited SSL Inspection
capabilities can be compromised,” said Florian Malecki, International Product Marketing
Director at Dell Security.
No one is
100%
safe from attack.
30%
of all global cyber attacks
are aimed at
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4. Internet Gateway Security: A state of the nation 2014
4
Case Study
One potential consequence of
sticking with your legacy fi rewall
Icomm Technologies was privy to a damaging cyber attack on a small
business, which had been taking an ‘if it’s not broke, don’t x it’ approach
to rewalls. With a legacy solution in place, which was incapable of deep
packet inspection, the company’s defences proved ine ectual against the
attack. The company later approached Icomm for help.
The business found itself at the mercy of an aggressive hacker who
encrypted vital les and promised to expose sensitive information to the
company’s entire email contact book unless £500 was paid into a speci ed
bank account.
A word le left on the business owner’s computer read, ‘You have been
hacked’. Inside a menacing message threatened: “I do not require to do
much more work on my part to ruin you.”
The hacker, who was clearly well practised in this form of extortion,
cheekily demanded that the business quote a reference number when
making their payment.
This situation could have been avoided if the business had upgraded to a
next generation rewall beforehand.
have no plans to, or
claim they will never,
update their firewall 29%
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45-55 Camden Street,
Birmingham, B1 3BP.
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5. Internet Gateway Security: A state of the nation 2014
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5
Too many still at risk
As more high pro le cyber attack incidents have hit the headlines, there has been a
dawning realisation within organisations that they really need to take cyber security
seriously.
The Icomm Technologies Internet Gateway Security Survey, which was conducted with
more than 500 IT executives within small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) in the UK,
revealed that most have taken action by refreshing their rewall.
The study showed that 61% rms have upgraded their rewall protection within the last
30 months - 41% have done so within the last 18 months. However, the results also reveal
that many organisations are still relying on traditional solutions.
The survey found 14% of organisations have not, or are unsure whether they have,
upgraded their rewall since 2009. This means one in every seven SMBs in the UK is likely
to have inadequate protection against the attack methods currently being deployed by
cyber criminals.
Testing
It is one thing to deploy a next generation rewall but it is another checking the solution
is actually doing its job. It is recommended that companies check their rewall with
penetration testing at least once a year on average. For companies storing sensitive
information, such as their customer’s personal or nancial details, this might take place
quarterly.
“A lot of people seem to think because they have a rewall they are fully protected when
they might not have the right policies in place. Penetration testing is important to ensure
everything is working as it should,” said Malecki.
“As Verizon’s recent Data Breach survey has shown, when a business is compromised it can
be a long time before that is discovered and quite often it is the third parties doing these
penetration tests that are the ones who are nding these breaches.”
The Icomm survey found that more than three quarters (77%) of SMBs do carry out a
penetration test at least once a year - almost half (48%) test twice a year or even more
frequently. However, the study found that a worrying 16% have never tested their
firewall. This means that nearly one in every six SMBs in the UK has no way of knowing
whether their rewall is working or not.
one in six
SMBs have never
tested their firewall
one in seven
SMBs have inadequate protection
penetration tests should
happen at least once a year
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45-55 Camden Street,
Birmingham, B1 3BP.
0121 248 7931
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6. Internet Gateway Security: A state of the nation 2014
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The refresh cycle
Like any element of the IT infrastructure, the rewall protecting an organisation’s network
should be refreshed periodically. Companies are advised to upgrade their rewall every
three to ve years on average - as they would their servers.
This refresh is not just to ensure the solution in place is o ering an adequate defence
against evolving threats, it is also about protecting performance. If a company is growing,
the organisation needs a rewall that can handle increased tra c and prevent bottlenecks.
The Icomm survey revealed the majority of rms acknowledge the need for this refresh
and have plans to carry this out within the next ve years. The research did reveal,
however, that nearly a third (29%) say they have no plans to, or will never, upgrade their
rewall.
When asked how often they believed they should refresh their rewall, a quarter (25%) of
respondents replied ‘at the end of its life’.
Lomas said: “It would be interesting to know when someone thinks their rewall is broken,
as it’s not a case of checking whether the lights are on.
“If you have a traditional rewall it will not be protecting you in the same way it was when
you bought it - so in my eyes it is already broken.”
Many refresh
their firewall
every five years
think a firewall doesn’t
need refreshing
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45-55 Camden Street,
Birmingham, B1 3BP.
0121 248 7931
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7. Internet Gateway Security: A state of the nation 2014
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What to consider when upgrading your Firewall
It is not unusual for businesses to acquire their rewall solution as an add-on, when buying
another solution. This ‘one stop shop’ approach when procuring one of the key pillars in an
organisation’s security defences is questionable.
The level of integration a rewall needs with other elements of the IT infrastructure is
limited. Therefore, the purchasing decision should be independent to any other form of
procurement. Organisations are free to deploy a best of breed solution which o ers the
deep packet inspection, with decryption and anti-evasion technology, mentioned above.
Lomas said: “We would always advocate a consultancy led approach to rewalls as some
vendors do o er a greater depth of solution than others. For some, security is their main
focus but there are others which are just lling out their portfolios.”
Protecting productivity
Organisations should also consider technology trends, such as the consumerisation of IT
and cloud computing, which can impact on internet bandwidth. Next generation rewalls
are capable of protecting an organisation’s bandwidth performance by providing a
granular level of control.
This allows organisations to manage behaviour on certain websites or applications
and specify which teams or individuals are given access. For example, the marketing
department may be given permission to promote the business on consumer websites
such as Facebook and YouTube but at the same time a next generation rewall can curtail
any excessive video streaming or gaming on these platforms.
At times when there is excessive demand placed on the internet, a next generation rewall
can also take action to protect vital cloud applications and reduce the bandwidth available
to non-essential functions.
Malecki explains: “If an England football game is on, some companies will be happy to let
their sta stream this but if this a ected bandwidth it could prevent access to essential
applications such as Salesforce.com or another CRM system. A next generation rewall
will, however, allow you to reserve a percentage of the bandwidth for critical applications
to ensure the business remains productive at these times.”
have no plans to
upgrade at all
Icomm Technologies Limited
45-55 Camden Street,
Birmingham, B1 3BP.
0121 248 7931
www.icomm.co.uk

8. Internet Gateway Security: A state of the nation 2014
Conclusion
Firewall manufacturers have been forced into taking some great strides forward in recent years, in response to
the nefarious activities of cybercriminals. But with approximately one in seven SMBs still likely to be deploying
traditional solutions, it is clear many organisations are still leaving themselves vulnerable to attack.
Furthermore, as IT consumerisation and cloud computing threaten to impact on crucial functionality, businesses
could well be losing competitive advantage by not deploying next generation solutions which protect
productivity.
With cyber attacks and internet usage both destined to grow rapidly in the coming years, the third of
businesses who have no plans to upgrade their rewall will also need to rethink their approach. Otherwise their
performance will su er, or worse still they could leave themselves at the mercy of increasingly sophisticated
cybercriminals.
For further information and support on refreshing, testing and upgrading your
fi rewall, please get in touch with Icomm Technologies on 0121 248 7931 or at
www.icomm.co.uk
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0121 248 7931
www.icomm.co.uk
Icomm Technologies Limited 45-55 Camden Street, Birmingham, B1 3BP.
8