What is a SD-WAN Firewall?

An SD-WAN firewall is a technology that enhances security by monitoring and managing inbound and outbound network traffic within a Software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN). SD-WAN solutions enable organizations to connect branch offices and remote workers more effectively and cost-efficiently by using a variety of low-cost transport services and intelligently directing traffic across the fastest channels.

To improve bandwidth and connection speeds, SD-WAN systems eliminate the hub-and-spoke model of traditional WANs, avoiding the need to route traffic through a central hub for inspection and control. The downside of this practice is that traffic is no longer protected by traditional security inspection technologies. To protect SD-WAN deployments from cyberattacks, malware and other threats, IT teams may deploy SD-WAN firewalls to stop threats, prevent intrusion and enforce access policies. SD-WAN firewalls may be deployed as remotely managed appliances or as cloud-based services delivered by an SD-WAN company. 

Traditional WAN technology is no longer able to keep up with the demands of hybrid workforces and modern, highly distributed IT environments. The standard WAN process of backhauling traffic from branch locations to a central data center for security inspection results in high levels of latency in network performance and poor user experiences that compromise productivity. Additionally, traditional WAN architecture relies on MPLS connections that are expensive to use and time-consuming to deploy. SD-WAN overcomes these limitations by enabling direct connections between remote users and the IT assets and cloud applications they rely on. SD-WAN also allows traffic to flow over a variety of less-expensive connections, intelligently routing data along the optimal path based on real-time network conditions and the needs of each application.

Because SD-WAN products bypass the traditional security inspection process that used to occur within a central data center, security functions must follow network traffic and move closer to sites and users at the edge. Firewalls are an important part of this security architecture, inspecting traffic at branch locations and filtering out malicious activity, suspicious traffic, potential data leaks and other threats. Legacy firewalls, however, are often not up to the task of securing traffic within an SD-WAN environment. These technologies offer only rudimentary visibility, inspect only lower TCP/IP layers and deliver only limited protection against an increasingly sophisticated threat landscape.

To overcome the limitations of legacy firewalls within an SD-WAN environment, security teams should look for solutions that integrate next-generation firewall technology within a secure SD-WAN solution.
 

To secure SD-WAN architecture, IT teams may deploy a Next-generation Firewall (NGFW) that overcomes the limitations of legacy firewall technology to protect organizations and their employees from a wide range of threats.

Features of a NGFW include:

• Deep packet inspection. NGFWs inspect data at each of the four TCP/IP communication layers – application, transport, IP/network and hardware/datalink. This enables next-gen firewalls to operate with application awareness, an understanding about which applications are receiving and generating traffic and the types of user and application behavior that may be expected in those traffic patterns.
• Automation and orchestration. NGFWs enable automatic deployment and instant updates that reduce the administrative burden on IT teams.
• Intrusion detection/prevention. Next-gen firewalls detect and prevent cyberattacks by inspecting traffic at higher TCP/IP layers and monitoring for potential attacks based on anomalous behavior or specific attack signatures.
• Application control. NGFWs provide real-time visibility into users and data interacting with applications, enabling high-risk applications to be identified and blocked when necessary.
• DDoS protection. NGFWs are stateful technologies that check the characteristics of each connection to detect the many different types of illegitimate requests that may comprise a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.
• Unified threat management (UTM). NGFW solutions offer comprehensive security services that include antivirus, content filtering, malware infection and mitigation.

Solutions with integrated, next-generation SD-WAN firewalls offer key benefits over the use of legacy, standalone firewall technologies.

• Reduce complexity. Solutions with an integrated SD-WAN firewall enable branches to minimize the complexity of managing networking and security technology by consolidating hardware and centralizing administration. Secure SD-WAN software accelerates deployment, simplifies management and reduces the hardware footprint when installed as a virtual appliance.
• Enforce policies consistently. Because legacy firewalls must be configured manually, it’s difficult to consistently enforce policies across all locations. A secure SD-WAN firewall provides an end-to-end solution where policies can be configured, managed and enforced from a central location.
• Support Zero Trust and SASE initiatives. Secure SD-WAN firewalls may operate closely with Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs), Secure Web Gateways (SWGs) and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) technology to implement a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture and a Zero Trust approach to network security.
• Secure direct-to-cloud connections. A secure SD-WAN firewall enables users to securely connect to the cloud services and SaaS apps they rely on, ensuring stronger performance and higher quality user experiences.

As a leading cybersecurity and SD-WAN vendor, Forcepoint offers both a top-rated NGFW and a secure SD-WAN solution. 

Forcepoint empowers IT teams to manage and maintain a secure network at scale, thanks to built-in Secure SD-WAN, Zero Trust Network Access controls and the ability to push out unified policies globally with one click. A central console provides 360° visibility to quickly identify risks while industry-leading integrated intrusion detection and prevention help mitigate threats before they become a problem.

Forcepoint FlexEdge Secure SD-WAN lets users easily connect to any application while optimizing performance and reducing costs through a SASE architecture. MultiLink™ connectivity improves application performance and lowers SD-WAN cost, and its advanced security functionality reduces risk with advanced multi-layer inspection, intrusion prevention, DNS sinkholing and other security measures. With Forcepoint, IT teams get a secure SD-WAN firewall solution that simplifies networking connectivity, slashes networking costs and significantly enhances network security.