Why Endpoint Firewalls? Server-Based Firewall Protection for Highly Regulated, Defense-in-Depth Scenarios - Atomicorp - Own Your Security. Protect Your Data.

Cloud- and network-based firewalls comprise the majority of firewall deployments today, but they aren’t the solution for every organization, every use case, every threat. Atomic OSSEC endpoint firewall protection offers advantages remote firewall coverage cannot.

What Are the Different Types of Firewalls?

Fundamental differences exist between remote cloud and network firewalls and endpoint firewalls. 

Endpoint firewalls reside directly on individual servers, such as web servers, database servers, jump servers, and cloud instances, monitoring and controlling traffic for that specific host. These server-based firewalls provide deep context, understanding processes, user IDs, and application behavior, empowering security specific to that server’s workload.

Network firewalls exist at network boundaries, controlling traffic between segments or the internet and your internal network. They focus on IP addresses, ports, and broader application types, acting as a gatekeeper for network traffic. Cloud firewalls function similarly to network firewalls but are integrated with cloud infrastructure, securing cloud workloads and traffic within and between cloud resources.

Whereas cloud- and network-based firewall deployments might offer greater scalability and centralized data management, on-device endpoint firewall deployments are still preferred or required by many security organizations. Some enterprises employ both server-based firewalls and cloud and network firewalls for zero trust security architecture, defense in depth, specialized protection, granular control, and to meet specific security requirements.

Learn more about the endpoint firewall protection from Atomicorp.

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Advantages of the Firewall on Server?

The Atomic OSSEC endpoint firewall capability provides the following advantages:

• Device specific protection, even when off network. Network or cloud firewalls are only for the routed traffic. These firewalls can be bypassed by exploiting configuration errors or through lateral movement or insider threats. The Atomic OSSEC extended detection and response (XDR) solution comes with on-device protection, OS hardening, and server isolation to block unwanted traffic locally. If one host is breached, a local firewall can limit what that attacker can reach next. In multi-tenant, co-located server situations, only permitted traffic reaches your instance.
• Deeper application control. Network- and cloud-based firewalls provide broad application detection without advanced host-related context or control. Atomic OSSEC detects and analyzes device, user and application events and details and behaviors, and can control traffic based on the application or application process, enabling control beyond just the port or IP. 
• More context aware. A network firewall provides less context and is more prone to false positives. With Atomic OSSEC server-based protection, you get fuller, more relevant data from the device and OS being monitored, such as FIM ‘who data’—and of the apps in use. This results in less false positives. 
• Defense in depth. Security is harder to bypass when protection is on device and involves blocking and layered protection. When it’s not, an intruder or malware can bypass security if the device is remote or outside a network or cloud. The Atomic OSSEC server-based firewall provides a backup layer of enforcement when a perimeter fails.
• Resiliency. Traditional network firewalls and remote cloud hubs require connectivity to protect the device. With endpoint firewall agents, protection is on, even if the device is disconnected from the network. The Atomic OSSEC endpoint solution also provides data loss prevention (DLP) and backs up every monitored file and system change, before and after. 
• Logging is detailed and per-device. With the network and cloud approach, the view is centralized but less granular. In contrast, host-based firewalls can enforce very specific rules for services running on that server. Atomic OSSEC provides a GUI so your SIEM data and detailed firewall log are analyzed and available for big picture reporting or forensic examination and artifacting.
• Reduced deployment complexity. Network and cloud approaches require time-consuming network configuration. The Atomic OSSEC endpoint firewall is integrated with the endpoint security agents.
• On-device endpoint firewalls are well-suited for isolated, highly regulated, or air-gapped data and system control environments. These environments—and associated U.S. Department of Defense requirements such as Impact Level 5 (IL5) and DFARS—mandate extremely stringent security controls for any cloud or network services used to store, process, or transmit sensitive government data.

Although in many cases, a cloud-based firewall might offer Big Data and centralized management advantages, the Atomic OSSEC endpoint protection solution integrates Atomicorp and crowdsourced global threat intelligence (GTI) into its detection and response engine, enabling central management, enhanced SIEM, SOAR, and more. Atomic OSSEC enables IT security to centrally manage firewall policies across servers.

Atomicorp does also offer a powerful cloud-based firewall option, and an enterprise web application firewall (WAF) solution. Request a demo or contact us to learn more.

Don’t let cost misconceptions deter you from protecting your servers with advanced endpoint protection. Atomic OSSEC XDR with endpoint firewall is available for under $5 per agent per month.

Endpoint Agent Firewall Protection and Server Isolation

Atomic OSSEC provides strong OS-specific protection and server isolation directly on endpoints, which is key not only for defense in depth, but for organizations with highly regulated and/or air-gapped IT and OT environments where cloud access or untrusted network connections aren’t feasible or smart.

Atomic OSSEC’s endpoint firewall protection currently runs on Linux operating systems (OSs), including Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Rocky Linux, and Oracle Linux, versions 7, 8, and 9. These same server-based firewalling capabilities are coming to Windows and Ubuntu soon as well.

Contact us to inquire about security support for your server OS and endpoints.

Visit the Atomic OSSEC page.