--- title: "SOPHOS 7 DEADLY IT SINS: NO 5 – FAULTY FIREWALL" description: Strengthen your firewall defense and overcome the sin of faulty firewall in Sophos guide to the 7 deadly IT sins. image: https://blog.vlcm.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Sin5.png?t=1534484268673&width=600&name=Sin5.png --- [![VLCM Getting IT Right Logo](https://blog.vlcm.com/hubfs/_vlcmlogos/vlcm%20tagline.svg "VLCM Getting IT Right Logo")](https://www.vlcm.com) # SOPHOS 7 DEADLY IT SINS: NO 5 – FAULTY FIREWALL ![](https://blog.vlcm.com/hubfs/vlcm.png) Jared Quan August 17, 2018 [mailto:?subject=[SUBJECT]&body=Check%20out%20this%20site%20https://blog.vlcm.com/blog/ne/sophos-7-deadly-it-sins-no-5-faulty-firewall](mailto:?subject=[SUBJECT]&body=Check%20out%20this%20site%20https://blog.vlcm.com/blog/ne/sophos-7-deadly-it-sins-no-5-faulty-firewall) Just like the Marvel Avengers, firewalls are your first line of defense against the evils of the universe. In the recent movie, *Avengers: Age of Ultron,* Tony Stark attempts to create the next generation of defense using artificial intelligence to surpass human limitations. Most IT directors feel the same way about their firewalls. When firewalls were first deployed, all that was needed was a physical wall to fend off the world. Today, IT directors need bigger, stronger, and smarter firewalls to better defend their networks. That is why "Faulty Firewall" has a spot on [SOPHOS list of 7 deadly IT sins.](https://go.vlcmtech.com/7-deadly-it-sins)   ## ![Sin5](https://blog.vlcm.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Sin5.png?t=1534484268673&width=600&name=Sin5.png "Sin5") ## A FAULTY FIREWALL INVITES EVIL "VILLAINS" INTO YOUR NETWORK. BANDWIDTH DEMANDS, ADVANCED THREATS, MANAGEMENT COMPLEXITY, AND LIMITED VISIBILITY ALL HAVE THE POWER TO TAKE DOWN YOUR FIREWALL.  When firewalls were first being deployed, they were specifically designed for wired networks and were a literal physical barrier for packets. This is no longer the case. Firewalls are not dumb barriers with a few holes drilled through them any longer. They are intelligent gatekeepers, more like the border patrol of a nation. “I suppose what I am really proposing here is that we stop calling firewalls, firewalls," said Chester Wisniewski, the Senior Security Adviser at Sophos, "I'm partial to 'intelligent security gateways.'" Too often we read the headlines and hear about another network intrusion that begins about 'Criminals obtaining valid network credentials were able to explore the network and smuggle gigabytes of personal information,' or 'Big retail credit card systems hacked again!' With a portion of the workforce currently sitting in a cybercafe, airport, hotel or home office; are we safe to think that our employees are protected inside a faulty firewall? ## MODERN FIREWALLS ARE IMPRESSIVELY EQUIPPED TO HELP OUT WITH THESE PROBLEMS. [Faulty Firewall](https://vimeo.com/118064438) from [Sophos](https://vimeo.com/user18762791) on [Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/).   When battling a faulty fire wall, it's safe to have the following resources tucked inside your utility belt:    | ### MULTI-LAYERED PROTECTION | ### INTEGRATED WEB, EMAIL, AND ENDPOINT PROTECTION | | --- | --- | | ### WEB MALWARE DETECTION | ### ADVANCED WEB MALWARE DETECTION THAT CAN EMULATE JAVASCRIPT | | ### BLOCK NETWORK ATTACKS | ### NEXT-GEN FIREWALL AND IPS BLOCK NETWORK ATTACKS | | ### BLOCK CALLS-HOME | ### LOOK ACROSS A VARIETY OF NETWORK TRAFFIC VECTORS TO IDENTIFY C&C TRAFFIC | | ### IDENTIFY INFECTED SYSTEMS | ### REPORT AND ALERT ON INFECTED HOSTS | | ### SELECTIVE SANDBOXING | ### SUSPICIOUS SAMPLES REPRESENTING POTENTIAL UNKNOWN THREATS |   Just as each team member of the Avengers strengthen the team in an area of weakness, SOPHOS and VLCM can help you shore up any weak spot you may have so you won’t be tempted to turn green with anger and start smashing things. [![Learn More About How to Overcome This IT Sin](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/416647/db936d81-cb04-4bc1-a9f3-9a195aba7134.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/416647/db936d81-cb04-4bc1-a9f3-9a195aba7134) **Copyright VLCM   |  All Rights Reserved  |  [Privacy](https://www.vlcm.com/privacy)** - [![facebook icon](https://blog.vlcm.com/hs-fs/hubfs/i-img/social-fa.png?t=1444107731905&width=22&name=social-fa.png "facebook icon")](https://www.facebook.com/VLCMtech/)[![linkedin icon](https://blog.vlcm.com/hs-fs/hubfs/i-img/social-in.png?t=1444107731905&width=22&name=social-in.png "linkedin icon") ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/valcom-vlcm-) [![instagram icon](https://blog.vlcm.com/hs-fs/hubfs/i-img/social-phot.png?t=1444107731905&width=22&name=social-phot.png "instagram icon") ](https://www.instagram.com/vlcmtech/) [![twitter icon](https://blog.vlcm.com/hs-fs/hubfs/i-img/social-twi.png?t=1444107731905&width=22&name=social-twi.png "twitter icon") ](https://twitter.com/vlcmtech)[![shopping cart icon](https://blog.vlcm.com/hs-fs/hubfs/cart.png?width=24&name=cart.png "shopping cart icon") ](https://usm.channelonline.com/valcomslc/storesite/Login/?destination=/valcomslc/storesite/Search/Category/index.co) ![](https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=494756&fmt=gif)