Top 4 Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) Compared

Next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) act as an organization’s first line of defense against cyber threats. They inspect and filter all traffic entering and leaving the enterprise network to block attempted malware infections and data exfiltration.

Below, we discuss some of the key features that a truly effective NGFW should offer, and then compare the top NGFW vendors.

REQUEST A DEMO 2024 MIERCOM NGFW BENCHMARK REPORT

The Need for a Strong Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW)

NGFWs have always been a vital component of an organization’s security architecture, but the need for them has only increased in recent years. Several high-profile security incidents – such as SolarWinds, Microsoft Exchange Server, and Colonial Pipeline hacks – have demonstrated the increasing sophistication of cyber threat actors.

Additionally, the sudden shift to remote work and cloud computing due to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes in organizations’ IT infrastructures.

With these changes come new security challenges and exposure to cyber threats. In the modern world, the question of whether an organization will be targeted by a cyberattack is not one of “if” but “when”.

Therefore, companies need top-tier security solutions to prevent and block attempted cyberattacks, and a strong NGFW is the cornerstone of any cybersecurity deployment. When attempting to choose between NGFW vendors, it can be difficult to identify the criteria to base decisions on.

Jump directly to the sections below:

The Key factors
Comparing the top vendors
Select the right Vendor

Key Factors to Consider When Choosing a NGFW

Comparing the Top NGFW Vendors

A number of different vendors offer NGFW solutions. However, four vendors stand out from the rest. When choosing between Check Point, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, and Cisco, keep the following pros and cons in mind.

Check Point is the industry leader in NGFWs with 22 years of recognition by Gartner as a Leader in the space. Some of the features that differentiate Check Point NGFWs from other vendors include:

• Best Operational Efficiency: Check Point Security Management is the industry’s most integrated and robust platform managing security at all sizes.
• Proven and Most Consistent Track Record: Check Point has been a leader in network security since 1997.
• Security Comes First: Check Point builds & develops its security solution securely – right from the start.
• Best Prevention: Real-time threat prevention is a core philosophy of Check Point solutions.
• Best-in-class Hyperscale Platform: Check Point’s hyperscale solutions enable growth with the best ROI in the industry.

Fortinet shows attractiveness with high performance at low cost, but when it comes to NGFW it is not always the case. Furthermore, it shows more complexity managing it with more management complexity. Fortinet solutions have significant shortcomings, including:

• Perception Gap: Hardware-based Forti-ASIC acceleration is limited to firewall traffic only. Next-Gen advanced security engines lack the same acceleration, creating significant performance degradation.
• SMB Oriented: Limited capabilities with enterprise-grade requirements when it comes to managing complex environments.
• Vulnerable Solutions: 98 High & Critical vulnerabilities have been discovered in Fortinet products between 2021-2023 (read FBI & CISA warning), leaving customers exposed.

Palo Alto Networks (PAN) offers a middle-of-the-road NGFW by cutting corners with security, in some cases preferring performance over security. It has an unacceptable number of vulnerabilities on its own security products (read swarm of PAN-OS vulnerabilities). In many cases, it is more complex than competing vendors.

The main shortcomings of PAN NGFWs include:

• Response-Focused: With advanced threats, Palo Alto Networks does not offer real-time prevention but focuses on detection and remediation after the fact.
• High Agony Managing Security in low Efficiency: PAN solutions offer limited and complex operational efficiency, especially in large environments.
• Limited Visibility: PAN solutions provide low visibility into high-risk applications.
• Vulnerable Solutions: 32 High & Critical vulnerabilities have been discovered in PAN products between 2021-2023 (read swarm of PAN-OS vulnerabilities & NSA advisory warning).
• Cutting Corners: Palo Alto Networks is using security shortcuts that can lead to breaches. Watch this video

Cisco offers the most complex NGFW solution of the four leading vendors. This contributes to a number of issues, including:

• Response-Focused: Cisco solutions do not offer prevention of advanced threats. Instead, they detect these threats and support remediation after the fact.
• Lack of Security Unification: Cisco solutions are not unified and use different components for different purposes. For example, Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASAs) implement firewalls, Firepower offers threat prevention, and Secure Web Gateway (SWG) provides web protection for web applications. Each of these solutions requires its own user Management, unique policies and logs.
• Complex Management: Day-to-day administrative security tasks are extremely complicated, time-consuming, and error-prone.
• Vulnerable Solutions: 92 Vulnerabilities have been reported in Cisco products between 2021-2023.

Selecting the Right NGFW Vendor

A NGFW must include certain key features to provide effective protection to an organization. To learn more about what you should be looking for in a NGFW, check out the Buyer’s Guide to Cybersecurity.

Check Point NGFWs are the only solution that provides all of the key capabilities of NGFWs, and they also offer greater functionality, higher usability, and better security than competing solutions. Check Point offers best-in-class security by building its solution security first. It also offers unique capabilities that are essential for preventing and remediating today’s and tomorrow’s advanced attacks.

Check Point is a long-lasting Gartner leader for 21 years now and will continue to innovate and lead the cybersecurity landscape. To see Check Point NGFWs in action, request a demo with one of our security experts.

Network Security Through the Voice of the Customer