Firewalla Security: Manage Risk & Risk Exposure

The only way to be cyber secure is to turn off the power and throw away anything electronic, then cage yourself in a faraday cage ... 

Now, this may be extreme, but we do think, effectively managing risk, especially risk exposure will give you better security. Cyber security and cyber threats are evolving, like securing your home in the physical world, how to secure digitally will change due to the risks you are encountering. Each person is different, each family and business is different, and personal beliefs are different, risk tolerance is going to be different as well. 

Risk exposure is the measure of potential future loss resulting from a specific activity or event, and it is often calculated as

Risk exposure = (probability of risk occurring) X (total loss of risk occurrence) 

Reducing risk exposure is to reduce the probability of the risk occurring and/or loss of risk occurrences. 

1. Identify Risk: Visibility and Deep Insight into your network to identify risks.

2. Control Risk: Apply "your" rules to the network and lock your digital doors, manage and control risk.

3. Protect: Have firewalla automatically protect your network

Identify Risks: 

Do you have windows or doors open in your digital world? Or do you know what is coming in and going out of your network? Having visibility into your home or business network is the first important step in the process to see the risks and reduce risk exposure. Examples 

• What devices are connected to your network
• Which devices are consuming more bandwidth
• Open Ports, UPnP, or statically mapped ports
• Network flows from your devices, what/who/where they are talking to
• Identify blocked flows to see who is knocking on your digital door

In Firewalla, we call this visibility and you can learn more here:

How to Secure Your Network with Firewalla: (Part 1) Visibility

Control Risk and Reduce loss:

After risks are identified, with Firewalla you can now put your own policies in your network to ensure the risks are lowered, and if there is a loss, it will remain small. 

This is where the "control" functions of the Firewalla come into play, here you can enforce policies via Firewalla's flexible rules engine and mechanisms like network segmentation to control and limit the damage done if there is a loss. Examples:

• Regional blocks
• Network segmentation
• Activity blocks
• VPN Services to protect your network
• DoH to protect privacy
• Control routes and traffic queues

To learn more about how to control your network based on your rules:

How to Secure Your Network with Firewalla (Part 2): Control

Protect:

After understanding the control policies you have put in place, Firewalla will now automatically protect your home or business network by executing your rules and automatically protect your network

Examples:

• Active Protect
• Target lists
• New Device Quarantine
• Trusted LAN

To learn more about using intelligence to dynamically reduce risk:
How to Secure Your Network with Firewalla (Part 3): Protect

Security Starts with You First:

This is where cybersecurity starts. It is not technology, but you! Everything starts with your security awareness. Firewalla (and other technologies) are here to support you. 

Nothing can protect you if you like to leave your doors open ... or don't have a habit of locking your doors.

See some of the none technical security tips