What is SPI Firewall Protection?

As cybersecurity threats increase due to the rise of remote work in a post-pandemic era, looking at ways to protect your business’ computer network is more important than ever. A SPI (stateful packet inspection) firewall protects your network by comparing incoming packets against existing connections and detects whether a hacker is trying to access data. 

Without proper security measures like firewalls in place, hackers can easily gain access to sensitive data such as customer payment information and employee records, leading to expensive lawsuits. This is why investing in cyber insurance is crucial to add an extra layer of financial safety for your business. 

How does an SPI firewall work?

Traditional stateless firewalls protect your computer or network from malicious or unnecessary network traffic, blocking data and third parties from accessing your personal information. However, they are limited because they do not authenticate packets and therefore can’t check whether they come from a legitimate IP address.  

An SPI firewall provides a higher level of security because it takes into account the nature of the incoming packet, including its origin (within your network or from the Internet). It also remembers this information and establishes customized rules that limit unauthorized access to your network. 

What are the benefits of an SPI firewall? 

There are many benefits of adding hardware SPI firewall protection to your business. For instance, it can make use of an access control list, allow or block connections based on a database of trusted users, and limit network privileges. Other benefits include: 

• Its ability to track the state of different network connections, such as TCP and UDP
• Its ability to examine packet states including their source, destination, and other information to determine their legitimacy
• Its ability provide a much higher level of protection against malicious packets that could lead to a data breach

In this day and age, an SPI firewall is a crucial investment for most businesses. It can block unauthorized remote access to computers on a LAN network and alert employees to suspicious activity including malware like worms, viruses, and DDoS attacks.

However, setting up a hardware firewall requires expert knowledge to configure connections correctly. Consulting an experienced IT technician or cybersecurity company can help you get started with the process. 

For more information on other levels of cybersecurity protection, feel free to read our article IPV6 firewall protection on Assured Standard.