Unified Threat Management

An Overview of UTM - Unified Threat Management 

When several network security functions are consolidated into one unit, this is known as the unified threat management definition. Users on your network are safeguarded by UTM's many security capabilities, including anti-virus software, content filters, email and web filtering, spam protection, and more.

With UTM, a company can centralize its IT security functions in a single appliance, potentially streamlining its network's defenses. This means that all security-related risks and actions may be tracked and managed from a central location. Thus, you achieve complete, streamlined visibility into all components of your security or wireless infrastructure.

How Does Unified Threat Management Work?

Traditionally, businesses have used a patchwork of individual security technologies to counter various types of cybercrime. A company might, for instance, invest in separate firewall, antivirus, etc. systems. By combining many network security functions into a single appliance, its solution obviates the necessity for such a wide variety of point products.

At the network's edge, unified threat management tools inspect incoming and outgoing traffic for threats. The UTM system is able to detect malicious traffic and prevent access to malicious websites because of deep packet inspection (DPI), which provides full insight into all network packets. In addition, a security team can use UTM's unified management console to oversee all of these functions.

Advantages Of UTM

Security teams can save time and effort with a Unified threat management appliance because they won't have to worry about as many individual security solutions. The following are just a few of the main advantages offered by UTM security solutions:

• Consolidating Protection Measurements

UTM platforms merge separate security tools into one centralized platform. This paves the way for a swifter reaction across the entire company ecosystem and helps security teams spot possible risks faster using richer and more pertinent information.

• Simplicity Gained

As a result of using UTM, a company can consolidate the use of numerous security tools previously in use. When compared to a collection of standalone options, this one tool is much less complicated to set up, maintain, and update.

• Reduced Expenses

The security products that a UTM solution replaces are several. Through this method of centralization, businesses can save a considerable amount of money.

• Security Versatility

The goal of UTM is to accommodate and incorporate emerging security capabilities. This allows for greater adaptability than methods that call for the installation of a brand-new appliance to accommodate supplementary features.

• Management Concentration

Monitoring and administration are consolidated into a single interface using UTM. The security team's productivity will increase as they won't waste time switching between dashboards.

• Reducing Regulatory Burden

Using identity-based security policies, UTM solutions streamline the process of creating the least privilege-based access controls. As a result, it's less of a hassle to adhere to PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR's access control standards.

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Unified Threat Management Functions

1. IDS and IPS

While an IDS keeps watching for indications of a cyber-attack, an IPS actively works to halt attacks by blocking harmful traffic.

An IDS's primary function is to identify suspicious activities for the sake of further investigation, documentation, and reporting. While it can't stop attacks from happening, it can alert administrators and log events for further review. In contrast, an IPS is a form of cyber defense system that can redirect network traffic and thereby prevent hostile actions. IDS and firewall systems can be upgraded by adding IPS functionality.

2. VPN

It is a method of securely linking two devices via an insecure network, such as the Internet. File sharing amongst coworkers, remote data access, and other services may all be conducted safely and securely thanks to this. It is a secure, encrypted link that travels over the internet in the form of a tunnel, protecting data from prying eyes as it moves from one network to another.

3. Anti-Spam Services

It is often known as spam filters, monitoring incoming and outgoing emails for malicious indicators in order to prevent or label assaults that use email as a delivery mechanism. In order to identify spam, antispam systems employ algorithms to examine the contents of messages for telltale signs. Bayesian analysis is used by some systems to hunt for single words, while others focus on linguistic patterns or whole-word patterns. The message's contents are labeled as spam or malware if they match certain criteria.

4. Firewalls

UTM firewall is a piece of hardware or software that is installed to prevent unauthorized users from accessing a private network. It prevents malicious or unauthorized individuals from accessing sensitive information or classifications including file servers, printers, and web servers. Packet filtering firewalls, gateways at the circuit level, and gateways at the application level are the three most prevalent forms of firewalls.

5. Data Loss Prevention

A UTM appliance's data loss prevention features make it possible to detect and stop info breaches and exfiltration efforts. The data loss prevention system is responsible for keeping an eye on critical information and stopping any unauthorized attempts to steal it.

6. URL Filtering  

The web filtering function of a UTM can block users from retrieving certain URLs or websites. This is achieved by preventing the user's browser from downloading the site's pages. Depending on the goals of your business, you can set up web filters to obstruct access to specific websites. 

If you don't want your employees to be distracted by social media during work hours, you can block access to those sites while they're on your grid.

7. App Control

Matching specific subsets of web traffic to established models is how application control functions. Standards for computer traffic are necessary for computers to connect with one another. Application control can now tell different types of traffic apart because of the knowledge of these standards.

8. Content Filtering

Internet protocol (IP) address filtering, port number clarifying, and media access control (MAC) address filtering are numerous instances of web content filtering techniques. Networks employ content filtering to prevent the transmission of sensitive data and the dissemination of undesired content by screening outgoing data.

NGFWs vs UTM

It may appear at first glance that the contrasts between next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) and unified threat management (UTM) are purely semantic; nevertheless, this depends on the specific NGFW in question. Both of these options provide secure network fortification. However, there is always the risk that you will end up with unused services when using a UTM. There may be more effort required to incorporate them into the existing network. As you weigh the benefits of UTM's features against those of your current infrastructure, you may find yourself facing some tough choices and a complicated setup process.

In contrast, NGFWs allow you to choose to activate capabilities, turning it into a full UTM system. On the other hand, you can select to only utilize it as a firewall or to activate some safeguards while disabling others. For instance, you can use your existing installation as a UTM system if you put it to good use.

In addition, while a traditional UTM could struggle to keep up with the demands of a business, a Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) is a suitable solution for corporations of any size.

WAAP And API Security from Wallarm

Wallarm provides numerous possibilities for organizations to implement the level of unified threat management system and security they require. Wallarm API Security platform provides comprehensive protection for modern cloud-native APIs and legacy web apps from new and unknown attacks.

Furthermore, Wallarm’s cutting-edge API Security offers full protocol-agnostic API discovery and threat detection in real-time across your entire portfolio in multi-cloud and cloud-native settings. With these safeguards in place, information stored locally, in transit, and at rest is protected.