{"id":6277,"date":"2021-02-23T11:32:03","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T19:32:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=6277"},"modified":"2023-06-09T16:01:09","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T23:01:09","slug":"microsoft-azure-firewall-protects-microsofts-network-with-azure-firewall-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/microsoft-azure-firewall-protects-microsofts-network-with-azure-firewall-manager\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Azure Firewall protects Microsoft’s network with Azure Firewall Manager"},"content":{"rendered":"
This content has been archived, and while it was correct at time of publication, it may no longer be accurate or reflect the current situation at Microsoft.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Microsoft Azure Firewall is the superhero of the internet. It prevents malware from entering corporate networks, blocks phishing attacks, and protects business-critical data. Given how it takes network protection one step further, Azure Firewall Manager is also essential.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because maintaining firewalls\u2014which date back to the early days of the internet\u2014can be a headache. They\u2019re in constant need of updated threat definitions and newly discovered software weak points.<\/p>\n
Microsoft Digital team, which manages IT infrastructure for Microsoft, had the task of managing corporate firewalls across Microsoft\u2019s global operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had about 40 of them,\u201d says Beth Garrison, a principal service engineer for Microsoft. \u201cWe would have to touch every one of them when the domain controllers would change the ISP or when the DNS servers would change. My team was constantly having to drop everything and plug holes in firewalls.\u201d<\/p>\n
But those days\u2014not fondly remembered\u2014are gone.<\/p>\n
In the past six months, Microsoft Digital has joined a wide range of corporate clients in adopting\u00a0Microsoft Azure Firewall<\/a>, a cloud-native network security service, and Azure Firewall Manager, a cloud-based management service that simplifies firewall management.<\/p>\n One of the most powerful tools in the Microsoft Azure Firewall kit is Azure Firewall Manager<\/a>. Azure Firewall Manager creates a single destination for IT administrators to configure and manage their Microsoft Azure Firewall applications.<\/p>\n The difference has been dramatic.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Azure Firewall Manager, we can update 35 firewalls in less than 10 minutes,\u201d Garrison says. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Microsoft Azure Firewall takes the traditional firewall that\u2019s been around for decades\u2014think of a 1969 Ford Mustang that over the years has been upgraded with new brakes, an engine rebuild, maybe a glass-screen stereo\u2014and moves it to the cloud.<\/p>\n It turns traditional hardware-based firewalls into software as a service (SaaS), provides security in near real time, and scales as needed to meet demand. It\u2019s also backed by Microsoft\u2019s substantial investment security, including some $1 billion spent each year on security research and development, and work performed by some 3,500 security experts.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve seen customers with 100 firewalls. And if the system administrator calls in sick, then what do you do? And if there is a break-in, then their stock suffers.<\/p>\n – Gopikrishna Kannan, principal program manager, Microsoft Azure Firewall team<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In short, it\u2019s like trading in that Mustang for a Tesla.<\/p>\n Microsoft Azure Firewall was developed by the Microsoft Azure team in response to the rapid movement made to the cloud by customers of all types.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at any enterprise, they have firewalls closer to the applications and have multiple micro-perimeter networks.\u201d says Gopikrishna Kannan, a principal program manager for the Microsoft Azure Firewall team. \u201cThis expands the network firewalls deployed by the customer. We\u2019ve seen customers with 100 firewalls. And if the system administrator calls in sick, then what do you do? And if there is a break-in, then their stock suffers.\u201d<\/p>\n In response, Microsoft Azure engineers began working on a cloud-centric firewall in 2017. It was designed to offer a central location where system engineers could update threat definitions, then rapidly deploy them across a cloud.<\/p>\n [Learn how Office 365 creates a secure, modern office<\/em><\/a>. Find out how Microsoft uses threat intelligence to protect its network<\/em><\/a>.]<\/p>\n How Microsoft Azure Firewall works<\/strong><\/p>\n Microsoft Azure Firewall was built in 2017, and Azure Firewall Manager was added in 2019. It allows administrators to centrally create firewall policies\u2014the \u201csecret sauce\u201d in Azure Firewall Manager. It contains definitions to allow or deny Layer 3 to Layer 7 traffic, which are the layers that extend from the network layer to the application layer. Firewall policies can also be applied to multiple firewalls.<\/p>\n In addition, firewall rules for a specific region are customizable by defining a firewall policy that inherits a baseline Firewall policy. This helps enforce a centrally defined policy and yet provides flexibility for administrators to customize Firewall rules. This feature also allows administrators to restrict access privileges using custom role-based access controls.<\/p>\n \u201cNow firewall administrators can write one set of rules, and these rules are then plumbed to all of their firewalls,\u201d Kannan says. \u201cIt simplifies management because you have one set of rules across all firewalls.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n