I’m not saying that all Internet traffic is bad.  Actually, the Internet is a vital extension of today’s corporate networks.  Cloud Computing is becoming increasingly popular however, there are endless streams of consumer and recreational applications that employees are bringing into the network.  You might be familiar with some of them — P2P, IM, Bit-torrent, Social Networking, Audio / Video and Gaming.  But, there are many more that you’ve never heard of like apps that get around your Internet security controls — i.e. UltraSurf, Zelune, Vtunnel and Anonymizer.  Unfortunately, traditional port-blocking firewall (or IPS) can’t stop them.

Internet users are much more Internet-savvy these days.  Not surprising, since the Internet is an integral part of their personal and professional life.  And now their two worlds are colliding!  It’s no wonder that Internet traffic dominates corporate networks.  Today’s enterprises have on average 424 different Internet applciations running across their networks.  Some are legitimate business applications however, most of them are non-essential consumer apps that carry some level of risk to the business.  Again, traditional port-blocking firewalls can’t detect them and therefore can’t stop them.

It’s Time to Fix the Firewall.

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