Firewall Installation, Management and Maintenance Service

The security of a corporate network is not delivered simply by purchasing a firewall appliance and placing it at the internet edge. The firewall infrastructure must be designed with the right architecture, security policies must be established, rules must be reviewed regularly, devices must be kept current, logs must be monitored, and the whole must be optimized continuously against emerging threats.

The SecureSys Firewall Installation, Management and Maintenance Service provides end-to-end support for designing, deploying, configuring, operating and continuously improving an organization's network security infrastructure.

Effective use of next generation firewall NGFW (Next Generation Firewall) technologies is critical to controlling network traffic, making applications visible, blocking malicious connections, applying user-based access policies and protecting the corporate network against internet-borne threats.

SecureSys provides installation, configuration, migration, maintenance, management, optimization and technical support services in environments running Fortinet FortiGate, Palo Alto Networks, Sophos Firewall, Check Point and other enterprise firewall technologies.

We treat firewall infrastructure not merely as a security appliance, but as one of the central components of the organization's network security, segmentation, VPN, access control, threat prevention and security monitoring architecture.

What Is a Firewall?

A firewall is a security system that controls data traffic between the corporate network and the internet, or between network segments at different security levels, according to defined security policies.

While traditional firewall systems control traffic essentially at the IP address, port and protocol level, the Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) solutions in use today offer far broader security capabilities.

Next generation firewall systems can provide;

• Stateful Inspection,
• Application Control,
• Intrusion Prevention System (IPS),
• URL Filtering,
• Web Filtering,
• DNS Security,
• SSL/TLS Inspection,
• Anti-Malware,
• Anti-Bot,
• User Identification,
• Threat Intelligence,
• VPN,
• Network Segmentation

and many other security functions on a single platform.

For this reason, enterprise firewall infrastructure is not merely a system controlling internet access; it is one of the fundamental control points of the organization's overall cyber security architecture.

Firewall Installation Service

A secure firewall deployment requires far more than physically connecting the appliance to the network.

A poorly designed firewall architecture, rules left more open than necessary, or incorrect NAT policies can leave an organization's externally reachable systems exposed to attack.

Within the SecureSys Firewall Installation Service, the existing network structure is analyzed and a security architecture suited to the organization is established.

Before installation;

• internet connections,
• WAN infrastructure,
• LAN structure,
• VLANs,
• DMZ systems,
• server networks,
• user networks,
• wireless networks,
• guest networks,
• data center connections,
• branch connections,
• VPN requirements,
• externally reachable services

are evaluated.

The correct position of the firewall on the network and its security policies are determined from this analysis.

Firewall Architecture Design

Every organization's network infrastructure and security requirements differ. Firewall architecture must therefore not be approached with a standard deployment template.

SecureSys specialists analyze the existing infrastructure and support the design of a firewall architecture matched to the organization's needs.

Within architecture design, alongside basic architectures such as;

Internet → Firewall → DMZ → Internal Network

more advanced topologies can be built for multi-site environments and those requiring high availability.

For example;

Internet → Edge Firewall → DMZ → Internal Firewall → Server Network

or, across different security levels;

User VLAN → Firewall → Server VLAN → Database VLAN

architectures can be applied.

Traffic between network segments is thereby brought under control, with the aim of limiting lateral movement inside the corporate network during an attack.

Firewall Configuration Service

One of the most important elements of firewall security is correct configuration.

Every rule defined on a firewall represents an access permission granted to the corporate network. Rules must therefore be built as far as possible on the least privilege principle.

Within the SecureSys Firewall Configuration Service;

• Security Policy creation,
• Firewall Rule creation,
• NAT Policy,
• DNAT and SNAT,
• Object and Object Group definitions,
• Service Object management,
• Application Control,
• Web Filtering,
• URL Filtering,
• IPS profiles,
• Anti-Malware policies,
• DNS Security,
• SSL Inspection,
• User-Based Policy,
• Geo-IP Filtering,
• DoS Protection,
• VPN configuration

can be carried out.

The goal is not merely a working firewall, but a secure, manageable and sustainable firewall infrastructure.

Firewall Rule Management

Over time, hundreds or even thousands of security rules can accumulate on a firewall.

Rules created for projects, new applications, temporary access, external service providers and user requests can, if left unchecked, turn the firewall configuration into a tangle.

Alongside security risk, this creates operational problems.

Within SecureSys Firewall Rule Management, firewall policies can be reviewed periodically.

The analysis identifies;

• unused rules,
• unnecessary ANY-ANY rules,
• overly broad IP ranges,
• unnecessary service access,
• rules created temporarily but never removed,
• duplicate rules,
• incorrectly ordered policies,
• shadow rule conditions,
• unused object definitions

and produces improvement recommendations.

This approach helps prevent the firewall configuration from growing uncontrolled over time.

Managed Firewall Service

Keeping firewall infrastructure under continuous review requires experienced network and security specialists.

Managed Firewall is the service model in which firewall infrastructure is operated on the organization's behalf by expert teams.

Within the SecureSys Managed Firewall Service, the operational management of the organization's firewall infrastructure can be carried out centrally.

The service can cover;

• firewall configuration management,
• rule changes,
• user and access policies,
• VPN management,
• firmware updates,
• security profiles,
• log review,
• performance tracking,
• capacity checks,
• backup,
• configuration changes,
• security hardening work

activities.

The aim is for firewall infrastructure to be operated securely and sustainably.

24/7 Firewall Monitoring and Support

The firewall is one of the critical components of an organization's internet connectivity and network security.

A service outage, high CPU usage, memory problem, connectivity fault or security event on the firewall can directly affect business processes.

Depending on the service model, 24/7 firewall monitoring and technical support processes can be established by SecureSys.

The main parameters that can be monitored;

• CPU usage,
• RAM usage,
• disk capacity,
• interface status,
• WAN connections,
• VPN tunnels,
• HA status,
• session counts,
• traffic volume,
• critical system events,
• security alerts

can be configured accordingly.

In critical situations, the relevant teams are notified through defined escalation procedures.

Firewall Maintenance Service

Regular maintenance is required for firewall appliances to run securely and reliably.

Within the SecureSys Firewall Maintenance Service, the current state of the devices is checked and the necessary technical and security assessments are made.

During periodic maintenance;

• firmware versions,
• security updates,
• CPU and RAM usage,
• disk capacity,
• interface status,
• HA synchronization,
• VPN connections,
• security policies,
• system logs,
• configuration backups,
• licence and subscription status

can be checked.

The purpose of maintenance is to detect potential problems before they become service outages and to keep the firewall infrastructure sustainable.

Firewall Firmware and Security Updates

Firewall vendors release firmware and security updates regularly against vulnerabilities identified in their products.

Running firewall appliances on out-of-date versions creates serious security risk.

However, firmware updates must not be applied blindly.

Before updating;

• current version,
• target version,
• upgrade path,
• hardware compatibility,
• features in use,
• known issues,
• HA structure,
• rollback options

must be checked.

SecureSys carries out firewall update work with a controlled change management approach.

Where required, a configuration backup is taken beforehand and a rollback scenario is prepared.

Firewall Hardening

Using a firewall appliance with its default settings may not be sufficient from a security perspective.

In Firewall Hardening work carried out by SecureSys, the device's management and security configuration is reviewed with the aim of reducing its attack surface.

The work can review;

• restricting management interface access,
• use of secure management protocols,
• disabling unnecessary services,
• review of administrator accounts,
• MFA usage,
• strong password policies,
• management IP restrictions,
• SNMP security,
• log settings,
• NTP configuration,
• security profiles,
• IPS policies,
• SSL/TLS settings

areas.

This work ensures not only that the firewall protects the networks, but that the firewall system itself is operated securely.

Firewall HA – High Availability Deployment

In critical organizations, a firewall running alone constitutes a Single Point of Failure.

Firewall appliances can therefore be run in a high availability architecture.

SecureSys can build;

• Active-Passive HA,
• Active-Active HA,
• cluster architectures,
• failover scenarios,
• heartbeat links,
• session synchronization

structures.

After HA deployment, controlled failover tests verify whether the standby firewall can genuinely take over the service when needed.

Firewall VPN Services

Through remote working, branch connectivity and data center communication, VPN technologies have become an important component of corporate networks.

Within SecureSys Firewall VPN Services;

Site-to-Site VPN

Secure connections can be established between branches, data centers, cloud systems or business partners.

Remote Access VPN

Employees can be given secure remote access to the corporate network.

SSL VPN

Web or client-based secure remote access infrastructure can be established.

IPsec VPN

Encrypted network tunnels can be established between locations.

In VPN structures, access policies are limited as far as possible to the systems users actually need.

Firewall and VLAN Segmentation

In modern cyber security architectures, having every system on the same network is not advisable.

Users, servers, databases, IoT systems, guest networks and management systems can sit at different security levels.

For this reason, a Network Segmentation approach can be used in SecureSys firewall projects.

For example;

• User VLAN,
• Server VLAN,
• Database VLAN,
• Management VLAN,
• Guest VLAN,
• IoT VLAN,
• Voice VLAN,
• Backup VLAN

can be created, with traffic between these networks controlled through the firewall.

The aim is to limit the spread of a security breach at one endpoint to other critical systems.

DMZ Security

Web servers, e-mail systems, VPN services and other applications reachable from the internet must not be placed directly inside the internal network.

A DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) architecture can be used for these systems.

In SecureSys DMZ design, a controlled security layer is established between internet-facing systems and the organization's internal network.

Internet → Firewall → DMZ → Internal Network

This architecture aims to make it harder for an attacker to reach the internal network directly should an internet-facing system be compromised.

IPS – Intrusion Prevention System Management

One of the important security components of next generation firewall appliances is Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) technology.

IPS analyzes network traffic to help detect known attack techniques and malicious traffic patterns.

Within the SecureSys Firewall Management Service, IPS profiles can be tuned to the organization's system landscape.

The aim is not simply to enable every available IPS signature.

Misconfigured IPS policies can cause performance problems or false positives.

IPS policies must therefore be optimized against the organization's services and risk profile.

Application Control

Modern applications no longer run over fixed ports alone.

Many applications communicate inside HTTP and HTTPS traffic.

Application Control technology in next generation firewall solutions makes applications on the network visible and allows security policies to be built per application.

For example;

• social media,
• file sharing services,
• remote access applications,
• cloud storage services,
• messaging applications,
• proxy and anonymizer services

can be controlled according to corporate policy.

Web Filtering and URL Filtering

On corporate networks, users reaching malicious or risky websites can lead to security incidents.

Using the Web Filtering and URL Filtering capabilities on the firewall, internet access can be managed by category and security policy.

Access to websites in phishing, malware, command-and-control or other risky categories can be blocked.

These controls help reduce user-driven cyber attack risk in particular.

SSL Inspection

The bulk of internet traffic is encrypted over HTTPS.

While encryption is necessary for user privacy and data security, attackers can also hide malicious traffic inside HTTPS.

Where supported, SSL/TLS Inspection policies can be applied on the firewall so encrypted traffic passes through security controls.

In SSL Inspection deployments;

• performance,
• user privacy,
• certificate management,
• regulation,
• application compatibility

must be evaluated together.

Firewall Log Management

Firewall appliances produce significant log data about traffic and security events across the corporate network.

These logs can include;

• traffic records,
• blocked connections,
• VPN activity,
• IPS events,
• user activity,
• system events,
• administrator operations

information.

SecureSys supports forwarding firewall logs to central log management or SIEM infrastructure.

This makes far more comprehensive analysis of security events possible.

Firewall and SIEM Integration

Integrating firewall systems with SIEM platforms improves security visibility considerably.

Firewall logs can be correlated with security records from other systems to build more meaningful alert scenarios.

For example;

Firewall + Active Directory + Endpoint + VPN + Server

evaluating these logs together makes attack chains easier to detect.

SecureSys can integrate firewall systems with existing SIEM and security monitoring infrastructure.

Firewall and SOC Integration

Firewall infrastructure is one of the important data sources for SOC operations.

With the SecureSys 24/7 SOC Monitoring Service, security events produced by firewall systems can be tracked centrally.

Suspicious traffic, attack attempts, VPN activity or security policy violations can be evaluated alongside other security sources and incident response processes established.

Firewall management thereby moves beyond device operation and becomes part of the organization's overall cyber security operation.

Multi-Vendor Firewall Management

Large organizations may not run a single firewall vendor.

One vendor's solution may be used in the central data center while branches or other locations run different firewall technologies.

SecureSys can establish a central operating approach across multi-vendor environments.

Depending on project scope, technical services can be provided in environments running;

• Fortinet FortiGate
• Palo Alto Networks
• Sophos Firewall
• Check Point

and other enterprise firewall technologies.

FortiGate Installation and Management Service

Fortinet FortiGate solutions are among the NGFW platforms most widely used on corporate networks.

Within SecureSys FortiGate services;

• FortiGate installation,
• FortiGate configuration,
• FortiGate firewall policy,
• FortiGate NAT,
• FortiGate IPsec VPN,
• FortiGate SSL VPN,
• FortiGate HA,
• FortiGate IPS,
• FortiGate Web Filter,
• FortiGate Application Control,
• FortiGate firmware upgrade

work can be carried out.

Palo Alto Firewall Installation and Management

In Palo Alto Networks firewall infrastructures, correctly designed security policies directly determine the effectiveness of application and user-based security controls.

Depending on project scope, SecureSys can provide services for the deployment and management of;

• security policy,
• NAT,
• App-ID,
• User-ID,
• URL Filtering,
• Threat Prevention,
• VPN,
• HA

configurations.

Sophos Firewall Installation and Management

In environments running Sophos Firewall, services can be provided for the central management of network security, VPN, web control, IPS and user-based access policies.

Within SecureSys Sophos Firewall services, installation, migration, configuration, maintenance and optimization work can be carried out.

Firewall Migration Service

Replacing a firewall appliance is one of the more critical projects an organization undertakes.

Transferring the rules from the old device straight onto the new firewall is not always the right approach.

In SecureSys Firewall Migration projects, the existing structure is analyzed first.

The migration process generally runs through the;

Current Structure Analysis → Rule Analysis → New Architecture → Configuration → Test → Cutover → Validation

steps.

The aim is to leave unnecessary rules from the old firewall behind.

A firewall replacement thereby becomes an opportunity to clean up and rebuild security policy.

Firewall Backup and Configuration Management

Backing up firewall configurations regularly matters for rapid recovery after hardware failure or a faulty change.

Within the SecureSys service;

• periodic configuration backup,
• pre-change backup,
• pre-firmware backup,
• configuration versioning,
• rollback procedures

can be established.

This approach helps reduce operational risk.

Firewall Performance and Capacity Management

Firewall performance must not be judged on internet bandwidth alone.

Security services running concurrently affect the device's real capacity.

For this reason, parameters such as;

• CPU,
• RAM,
• concurrent sessions,
• new sessions per second,
• throughput,
• IPS throughput,
• SSL inspection load,
• VPN usage

must be evaluated.

By tracking the performance of the existing firewall infrastructure, SecureSys can help identify capacity problems before they bite.

Firewall Health Check

If your firewall infrastructure has been in place for a long time and you are unsure whether the configuration still meets current security requirements, a Firewall Health Check can be carried out.

The Health Check can examine;

• device status,
• firmware,
• firewall policies,
• NAT,
• VPN,
• security profiles,
• administrator accounts,
• logging,
• HA,
• performance,
• unnecessary rules,
• risky configuration

areas.

The findings and improvement recommendations are reported at the end of the work.

What Firewall Services Deliver to Organizations

Professional firewall management gives organizations more than technical operational support.

A well-managed firewall infrastructure contributes to;

• reducing the attack surface,
• limiting unauthorized access,
• strengthening network segmentation,
• controlling internet traffic,
• making security events visible,
• managing VPN access securely,
• improving service continuity,
• reducing configuration errors

across the estate.

The SecureSys Firewall Service Process

We run firewall projects through the following core stages, adapted to need:

1. Discovery

The existing network and security infrastructure is assessed.

2. Analysis

Firewall appliances, rules, connections and security requirements are reviewed.

3. Architecture Design

The target structure is built with LAN, WAN, VLAN, DMZ, VPN and security zones in mind.

4. Installation and Configuration

Firewall systems are configured to the defined architecture.

5. Security Hardening

Firewall hardening and security policies are applied.

6. Testing

Access, NAT policies, VPN connections, HA and security functions are tested.

7. Go-Live

The firewall moves into the production environment.

8. Monitoring and Maintenance

Depending on the service model, the firewall infrastructure is managed periodically or continuously.

Why the SecureSys Firewall Service?

Firewall infrastructure sits at one of the critical security intersections of an organization: internet access, data center, server systems, user networks and remote access.

Firewall operations therefore require not only network knowledge but a cyber security perspective.

In its firewall services, SecureSys brings network and system administration experience together with cyber security operations.

Where required, firewall infrastructure can be evaluated alongside the;

Network + Firewall + SIEM + SOC + EDR/XDR + NDR + Penetration Testing

components.

This approach helps organizations build a more integrated security architecture rather than a collection of independent security products.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a firewall maintenance service?

A firewall maintenance service is technical work covering regular review of firewall configuration, software versions, performance, security policies and system status.

What is Managed Firewall?

Managed Firewall means the organization's firewall infrastructure being operated by an expert team, remotely or in a hybrid model.

How often should firewall maintenance be carried out?

Frequency varies with organization size, traffic profile, critical systems and security requirements. Continuous monitoring and regular maintenance are preferable in critical infrastructures.

Why must firewall rules be reviewed regularly?

Over time, unused, overly broad or temporarily created rules accumulate. Periodic firewall rule review work helps identify these risks.

Can firewall logs be forwarded to a SIEM?

Yes. The traffic and security logs a firewall produces can be sent to SIEM systems and analyzed alongside other security sources.

Can a firewall and a SOC work together?

Yes. Having firewall logs monitored by the SOC allows security events to be evaluated together with data from other systems.

Can security be improved without replacing the firewall appliance?

In many cases, correct configuration of the existing appliance, optimization of security profiles, firmware updates, rule review and hardening work can raise the security level. However, device capacity and vendor support must also be assessed.

Can 24/7 firewall support be provided?

Depending on the organization's service scope and SLA requirements, 24/7 monitoring, incident management and technical support models can be established.

Strengthen Your Firewall Infrastructure with SecureSys

Your firewall merely running does not mean it is secure.

Incorrect firewall rules, out-of-date firmware, unmonitored VPN access, incomplete segmentation and insufficient logging all widen an organization's attack surface.

With SecureSys you can have your existing firewall infrastructure analyzed, design your new firewall architecture, optimize your security policies and move your firewall systems onto a sustainable management model.

Contact SecureSys for detailed information on the Firewall Installation, Management and Maintenance Service, to arrange a Health Check for your existing firewall infrastructure, or to establish a Managed Firewall service model.

Manage your firewall security end to end, not merely at device level.

SecureSys – Firewall Installation, Management and 24/7 Security Operations