The Firewall is Dying and the Cloud is Killing It?

By Michael Brown 1

A few weeks back, we asked whether cloud-based file sharing meant the end of email in the workplace. The answer as you might recall was no. Email is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Can the same be said of another business staple, the firewall? Could cloud technology someday render the all mighty firewall obsolete? A Better question: has it already happened?

It might sound like a bold proclamation, but this view is quickly becoming the norm, not the exception whether we like it or not (and many don’t like it). Microsoft security expert Roger Grimes clearly struck a nerve last year when he wrote:

We all know that most future computing devices will not be traditional desktop or laptop computers. Do you think that our pad devices, smartphones, mobile devices, and computer-enabled TVs are going to have firewalls — or that their users that will understand firewalls well enough to configure them, especially when the firewall admin experts of our current networks can’t do it? Please! In the future, which is now, firewalls are already dead.

…heck, even when we block attacks at the firewall, the defense doesn’t work. It turns out that perimeter firewalls have less value when you’re riddled with infected mobile devices, VPNs, and other permeable holes laying open the false security that has always been granted by firewalls.

Far be it from me to declare the death of the firewall — I certainly wouldn’t tell anyone to shut them down just yet – but do I think most MSPs and security experts would agree that cloud technology certainly alters the way companies approach security. At least it should. If it doesn’t, here are a few points of consideration to share with your clients:

What do you think? Has the cloud lessened the effectiveness of firewalls? Will it someday kill them off altogether? Be sure to let us know our thoughts in the comments section.