Angry for the Truth
A prospective client has aging Cisco IOS firewall equipment, which he is not able to administer himself because he finds it too complex and confusing. Every time any change is required, however minor, it costs him money to get a cisco expert in to do the work. He was chatting to a friend, who owns GTA Firewalls, who showed him how easy it was to administer yourself. Being quite clued up on networking he got it straight away.
So he mentioned this to his Cisco supplier, because the time to update the firewalls is looming. His so called “knowledgeable” partner told him GTA Firewalls are “not secure”.
This Cisco supplier is clearly ignorant. In itself, that’s fine with me, the world is full of people whose only value in life seems to be in professing their own opinion and it’s no skin off my nose. What makes me angry are those who lead the innocent on. But I encourage you, don’t believe the drivel that comes from the ignorant. Anyone can do a quick independent check for themselves using their web browser and going to the Mitre CVE web site to research the vulnerability tracking database. The link is at the end of this post. After ten years of tracking vulnerabilities and exposures of all kinds, including firewalls, the National Vulnerability Database holds the sad home truths for fans of Cisco IOS.
The Facts. The Truth. The Lowdown. The Juice.
Cisco IOS - 192 listed vulnerabilities (3 for August)
GNATBox GB-OS - ZERO listed vulnerabilities
I think we have a clear winner and it wasn’t a close run thing.
Cisco IOS might be the highest selling firewall in the world for all I know. It might be the most flexible firewall device in the world for all I know. It might come in lovely pastel colours for all I know. I don’t know the answer to any of those questions and if those are your buying criteria then all power to you. What I do know is that Cisco IOS is nowhere near the most secure firewall equipment in the world. It’s not my opinion - it’s a matter of historical fact.
But hey don’t take my word for it, run a search for yourself here.
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