Why You Must Never Ignore Firewall Updates

So here I am at my desk after my third cup of coffee — never mind which one, you know the one that feels the best — and I’m thinking about firewalls. Not just any firewalls, but the dusty, out-of-date ones, the kind that some people still have not bothered to patch. Here’s the thing: if you’re ignoring firewall updates, you’re essentially propping open the front door — and inviting the bad guys in. I’ve seen this time and time again, and not just once, countless times since my network admin days in 1993.

My world was all management of network mux voice and data over PSTN back then. Sounds ancient, right? But it was the foundation. Fast forward to the early 2000s and I had a front row seat to Slammer worm madness — a stark lesson received in how quickly a vulnerability can propagate through to an environment where defenses are weak. Today is head of a food co-op As well as running his own newspaper he is leading PJ networks and helping clients (three banks just this quarter!) upgrade their zero-trust architecture, what I can say is this: If you’re ignoring patches on your firewalls, you may as well drive a clunker without ever changing the oil. It could continue … until it can’t.

Exploitable Vulnerabilities

First on the docket? Those vulnerabilities in old firewall firmware!? Make that exploitable with a capital E. Attackers don’t even have to expend much effort to find them. Security patches are released for a reason: someone is already attacking that security hole RIGHT NOW.

In my experience, businesses tend to ignore firewall updates because they are too complex or a pain to implement. But guess what? The price of a breach from an exploit is orders of magnitude more.

• Proven exploits weaponized within days
• Firmware updates = less backdoors for hackers
• Attackers are using automated tools to find unpatched firewalls like vultures.

Remember the Slammer worm? It taught us that one bug in a network service could bring down whole systems — and that firewall vulnerabilities can be just as deadly.

Oh, and P.S: If you see your firewall vendor releasing patch after patch, that’s a good sign that they’re out there hunting for bad guys. We’re setting off air-raid sirens by doing that. It is the equivalent of turning off your smoke alarms: When you hear that fire alarm going off in your house, well, sometimes the alarm is going off because there actually is a detectable medical problem, in which case turning off that smoke alarm is the wrong thing to do.

Zero-Day Risks

This one always makes me feel anxious — or rather, marvelously anxious — going on all these years. Zero-day vulnerabilities are those unpleasant surprises of which we had no advance warning until we did.

You can’t fix what you don’t know exists, of course. But if you keep your firewall firmware up-to-date, you narrow that window of exposure to the device. Typically, vendors include mitigations in their patches before the bad actors reverse-engineer the flaw and work to exploit it.

And, if I’m being honest, entrusting only AI-powered security tools to catch zero-days? I’m skeptical. Yes, AI can be an aid—but it’s no silver bullet. You first need a foundation: regular patch management and layered defenses.

Three banks that I had worked on pitched recently? Their zero-trust makeovers, which we have described to Ryan, emphasized aggressive patch schedules and real-time monitoring. The impact on risk reduction is night and day.

Compliance Failures

Not patching your firewalls? You may be falling short of audit standards.

In one of my early assignments, I didn’t value compliance properly for a client — I dismissed it as box-ticking. Wrong!

No, GDPR, PCI-DSS and the like are not messing around. They need you to show active management of your vulnerability posture.

Which means:

• No passing-by patches because they happen to be inconvenient time wise
• Programming of update method calls.
• Evidence that you are monitoring firewall security on an ongoing basis

Breeching audits being an amazing source of hefty fines and an erosion of credibility. What’s even worse: Insurance premiums soar if you have coverage at all after a breach the result of negligence.

Compliance is not just bureaucracy; it is one of your best bulwarks against disaster. You want to take my word for it: You do not want to find out the hard way.

Performance Issues

OK, I’ll confess – I guess I have been kind of ignoring older firmware issues. But here’s where things get interesting: old firewall software can actually make your whole network slower.

Updates often include bug fixes, better performance — and even changes to the way firewalls process modern protocols.

Do this: Running old firmware is like driving a classic on ancient tires— sure, it works, but don’t expect the handling or safety it’s capable of.

It’s true! (And believe me, after years of fine-tuning networks and routing voice/data—that’s my origin story you’re hearing, folks—you notice that latency, throughput, and even just airplane mode can take a hitch if you don’t keep your gear a-working.)

No one wants to hear from customers or employees about connections being slow and the patch being ignored.

Automating Updates

Here is where many companies fall down: Patch management is a pain. What if something breaks?

My recommendation: make your firewall updates as automatic as you can. Yes, you still need controls, testing environments and rollback plans. Yet automation accelerates the deployment of patches — and also cuts down on human error.

PJ Networks’ bonus tips from experience:

• Configure production-like staging environments
• Perform updates during non peak traffic hours
• Leverage aggregated dashboards to monitor patch status
• New critical patches alerting
• Participate your team in drills before actual updates

I cannot stress automation enough. In this fluid threat environment, speed is your friend.

Quick Take

• An ancient piece of firewall firmware = an open door for attackers
• Zero-day attacks come down fast and furious
• Patching on the basis of compliance or running the risk of hefty fines
• Firmware is not updated and affects network performance
• Automate patching to keep up and lower your risk

To end it, I’m passionate because I’ve seen the impact of ignoring firewall patches — from small businesses to big banks. The headaches, the losses, the chaos. And honestly? Patching is one of the easiest, yet most neglected, things for your IT security team to do.

And, at PJ Networks, it’s unacceptable. We drive standard vulnerability management and make sure no firewall goes for months without being touched. And in case you were wondering — yes, there’s always a way to test and deploy without breaking your setup. It’s about having things together and what is actually important!

So don’t wait for the worm, the breach, the zero-day to do the same thing to your business. Patch your firewalls, because you can’t afford not to.

— Sanjay Seth
Cyber security consultant, tech curmudgeon, and caffeinated contrarian