Perimeter Security Solutions South Africa

The network perimeter has never been more complex — or more critical. Beyond Cyber designs, deploys, and manages comprehensive perimeter security solutions built on Palo Alto Networks, the industry’s leading NGFW platform. From your physical network edge to secure remote access for a hybrid workforce, we give you complete visibility and control wherever your users and data reside.

Secure Every Edge. Control Every Connection. See Everything.

Perimeter Security Solutions Powered by Palo Alto Networks

The Industry’s Leading Next-Generation Firewall Platform

Palo Alto Networks invented the Next-Generation Firewall and has led the market ever since. Their firewalls go far beyond packet filtering and stateful inspection — using machine learning, deep application inspection, and integrated threat intelligence to secure every connection, regardless of port, protocol, or encryption.

Every NGFW runs PAN-OS, a purpose-built security operating system that delivers consistent policy enforcement across hardware, software, and cloud-delivered deployments. The SP3 architecture processes all security functions simultaneously in a single pass — maintaining high throughput and low latency while delivering comprehensive protection.

As an authorised Palo Alto Networks partner, Beyond Cyber designs, deploys, and manages NGFW deployments for South African organisations — from initial architecture through ongoing operations.

What Palo Alto Networks NGFWs Deliver

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ML-Powered Threat Prevention

The world’s first ML-powered NGFWs. Inline machine learning blocks zero-day threats in real time. Zero-delay signature updates push to every firewall within single-digit seconds of a new threat being identified globally
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App-ID

Identifies 3,000+ applications regardless of port, protocol, or encryption. Security policies built on application identity — eliminating the blind spots that port-based rules leave open
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Content-ID

Inspects all allowed traffic for threats, malware, data exfiltration, and dangerous web content. IPS, anti-malware, URL filtering, and file filtering in a single integrated engine
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User-ID

Ties network activity to specific users rather than IP addresses. Identity-based security policies that follow users regardless of device or location
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Device-ID

Identifies and profiles every device connecting to the network — including IoT and OT devices. Policy enforcement based on device type, OS, and security posture
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WildFire Threat Intelligence

Unknown files detonated in Palo Alto Networks’ cloud-based malware analysis environment. Threat intelligence shared back to all firewalls in real time
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Post-Quantum Cryptography

PAN-OS includes post-quantum cryptography support for TLS management and inline decryption, future-proofing encrypted traffic inspection
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Panorama Management

Centralised policy, visibility, and management across your entire firewall deployment from a single console — whether you have two firewalls or two hundred

Are You Getting the Most From Your Palo Alto Networks Investment?

Many organisations deploy Palo Alto Networks NGFWs but leave significant security capability unused — features never configured, configurations that have drifted, or new capabilities never adopted. The Best Practice Assessment (BPA) is a formal evaluation of your NGFW deployment against Palo Alto Networks’ own validated security standards — over 200 individual checks, each with a pass/fail result, security risk explanation, and step-by-step remediation guidance.
Security Policy
Validates rules for overly permissive access, shadow rules, and policy bloat. Reduces attack surface and eliminates unused or dangerous rules.
Threat Prevention
Checks that IPS, anti-spyware, and anti-virus profiles are applied and configured correctly — ensuring every session is inspected for known and unknown threats.
URL Filtering
Confirms web filtering profiles are enforced and aligned to best practice categories — blocking malicious and high-risk web destinations.
Decryption
Assesses SSL/TLS decryption coverage and certificate trust chain configuration — eliminating encrypted threat blind spots.
App-ID Adoption
Measures the proportion of traffic controlled by App-ID versus legacy port-based rules — maximising the security value of your NGFW investment.
WildFire Integration
Verifies WildFire file forwarding is active and correctly scoped — ensuring unknown files are analysed in real time.
User-ID Deployment
Checks that User-ID is configured for full identity-based policy enforcement — achieving per-user visibility and accountability.
Management Security
Reviews management interface access controls, authentication, and logging configuration — preventing unauthorised administrative access.
We run the BPA as part of every new deployment and offer it as a standalone service for existing Palo Alto Networks environments — including a complimentary BPA for managed service clients. Configuration drift happens continuously. We typically find meaningful security gaps in the majority of environments we assess, even recently deployed ones.

Securing Your Remote and Hybrid Workforce

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GlobalProtect VPN

For managed endpoints and established workforces
GlobalProtect extends the full security capabilities of your NGFW to every remote user — routing all traffic through your Palo Alto Networks security stack so remote workers receive identical threat prevention, URL filtering, and application control to users in the office. Supports Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, and Linux. Device compliance enforcement at connection time via Host Information Profile (HIP) reporting. Natively integrated with PAN-OS, logged in Panorama, managed in the same workflow as the rest of your network security.
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ZTNA 2.0 via Prisma Access

For hybrid workforces, contractors, BYOD, and cloud-first environments
Zero Trust Network Access 2.0 goes beyond traditional VPN — granting access only to specific applications, based on verified identity and device posture, with trust continuously re-evaluated throughout the session. True least-privilege access at Layer 7. Continuous security inspection on all traffic including allowed sessions. A single consistent DLP policy across all apps. Protects cloud-native, private legacy, and SaaS applications uniformly.
For most organisations, the answer is both. GlobalProtect for managed endpoints and established workflows; ZTNA 2.0 for contractors, BYOD users, and cloud-first environments. We help you design the right architecture for your specific workforce profile.

Choosing the Right Remote Access Approach

Access Model
  • GlobalProtect VPN: Network-level tunnel — user joins the network
  • ZTNA 2.0: App-level access — user reaches only specific applications, nothing more
Trust Model
  • GlobalProtect VPN: Trust granted at connection time, maintained for the session
  • ZTNA 2.0: Continuous trust verification — trust can be revoked in real time based on behaviour or posture changes
Security Inspection
  • GlobalProtect VPN: Traffic inspected at the perimeter on entry
  • ZTNA 2.0: All traffic continuously inspected, including traffic to allowed applications
Access Granularity
  • GlobalProtect VPN: Broad network access — lateral movement risk if a device is compromised
  • ZTNA 2.0: Least-privilege per-app access — no implicit lateral movement
Ideal Use Case
  • GlobalProtect VPN: Established remote workforce with trusted, managed devices
  • ZTNA 2.0: Hybrid workforce, BYOD, contractor access, cloud-first environments

From Perimeter Detection to Full Incident Response — Cortex XDR

Cortex XDR is the engine that ties your NGFW, GlobalProtect, and Prisma Access deployments into a unified security operations capability — the industry’s first platform to integrate data from endpoint, network, cloud, identity, and email sources and apply AI to detect and prioritise threats across all of them from a single console.
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Unified Data Stitching

Endpoint, network, cloud, identity, and email data correlated into a single data lake — eliminating the siloed visibility that allows attackers to hide activity across systems
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AI-Powered Detection

Machine learning models trained on Unit 42 threat intelligence detect and prioritise attacks based on real risk, dramatically reducing noise
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Behavioural Analytics & UEBA

Detects malicious insider activity and compromised account behaviour by analysing identity data and spotting anomalous access patterns
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Automated Prevention

AI-driven protection stops zero-day exploits, fileless malware, and hijacking of legitimate processes before they execute
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Incident Investigation

Root cause analysis performed automatically for every confirmed incident — full attack sequence, affected assets, and threat context from a single console
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Rapid Response

Endpoint isolation, process termination, file quarantine, and full restoration without reimaging. Search and Destroy sweeps all endpoints in real time
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Network Access Enforcement

Correlates NGFW and remote access session data with endpoint and identity signals — enforces dynamic access policy changes in response to detected threats
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Forensics

Advanced forensic investigation capability used by Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 Security Consulting — delivered directly to your environment

Fully Managed Perimeter Security — End to End

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Design & Deployment

Architecture design, hardware sizing, firewall deployment, Panorama integration, and full policy migration from legacy platforms
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Ongoing Policy Management

Rule reviews, policy clean-up, application onboarding, and configuration change management — all changes tracked, documented, and reversible
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Firmware & Content Updates

Proactive management of PAN-OS upgrades and threat content updates — tested before deployment, minimising production risk
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Health Monitoring & AIOps

Continuous firewall health, performance, and capacity monitoring with predictive alerts up to seven days before issues cause gaps or outages
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Regular BPA Reviews

Scheduled Best Practice Assessments to identify and remediate configuration drift, with executive reporting on posture improvement over time
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Incident Response Integration

Direct integration with our SOCaaS offering — perimeter alerts feed directly into 24/7 analyst monitoring and response

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: We already have a firewall — why would we need this service?
A: Most organisations with an existing firewall are not using its full capability. Port-based rules, unused security profiles, and configuration drift are common — even in recently deployed environments. Our Best Practice Assessment typically identifies meaningful security gaps regardless of how new the deployment is. We can assess your existing Palo Alto Networks environment and show you exactly where you stand.
Q: What is the difference between a traditional firewall and a Palo Alto Networks NGFW?
A: A traditional firewall filters traffic by port and protocol — it sees a connection on port 443 and allows it because HTTPS is permitted. A Palo Alto Networks NGFW identifies the application regardless of port, inspects the content of every allowed session, ties activity to specific users and devices, and uses machine learning to detect and block threats in real time. The difference in actual protection is significant.
Q: Do you only work with Palo Alto Networks, or can you manage other firewall platforms?
A: Our managed firewall service is built specifically around Palo Alto Networks — it is where our deepest expertise and vendor partnership sits. If you are running a legacy platform and considering a migration, we can help you design and execute that transition.
Q: How does GlobalProtect VPN compare to our current VPN solution?
A: If you are already running Palo Alto Networks NGFWs, GlobalProtect is the natural choice — it is natively integrated with the same PAN-OS policy engine, logged in the same Panorama console, and delivers full NGFW security capability to remote users. If you are running a third-party VPN, we can assess whether GlobalProtect or ZTNA 2.0 via Prisma Access would be a better fit for your workforce profile.
Q: What is ZTNA 2.0 and why does it matter?
A: First-generation ZTNA solutions granted per-app access but applied an ‘allow and ignore’ approach once access was established — leaving organisations exposed to threats within permitted sessions. ZTNA 2.0 closes that gap with continuous trust verification, continuous security inspection on all traffic, and true least-privilege access at the application level. It is the right architecture for any organisation with a hybrid workforce, contractors, BYOD users, or a cloud-first application environment.
Q: Can this integrate with your other security services?
A: Yes. Our perimeter security service is designed to integrate directly with our Managed SIEM and SOCaaS offerings. NGFW logs, Panorama events, and Prisma Access session data flow into USM Anywhere, and perimeter alerts feed into 24/7 analyst monitoring. This creates a unified view of perimeter and internal threat activity from a single console.

Secure Your Perimeter with the Industry Leader

Whether you are deploying a new Palo Alto Networks environment, looking to get more from an existing deployment, or extending perimeter security to cover a hybrid workforce — our team has the expertise to design and deliver the right solution. We include a complimentary Best Practice Assessment for all existing Palo Alto Networks environments.

Perimeter Security Solutions South Africa

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