8 Reasons Why Firewalls Are Failing

How BlastShield Protects Your OT Network — And Everything Behind IT Firewalls. Last week, the FBI and CISA warned that unsophisticated hackers target ICS systems and OT environments. The oil and gas, energy, and transportation sectors were highlighted as concerns. One of the most significant recommendations was that OT connections need to be removed from the public internet. Let’s explore a bit why these unsophisticated hackers can hack these systems.

The Firewall Myth: A Brick Wall

You trust your firewalls.
You’ve done everything right — patched, configured, and monitored.
But here’s the thing: they’re not enough anymore.

Have you noticed that every major cyberattack in industrial sectors lately had one thing in common?
They all had firewalls.
The attackers still got through.

And it’s only getting worse.

AI is giving hackers faster, more innovative ways to map your systems, even those that are not very sophisticated. Critical industries like energy, water, manufacturing, and oil & gas are more connected than ever. Meanwhile, the old tools (aka firewalls) we used to trust are falling behind.

That’s why BlastShield was built: to protect the OT network your firewall can’t.

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8 Reasons Firewalls Are Failing Us (and What We’re Doing About It)

Let’s be honest. Next Generation Firewalls are nearly two decades old — launched in 2008, not long after the first iPhone. They weren’t built for the world we live in now — especially not for OT environments. Here’s where they’re falling short — and why it matters more than ever:

1. Outbound = Inbound

When you allow outbound connections—even to a website—you're opening the door to command—and—control malware.
That’s how ransomware moves in.

2. Default “Permit All” Rules

Too many firewalls ship with open rules for the sake of convenience.
Unless you catch every single default setting, you're exposed.

3. Patching Takes Too Long

Industrial sites can’t just reboot for every new patch. About 35% of industrial CVE’s won’t be patched because the vendor EOL’d that system or, in some cases, the vendor is out of business.
Attackers know exactly which outdated versions to look for — and they find them fast.

4. Admin Interfaces Left Wide Open

Web consoles. Serial ports. Default passwords are still in place.
All it takes is one forgotten interface for someone to walk right in.

5. Complexity Is the Enemy

Managing firewalls is a full-time job. When key staff leave or get stretched too thin, mistakes happen — and attackers are waiting.

6. Weak Segmentation

Most OT environments are flat, for a very good reason - performance. Segmenting can lead to process disruption if too much latency is introduced. Therefore, in these cases, if an attacker compromises one system, they shouldn't be able to move sideways.
But without strong segmentation, they usually can — and do.

7. Trusting Old Tech

Legacy systems don’t age well.
They weren’t built for today’s threats, but they’re still running the critical operations that keep society moving.

8. Thinking the Perimeter Still Matters

When every contractor, cloud app, and remote user punches a hole through your perimeter, what’s left to defend?
You need security that’s built for an always-connected, distributed footprint world.

2025: Why It’s Worse Now

In just the past year:

• Attacks against infrastructure have jumped nearly 50%.
  
  
• Nation-state tactics have become everyday ransomware tactics.
  
  
• Tools that used to be reserved for elite hackers are now available to anyone with a laptop and an internet connection.
  
  

Today, breaches happen faster and go deeper than ever before.

And once an attacker gets into your industrial network, the damage isn’t just financial.
It’s real-world. It’s equipment. It’s safety. It’s lives.

How BlastShield Changes the Game

BlastShield doesn’t just add another tool to your firewall. It is an OT Zero Trust Firewall (along with other key Zero Trust capabilities). It reshapes how you defend your most important systems.

Here’s how:

• No phishing risk. No passwords. Just cryptographic, passwordless authentication.
  
  
• Invisible networks. Attackers can’t hit what they can’t even see.
  
  
• Segmentation done right. If something gets compromised, it stays contained.
  
  
• Legacy systems are protected. Even the old gear gets a new shield.
  
  
• Lightweight deployment. No forklifts. No headaches. No slowing down operations.
  
  

And the best part?
It’s built to adapt to how you already work, not the other way around.

For the Industries That Can't Afford to Get This Wrong

If you keep the water flowing, the lights on, the goods moving, or the government running, you know exactly what’s at stake.
You don’t get second chances.

BlastShield is here to make sure you don’t need one.

Let’s Make Your OT Network Bulletproof

You’ve already invested in good security.
Now let’s finish the job.

Visit www.blastwave.com to download our use case ebook or schedule your demo.
See how BlastShield locks down your network before attackers ever get a chance to break through.