The Old Guard: Firewalls, VPNs and Exposed Control Planes
Cyberattacks have evolved beyond the perimeter. No longer limited to opportunistic breaches, attackers are now executing coordinated campaigns that target the very foundations of enterprise network infrastructure — firewalls, VPNs, and control planes.
The growing sophistication of adversaries has exposed the limits of traditional security models, forcing organizations to rethink not just their tools, but their entire approach to network design.
From Visible to Invisible: The Shift Begins Here
It’s time for a new security mindset – one rooted in invisibility, disaggregation, and zero trust. In this post, we’ll break down:
- Why outdated VPNs and firewall appliances are increasingly under siege
- How stealth networking and plane separation significantly reduce attack surfaces
- What practical steps organizations can take to future-proof their infrastructure
VPNs and Firewalls: The New Front Door for Attackers
Over the past year, attacks on firewall and VPN infrastructure have made headlines — and for good reason. In April 2024, Palo Alto Networks’ PAN-OS suffered a zero-day vulnerability that allowed attackers to install a Python-based backdoor known as UPSTYLE. This attack, dubbed Operation Midnight Eclipse, bypassed firewall defenses and allowed full remote access to internal networks.
Just one month earlier, the Volt Typhoon campaign — attributed to a Chinese state-sponsored group — targeted U.S. infrastructure by compromising Fortinet FortiGuard devices and Cisco routers. These intrusions weren’t opportunistic. They were strategic, persistent, and laser-focused on exploiting firewall and VPN weak poi
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