Security is one of the fastest moving segments within the realm of technology. Whereas most technology is created to offer new services or products, security is created to prevent the abuse of these new products and or services. In today’s world, where we are always connected in ways that have never been available to us before, the need to secure this connectivity is greater than ever.

Most of the world’s pockets hold smart phones. These tiny devices contain more computing power than what was used to land people on the moon; the pocket GPS device that assists you in navigating your day is more advanced than the technology used on the Apollo spacecraft. That same smart phone can photograph a paper check and instantly deposit its funds to your bank account. These types of technologies were always dreamed about but now are available to almost everyone.

In this same vein, there is a humongous generation of data that is currently being created every minute of every day. More data was created within 2012 than all the other years before combined. For example, 60 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute of the day. This means that there is more content uploaded to one website than you could watch within your lifetime, even if you did nothing but watch YouTube. And that’s just one website and one type of media. The rapid expanse of information and data and media puts security needs at an all-time high, not only to provide security, but to provide it at higher scales and performance levels.

This scaling has happened at extremely fast rates due to the amount and the diversity of network-based applications. In the past, simple packet filters could limit the few network protocols that were being used. Only a few open ports were needed at the time. From packet filters on simple routers evolved proxy-based firewalls. These firewalls offered some of the most secure methods of securing transit data by literally controlling both sides of the transaction between the client and servers. They were able to inspect all parts of the traffic flows. However, as Internet circuits increased with available bandwidth, the maximum performance of these devices was being exceeded and a new technology was needed.