In today’s digital landscape, organizations face the dual challenge of maintaining robust cyber security measures while also reducing their environmental impact to manage risks and realize opportunities. In recognition of Earth Day 2025, we’d like to discuss why the convergence of these two priorities is particularly relevant, giving rise of Green IT security practices that can help organizations accomplish both goals simultaneously. By implementing energy-efficient security systems, companies can strengthen their defenses while contributing to sustainability efforts and reducing operational costs – a win-win for the bottom line and the planet!
The Energy-Security Connection
When companies design their IT security systems with energy efficiency in mind, they create a more sustainable digital infrastructure without compromising protection. A key performance indicator in this approach is the energy consumption per gigabit (Gbit) of data throughput in next-generation security gateways. By optimizing for this metric, organizations can reduce their environmental footprint while maintaining effective security controls.
Check Point’s latest ESG Report provides concrete examples of this approach in action. Our Quantum Force 29200 security gateway demonstrates a remarkable 73% decrease in Power Consumption (Watts) per Throughput (Gbps) compared to the previous Quantum 28000 model. Impressively, this reduction comes alongside a 112% improvement in Threat Prevention capabilities. Similar advancements are evident in another product line, where the Quantum Force 9800 security gateway delivers a 61% reduction in Power Consumption (Watts) per Throughput (Gbps) compared to the Quantum 7000, while achieving a 111% improvement in Threat Prevention. These innovations illustrate how next-generation security technologies can simultaneously enhance protection and energy efficiency.
Prevention: The Green Approach to Cyber Security
Proactive defense against cyberattacks doesn’t just protect data—it prevents unnecessary energy consumption. When organizations fall victim to attacks like ransomware or cryptominers, recovery often involves energy-intensive processes such as restoring backups or rebooting entire systems. These procedures consume significant energy that could have been saved through preventive measures.
Consider cryptomining malware, which remains a persistent threat despite its peak in 2018 when it affected 40% of analyzed organizations. Even recently, malware such as XMRig has been detected targeting gaming engines. The collective energy consumption of cryptomining is estimated at a staggering 125-terawatt hours annually—highlighting how effective prevention directly translates to energy savings.
AI Systems: New Threats, New Energy Concerns
Data poisoning in AI systems represents another emerging concern. These attacks compromise machine learning models, often requiring complete retraining to remediate—an extremely energy-intensive process. As organizations increasingly rely on AI-powered tools for decision-making, protecting these systems also means avoiding redundant and costly training cycles that consume substantial computational resources.
Architecture Choices for Energy Efficiency
Network architecture decisions significantly impact both security and energy consumption. Hybrid network models, such as mesh networks within SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) environments, can reduce energy use by decreasing the number of hops data must take. Instead of routing all traffic through cloud services, these approaches ensure fewer energy-consuming systems are involved in transmission.
In data centers, scale-out security gateway designs enhance energy efficiency by providing high availability without relying on traditional active-passive configurations that often waste resources.
The Combined Benefit
By integrating Green IT principles into cyber security strategies, organizations create infrastructure that is both secure and sustainable. Making strategic choices in architecture, proactively defending against attacks, and considering the energy implications of security operations allows companies to protect both their business interests and environmental resources.
Reducing cyber security risks doesn’t just protect your organization—it protects the planet too.