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Avishai Wool, CTO at AlgoSec, analyses the recent Facebook outage and the risks all organizations face in network configuration Social... Cyber Attacks & Incident Response The Facebook outage and network configuration Prof. Avishai Wool 2 min read Prof. Avishai Wool Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 10/6/21 Published Avishai Wool, CTO at AlgoSec, analyses the recent Facebook outage and the risks all organizations face in network configuration Social media giant Facebook was involved in a network outage on the 4th October 2021 that lasted for nearly six hours and took its sister platforms Instagram and WhatsApp offline. As the story developed, it became apparent that the incident was caused by a configuration issue within Facebook’s BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), one of the systems that the internet uses to get your traffic where it needs to go as quickly as possible. The outage also cut off the company’s internal communications, along with authentication to third-party services including Google and Zoom. Some reports suggested security passes went offline, which stopped engineers from entering the building to physically reset the data center. The impact was felt worldwide, with Downdetector recording more than 10 million problem reports, the largest number for one single incident. Facebook released an official statement following the outage stating: “Our engineering teams learned that configuration changes on the backbone routers that coordinate network traffic between our data centers caused issues that interrupted this communication.” While Facebook has assured its users that no data has been lost in this process, the outage is a stark reminder of how small configuration errors can have huge, far-reaching consequences. The fundamentals of application availability At the fundamental level, Facebook suffered from a lack of application availability. When a change was actioned, it caused a major chain reaction that ultimately wiped Facebook and its related services from the internet because they couldn’t see the entire lifecycle of that change and the impact it would have. To avoid an incident like this in the future, organizations should consider a few simple steps: Back up configuration files to allow for rollbacks should an issue arise Use a test system alongside live processes to run scenarios without causing any disruptions Retain low-tech alternatives to guarantee access to the network if the primary route fails The outages across Facebook’s infrastructure highlight the operational risks all organizations face around faulty configuration changes which can drastically impact application availability. Intelligent automation, thorough change management and proactive checks are key to avoid these outages. Schedule a demo Related Articles Q1 at AlgoSec: What innovations and milestones defined our start to 2026? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read 2025 in review: What innovations and milestones defined AlgoSec’s transformative year in 2025? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Navigating Compliance in the Cloud AlgoSec Cloud Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Speak to one of our experts Speak to one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Schedule a call

AlgoSec’s Integration with ServiceNow allows AlgoSec users to automate security change management and accelerate application deployments... Information Security AlgoSec and ServiceNow: Managing Network Security Policies and Processes Within ServiceNow Amir Erel 2 min read Amir Erel Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 2/3/20 Published AlgoSec’s Integration with ServiceNow allows AlgoSec users to automate security change management and accelerate application deployments within their existing ServiceNow platform It isn’t easy for organizations to get holistic visibility and management across their increasingly complex, hybrid network environments. Application owners need to make changes to existing applications or launch new ones quickly to drive the business. Meanwhile, IT and security teams must maintain security, reduce the risk of outages and misconfigurations, and meet audit and compliance demands. It’s a difficult balance to achieve. In our 2019 cloud security survey , a lack of visibility into their entire network estate and seamless management of cloud and on-prem environments were two of the biggest challenges cited by organizations. Over 40% also reported having a network or application outage, with the leading cause being operational or human errors in making changes. So robust network security management and automation of processes are increasingly mission-critical. To manage network security changes efficiently, application owners prefer to use the familiar tools and workflows that they already know, while security owners need to understand the business context of the policies to ensure that they are making the right decisions to protect the organization’s assets. AlgoSec’s integration with ServiceNow’s IT Service Management solution allows these different stakeholders to share a single management. This bridges the gap between application and security teams and gives them both a holistic view of security, risk and compliance across their entire network environment. This, in turn, accelerates application delivery and strengthens the organization’s security and compliance postures. By integrating the AlgoSec Security Management Suite with ServiceNow, organizations can automate and enrich security policy change management while remaining entirely within the tool their team is already using, with the added benefit of business context. The solution works seamlessly with existing processes and workflows, which helps accelerate the rate of adoption across entire networks. Automating change management processes Making a single change in a complex enterprise environment could take days or even weeks. Using intelligent, highly customizable workflows, AlgoSec automates the entire security policy change process – from planning and design through to submission, proactive risk analysis, implementation, validation and auditing – all with zero-touch, enabling organizations to reduce change request processing times to minutes. By working with the tools that your organization is already familiar with, you don’t need to learn new workflows and user interfaces. Your application and IT teams can continue to use the tools they already know, and encourage organizational buy-in for automated network security policy change management. For more information on AlgoSec’s integration with ServiceNow, download the datasheet or watch the demo . Schedule a demo Related Articles Q1 at AlgoSec: What innovations and milestones defined our start to 2026? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read 2025 in review: What innovations and milestones defined AlgoSec’s transformative year in 2025? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Navigating Compliance in the Cloud AlgoSec Cloud Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Speak to one of our experts Speak to one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Schedule a call

Elevate Kubernetes container security with AlgoSec s Prevasio Shield your deployments effortlessly Explore more now Kubernetes and container security Agentless zero-trust container analysis system Schedule a demo Watch a video Watch a video AI powered container applications discovery Never misplace a containerized focused application on your estate with new AI powered cloud application discovery. Identify your containerized business applications and their connection to other cloud resources. Comprehensive risk assessment Proactively secure your containers with in-depth vulnerability scanning and malware detection. Take control of your cloud security with clear, actionable remediation recommendations. Compliance Ensure compliance with industry benchmarks such as CIS benchmarks . Achieve and maintain cloud compliance effortlessly. Our platform verifies your Kubernetes , EKS, ECS, and ECR configurations against industry benchmarks, then prioritizes fixes based on the impact to your critical applications. for Kubernetes, EKS, ECS and ECR. Dynamic threat analysis Gain unprecedented visibility into your containerized environments . Prevasio's dynamic threat analysis exposes concealed entry points, detects potential supply chain threats, and empowers you with actionable insights to strengthen your security posture. Get the latest insights from the experts A Guide to Upskilling Your Cloud Architects & Security Teams in 2023 Learn more Securing Cloud-Native Environments: Containerized Applications, Serverless Architectures, and Microservices Learn more Understanding and Preventing Kubernetes Attacks and Threats Read more Schedule time and secure your cloud Schedule time and secure your cloud Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Schedule a call

Last week our CTO, Professor Avishai Wool, presented a technical webinar on the do’s and don’ts for managing external connectivity to and... Auditing and Compliance 4 tips to manage your external network connections Joanne Godfrey 2 min read Joanne Godfrey Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 8/10/15 Published Last week our CTO, Professor Avishai Wool, presented a technical webinar on the do’s and don’ts for managing external connectivity to and from your network . We kicked off our webinar by polling the audience (186 people) on how many external permanent connections into their enterprise network they have. 40% have less than 50 external connections 31% have 50-250 external connections 24% have more than 250 external connections 5% wish they knew how many external connections they have! Clearly this is a very relevant issue for many enterprises, and one which can have a profound effect on security. The webinar covered a wide range of best practices for managing the external connectivity lifecycle and I highly recommend that you view the full presentation. But in the meantime, here are a few key issues that you should be mindful of when considering how to manage external connectivity to and from your network: Network Segmentation While there has to be an element of trust when you let an external partner into your network, you must do all you can to protect your organization from attacks through these connections. These include placing your servers in a demilitarized zone (DMZ), segregating them by firewalls, restricting traffic in both directions from the DMZ as well as using additional controls such as web application firewalls, data leak prevention and intrusion detection. Regulatory Compliance Bear in mind that if the data being accessed over the external connection is regulated, both your systems and the related peer’s systems are now subject t. So if the network connection touches credit card data, both sides of the connection are in scope, and outsourcing the processing and management of regulated data to a partner does not let you off the hook. Maintenance Sometimes you will have to make changes to your external connections, either due to planned maintenance work by your IT team or the peer’s team, or as a result of unplanned outages. Dealing with changes that affect external connections is more complicated than internal maintenance, as it will probably require coordinating with people outside your organisation and tweaking existing workflows, while adhering to any contractual or SLA obligations. As part of this process, remember that you’ll need to ensure that your information systems allow your IT teams to recognize external connections and provide access to the relevant technical information in the contract, while supporting the amended workflows. Contracts In most cases there is a contract that governs all aspects of the external connection – including technical and business issues. The technical points will include issues such as IP addresses and ports, technical contact points, SLAs, testing procedures and the physical location of servers. It’s important, therefore, that this contract is adhered to whenever dealing with technical issues related to external connections. These are just a few tips and issues to be aware of. To watch the webinar from Professor Wool in full, check out the recording here . Schedule a demo Related Articles Q1 at AlgoSec: What innovations and milestones defined our start to 2026? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read 2025 in review: What innovations and milestones defined AlgoSec’s transformative year in 2025? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Navigating Compliance in the Cloud AlgoSec Cloud Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Speak to one of our experts Speak to one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Schedule a call

Linux containers aren’t new. In fact, this technology was invented 20 years ago. In 2013, Docker entered the scene and revolutionized... Cloud Security Operation “Red Kangaroo”: Industry’s First Dynamic Analysis of 4M Public Docker Container Images Rony Moshkovich 2 min read Rony Moshkovich Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 12/1/20 Published Linux containers aren’t new. In fact, this technology was invented 20 years ago. In 2013, Docker entered the scene and revolutionized Linux containers by offering an easy-to-use command line interface (CLI), an engine, and a registry server. Combined, these technologies have concealed all the complexity of building and running containers, by offering one common industry standard . As a result, Docker’s popularity has sky-rocketed, rivalling Virtual Machines, and transforming the industry. In order to locate and share Docker container images, Docker is offering a service called Docker Hub . Its main feature, repositories , allows the development community to push (upload) and pull (download) container images. With Docker Hub, anyone in the world can download and execute any public image, as if it was a standalone application. Today, Docker Hub accounts over 4 million public Docker container images . With 8 billion pulls (downloads) in January 2020 and growing , its annualized image pulls should top 100 billion this year. For comparison , Google Play has 2.7M Android apps in its store, with a download rate of 84 billion downloads a year. How many container images currently hosted at Docker Hub are malicious or potentially harmful? What sort of damage can they inflict? What if a Docker container image downloaded and executed malware at runtime? Is there a reliable way to tell that? What if a compromised Docker container image was downloaded by an unsuspecting customer and used as a parent image to build and then deploy a new container image into production, practically publishing an application with a backdoor built into it? Is there any way to stop that from happening? At Prevasio, we asked ourselves these questions multiple times. What we decided to do has never been done before. The Challenge At Prevasio, we have built a dynamic analysis sandbox that uses the same principle as a conventional sandbox that ‘detonates’ malware in a safe environment. The only difference is that instead of ‘detonating’ an executable file, such as a Windows PE file or a Linux ELF binary, Prevasio Analyzer first pulls (downloads) an image from any container registry, and then ‘detonates’ it in its own virtual environment, outside the organization/customer infrastructure. Using our solution, we then dynamically analyzed all 4 million container images hosted at Docker Hub. In order to handle such a massive volume of images, Prevasio Analyzer was executed non-stop for a period of one month on 800 machines running in parallel. The result of our dynamic scan reveals that: 51 percent of all containers had “critical” vulnerabilities, while 13 percent were classified as “high” and four percent as “moderate” vulnerabilities. Six thousand containers were riddled with cryptominers, hacking tools/pen testing frameworks, and backdoor trojans. While many cryptominers and hacking tools may not be malicious per se, they present a potentially unwanted issue to an enterprise. More than 400 container images (with nearly 600,000 pulls) of weaponized Windows malware crossing over into the world of Linux. This crossover is directly due to the proliferation of cross-platform code (e.g. GoLang, .NET Core and PowerShell Core). Our analysis of malicious containers also shows that quite a few images contain a dynamic payload. That is, an image in its original form does not have a malicious binary. However, at runtime, it might be scripted to download a source of a coinminer, to then compile and execute it. A dynamic analysis sandbox, such as Prevasio Analyzer, is the only solution that provides a behavioral analysis of Docker containers. It is built to reveal malicious intentions of Docker containers by executing them in its own virtual environment, revealing a full scope of their behavior. The whitepaper with our findings is available here . Schedule a demo Related Articles Q1 at AlgoSec: What innovations and milestones defined our start to 2026? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read 2025 in review: What innovations and milestones defined AlgoSec’s transformative year in 2025? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Navigating Compliance in the Cloud AlgoSec Cloud Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Speak to one of our experts Speak to one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Schedule a call

Explore Algosec's products that simplify network security policy management, enhance compliance, and improve network visibility and control. Secure application connectivity.
Anywhere. Use automation to speed up and tighten your security policies Schedule a demo Learn more Watch the video Applications are at the core of digital transformation We currently are living through what we like to call the 100x revolution; networks are 100x more complex than ever, and the speed of application deployment and development has become a 100x faster. Speed and complexity are a dangerous combination for companies today and create increased risk. Frequent changes to applications in this fast, dynamic, and complex network can lead to downtime, security breaches, and compliance violations. A paradigm shift is required. Traditional policy management tools struggle with the complexity across larger hybrid networks and lack the necessary business application context. Application-centric security • Visualization of network and application connectivity • Application-aware vulnerability, risk and compliance • Adaptivity to application intent and traffic • Simplified application-focused of recertification Traditional NSPM • Visibility into network posture only • Risk and compliance detection • Reliant on policy rules • Labor-intehse rule recertification Our platform is the complete solution for delivering secure application connectivity and security policy. Explore what it’s made of! Take control of your application and security policy Horizon Security Analyzer See the whole picture Enable visibility across your hybrid network, optimize firewall rules, and prioritize risks. Firewall Analyzer solution FireFlow Automate and secure
policy changes Process security changes in a fraction of the time by automating the entire security policy change process FireFlow solution AppViz Optimize the discovery of applications and services Leverage advanced AI to identify your business applications and their network connectivity accurately AppViz solution AlgoSec Cloud Complet hybrid network security policy management Across cloud, SDN, on-premises, and anything in between - one platform to manage it all AlgoSec Cloud solution ALGOSEC HORIZON PLATFORM Secure application connectivity across your hybrid environment Secure your
enterprise network ASMS AlgoSec Security Management Suite Learn more Secure your
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cloud network Auto-discover application dependencies
and traffic flows Prioritize risk mitigation
based on business context Map network security risks to applications Securely automate application connectivity changes Accelerate application delivery
from weeks to hours Maintain application-centric compliance Identify and resolve compliance gaps in the cloud and datacenter Take control of your application and security policy Our platform is the complete solution for delivering secure application connectivity and security policy. Explore what it’s made of! Horizon
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ObjectFlow Horizon Security Analyzer Find risky rules, firewall cleanup opportunities, and compliance gaps before they create exposure or audit issues. LEARN MORE Move fast and deliver applications quickly Security threats are increasing, even as you need to deliver faster than ever before. The AlgoSec platform enables you to securely deliver applications – without compromising on security. Work Smoothly Don’t sacrifice security or agility with broken links in the chain. The AlgoSec platform helps ensure connectivity and security policy are a part of the entire application delivery pipeline. The AlgoSec technology partner ecosystem Centrally manage multi-vendor network security policies across your entire hybrid network. Manage AlgoSec sits at the heart of the security network and integrates with the leading network security, clouds, application-dependency vendors, and DevOps solutions. Seamlessly integrate with your existing orchestration systems, ITSM systems, SIEM/SOAR, vulnerability scanners, and more - all from a single platform. Integrate Schedule a demo See it in action Visualize your entire network Discover, identify, and map your business applications and security policies. Leverage advanced AI to intelligently analyze and discover application dependencies across your network. Instantly visualize your entire hybrid network security topology, including business-critical applications and their connectivity flows. The platform utilizes AI to provide a comprehensive view of your security policies and applications, whether they are in the cloud, across the SDN, on-premises, or anywhere in between. Zero-touch change management Automate application connectivity and security policy changes – from planning through risk analysis, implementation, and validation – to avoid misconfigurations. Accelerate security policy changes while maintaining control, ensuring accuracy, saving time, and preventing errors – with zero-touch. Always be compliant Understand which applications expose you to compliance violations and risk. Always be ready for audits with compliance reports covering leading global regulations and custom corporate policies including PCI DSS, SOX, HIPAA, and ISO/IEC 27001. The perfect balance of visibility
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You’re about to dive deep! Tech docs Watch the video "The way AlgoSec provides the whole map of internal and cloud networks is outstanding, and to be able to apply the same policy on all your infrastructure is priceless" What they say about us IT Security Specisalist Get the latest insights from the experts The 100x Revolution, learn how to Future-Proof your business applications with Secure Application Connectivity. Anywhere. Download the eBook Case Study- Nationwide Testimonial - AlgoSec Watch it now Product introduction video- Learn the key capabilities of the AlgoSec Secure application connectivity platform. Watch it now Schedule a call with an expert to start securing application connectivity today Schedule time and let's talk about your applications Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Continue

Webinars Radically reduce firewall rules with application-driven rule recertification Does your network still have obsolete firewall rules? Do you often feel overwhelmed with the number of firewall rules in your network? To make sure your network is secure and compliant, you need to regularly review and recertify firewall rules. However, manual firewall rule recertification is complex, time-consuming and error-prone, and mistakes may cause application outages. Discover a better way to recertify your firewall rules with Asher Benbenisty, AlgoSec’s Director of Product Marketing, as he discusses how associating application connectivity with your firewall rules can radically reduce the number of firewall rules on your network as well as the efforts involved in rule recertification. In this webinar, we will discuss: The importance of regularly reviewing and recertifying your firewall rules Integrating application connectivity into your firewall rule recertification process Automatically managing the rule-recertification process using an application-centric approach October 14, 2020 Asher Benbenisty Director of product marketing Relevant resources Changing the rules without risk: mapping firewall rules to business applications Keep Reading AlgoSec Horizon AppViz – Rule Recertification Watch Video Choose a better way to manage your network Choose a better way to manage your network Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Continue

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AlgoSec products are sold through our worldwide network of channel partners Request a quote, contact sales or locate a Partner How to buy Request a quote Contact Sales Locate a Partner AWS Marketplace Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Send us a note Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* Long answer Send message

Securely accelerate application delivery by automating application connectivity and security policy across the hybrid network estate. Solução de gestão de segurança Algosec Bem-vindo! Administrar sua política de segurança de rede em firewalls locais e controles de segurança na nuvem é um delicado ato de equilíbrio. Por um lado, é preciso reduzir o risco, minimizando a superfície de ataque; por outro, deve-se viabilizar a produtividade ao prover conectividade para suas aplicações comerciais críticas. No entanto, processos de administração de política de segurança de rede sempre foram complexos, demorados e cheio de erros. Não precisa ser assim. No local e na nuvem, a AlgoSec simplifica e automatiza a administração de política de segurança de rede para tornar sua empresa mais ágil, mais segura e mais compatível, o tempo todo. Uma abordagem única de ciclo de vida para a administração de Política de Segurança AlgoSec é única no que tange a administração de todo o ciclo de vida da política de segurança para garantir uma conectividade contínua e segura para seus aplicativos comerciais. Através de um único painel de vidro você pode detectar automaticamente os requisitos de conectividade de aplicativos, fazer uma análise de risco proativa e rapidamente planejar e executar alterações na segurança da rede e desativar com segurança as regras do firewall, todos isso sem contato físico e orquestrado de maneira transparente em seu ambiente heterogêneo. Com AlgoSec você pode Unificar a administração de política de segurança de rede em ambientes heterogêneos de nuvem, em ambientes definidos por software e locais Garantir a conformidade contínua e reduzir drasticamente os esforços de preparação de auditoria de firewall Prover conectividade para aplicativos de forma rápida e segura, e evitar interrupções relacionadas com a rede Alinhar equipes de segurança, de rede e de aplicações, e adotar DevSecOps Automatizar a administração de alterações no firewall e eliminar erros de configuração Reduzir o risco através da configuração correta de segurança e segmentação eficaz de rede A Solução de Gestão de Segurança AlgoSec Análise de Política de Segurança de Rede Mais informações Firewall Analyzer Automação de Mudanças de Política de Segurança Mais informações FireFlow Calculadora ROI Brochura de Soluções AlgoSec Representante local Test name Phone: +55-11-991068906
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Integrating AlgoSec with F5 Networks firewalls, LTM, AFM, and network security devices offers visibility and compliance for hybrid networks F5 Networks and AlgoSec AlgoSec seamlessly integrates with F5 BIG-IP LTM and AFM modules to provide customers with unified security policy management across their heterogeneous networks. AlgoSec delivers visibility and analysis of F5 LTM and AFM. AlgoSec supports the entire security policy management lifecycle — from application connectivity discovery through ongoing management and compliance to rule recertification and secure decommissioning. Solution brief View webinar Key benefits Uniform security policy across your hybrid network environment. Deploy applications faster by automating network security change management processes. Avoid security device misconfigurations that cause outages. Reduce the costs and efforts of firewall auditing and ensure success. How to Unified visibility for the hybrid environment Cleanup, recertify, and optimize Security Policies Audit-ready compliance reports SEE HOW F5 USERS CAN BENEFIT FROM ALGOSEC Schedule time with one of our experts

Properly configured firewalls are vital in any comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. However, even the most robust configurations can be... Uncategorized How To Prevent Firewall Breaches (The 2024 Guide) Tsippi Dach 2 min read Tsippi Dach Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 1/11/24 Published Properly configured firewalls are vital in any comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. However, even the most robust configurations can be vulnerable to exploitation by attackers. No single security measure can offer absolute protection against all cyber threats and data security risks . To mitigate these risks, it’s crucial to understand how cybercriminals exploit firewall vulnerabilities. The more you know about their tactics, techniques, and procedures, the better-equipped you are to implement security policies that successfully block unauthorized access to network assets. In this guide, you’ll understand the common cyber threats that target enterprise firewall systems with the goal of helping you understand how attackers exploit misconfigurations and human vulnerabilities. Use this information to protect your network from a firewall breach. Understanding 6 Tactics Cybercriminals Use to Breach Firewalls 1. DNS Leaks Your firewall’s primary use is making sure unauthorized users do not gain access to your private network and the sensitive information it contains. But firewall rules can go both ways – preventing sensitive data from leaving the network is just as important. If enterprise security teams neglect to configure their firewalls to inspect outgoing traffic, cybercriminals can intercept this traffic and use it to find gaps in your security systems. DNS traffic is particularly susceptible to this approach because it shows a list of websites users on your network regularly visit. A hacker could use this information to create a spoofed version of a frequently visited website. For example, they might notice your organization’s employees visit a third-party website to attend training webinars. Registering a fake version of the training website and collecting employee login credentials would be simple. If your firewall doesn’t inspect DNS data and confirm connections to new IP addresses, you may never know. DNS leaks may also reveal the IP addresses and endpoint metadata of the device used to make an outgoing connection. This would give cybercriminals the ability to see what kind of hardware your organization’s employees use to connect to external websites. With that information in hand, impersonating managed service providers or other third-party partners is easy. Some DNS leaks even contain timestamp data, telling attackers exactly when users requested access to external web assets. How to protect yourself against DNS leaks Proper firewall configuration is key to preventing DNS-related security incidents. Your organization’s firewalls should provide observability and access control to both incoming and outgoing traffic. Connections to servers known for hosting malware and cybercrime assets should be blocked entirely. Connections to servers without a known reputation should be monitored closely. In a Zero Trust environment , even connections to known servers should benefit from scrutiny using an identity-based security framework. Don’t forget that apps can connect to external resources, too. Consider deploying web application firewalls configured to prevent DNS leaks when connecting to third-party assets and servers. You may also wish to update your security policy to require employees to use VPNs when connecting to external resources. An encrypted VPN connection can prevent DNS information from leaking, making it much harder for cybercriminals to conduct reconnaissance on potential targets using DNS data. 2. Encrypted Injection Attacks Older, simpler firewalls analyze traffic by looking at different kinds of data packet metadata. This provides clear evidence of certain denial-of-service attacks, clear violations of network security policy , and some forms of malware and ransomware . They do not conduct deep packet inspection to identify the kind of content passing through the firewall. This provides cybercriminals with an easy way to bypass firewall rules and intrusion prevention systems – encryption . If malicious content is encrypted before it hits the firewall, it may go unnoticed by simple firewall rules. Only next-generation firewalls capable of handling encrypted data packets can determine whether this kind of traffic is secure or not. Cybercriminals often deliver encrypted injection attacks through email. Phishing emails may trick users into clicking on a malicious link that injects encrypted code into the endpoint device. The script won’t decode and run until after it passes the data security threshold posed by the firewall. After that, it is free to search for personal data, credit card information, and more. Many of these attacks will also bypass antivirus controls that don’t know how to handle encrypted data. Task automation solutions like Windows PowerShell are also susceptible to these kinds of attacks. Even sophisticated detection-based security solutions may fail to recognize encrypted injection attacks if they don’t have the keys necessary to decrypt incoming data. How to protect yourself against encrypted injection attacks Deep packet inspection is one of the most valuable features next-generation firewalls provide to security teams. Industry-leading firewall vendors equip their products with the ability to decrypt and inspect traffic. This allows the firewall to prevent malicious content from entering the network through encrypted traffic, and it can also prevent sensitive encrypted data – like login credentials – from leaving the network. These capabilities are unique to next-generation firewalls and can’t be easily replaced with other solutions. Manufacturers and developers have to equip their firewalls with public-key cryptography capabilities and obtain data from certificate authorities in order to inspect encrypted traffic and do this. 3. Compromised Public Wi-Fi Public Wi-Fi networks are a well-known security threat for individuals and organizations alike. Anyone who logs into a password-protected account on public Wi-Fi at an airport or coffee shop runs the risk of sending their authentication information directly to hackers. Compromised public Wi-Fi also presents a lesser-known threat to security teams at enterprise organizations – it may help hackers breach firewalls. If a remote employee logs into a business account or other asset from a compromised public Wi-Fi connection, hackers can see all the data transmitted through that connection. This may give them the ability to steal account login details or spoof endpoint devices and defeat multi-factor authentication. Even password-protected private Wi-Fi connections can be abused in this way. Some Wi-Fi networks still use outdated WEP and WPA security protocols that have well-known vulnerabilities. Exploiting these weaknesses to take control of a WEP or WPA-protected network is trivial for hackers. The newer WPA2 and WPA3 standards are much more resilient against these kinds of attacks. While public Wi-Fi dangers usually bring remote workers and third-party service vendors to mind, on-premises networks are just as susceptible. Nothing prevents a hacker from gaining access to public Wi-Fi networks in retail stores, receptions, or other areas frequented by customers and employees. How to protect yourself against compromised public Wi-Fi attacks First, you must enforce security policies that only allow Wi-Fi traffic secured by WPA2 and WPA3 protocols. Hardware Wi-Fi routers that do not support these protocols must be replaced. This grants a minimum level of security to protected Wi-Fi networks. Next, all remote connections made over public Wi-Fi networks must be made using a secure VPN. This will encrypt the data that the public Wi-Fi router handles, making it impossible for a hacker to intercept without gaining access to the VPN’s secret decryption key. This doesn’t guarantee your network will be safe from attacks, but it improves your security posture considerably. 4. IoT Infrastructure Attacks Smartwatches, voice-operated speakers, and many automated office products make up the Internet of Things (IoT) segment of your network. Your organization may be using cloud-enriched access control systems, cost-efficient smart heating systems, and much more. Any Wi-Fi-enabled hardware capable of automation can safely be included in this category. However, these devices often fly under the radar of security team’s detection tools, which often focus on user traffic. If hackers compromise one of these devices, they may be able to move laterally through the network until they arrive at a segment that handles sensitive information. This process can take time, which is why many incident response teams do not consider suspicious IoT traffic to be a high-severity issue. IoT endpoints themselves rarely process sensitive data on their own, so it’s easy to overlook potential vulnerabilities and even ignore active attacks as long as the organization’s mission-critical assets aren’t impacted. However, hackers can expand their control over IoT devices and transform them into botnets capable of running denial-of-service attacks. These distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are much larger and more dangerous, and they are growing in popularity among cybercriminals. Botnet traffic associated with DDoS attacks on IoT networks has increased five-fold over the past year , showing just how promising it is for hackers. How to protect yourself against IoT infrastructure attacks Proper network segmentation is vital for preventing IoT infrastructure attacks . Your organization’s IoT devices should be secured on a network segment that is isolated from the rest of the network. If attackers do compromise the entire network, you should be protected from the risk of losing sensitive data from critical business assets. Ideally, this protection will be enforced with a strong set of firewalls managing the connection between your IoT subnetwork and the rest of your network. You may need to create custom rules that take your unique security risk profile and fleet of internet-connected devices into account. There are very few situations in which one-size-fits-all rulemaking works, and this is not one of them. All IoT devices – no matter how small or insignificant – should be protected by your firewall and other cybersecurity solutions . Never let these devices connect directly to the Internet through an unsecured channel. If they do, they provide attackers with a clear path to circumvent your firewalls and gain access to the rest of your network with ease. 5. Social Engineering and Phishing Social engineering attacks refer to a broad range of deceptive practices used by hackers to gain access to victims’ assets. What makes this approach special is that it does not necessarily depend on technical expertise. Instead of trying to hack your systems, cybercriminals are trying to hack your employees and company policies to carry out their attacks. Email phishing is one of the most common examples. In a typical phishing attack , hackers may spoof an email server to make it look like they are sending emails from a high-level executive in the company you work for. They can then impersonate this executive and demand junior accountants pay fictitious invoices or send sensitive customer data to email accounts controlled by threat actors. Other forms of social engineering can use your organization’s tech support line against itself. Attackers may pretend to represent large customer accounts and will leverage this ruse to gain information about how your company works. They may impersonate a third-party vendor and request confidential information that the vendor would normally have access to. These attacks span the range from simple trickery to elaborate confidence scams. Protecting against them can be incredibly challenging, and your firewall capabilities can make a significant difference in your overall state of readiness. How to protect yourself against social engineering attacks Employee training is the top priority for protecting against social engineering attacks . When employees understand the company’s operating procedures and security policies, it’s much harder for social engineers to trick them. Ideally, training should also include in-depth examples of how phishing attacks work, what they look like, and what steps employees should take when contacted by people they don’t trust. 6. Sandbox Exploits Many organizations use sandbox solutions to prevent file-based malware attacks. Sandboxes work by taking suspicious files and email attachments and opening them in a secure virtual environment before releasing them to users. The sandbox solution will observe how the file behaves and quarantine any file that shows malicious activity. In theory, this provides a powerful layer of defense against file-based attacks. But in practice, cybercriminals are well aware of how to bypass these solutions. For example, many sandbox solutions can’t open files over a certain size. Hackers who attach malicious code to large files can easily get through. Additionally, many forms of malware do not start executing malicious tasks the second they are activated. This delay can provide just enough of a buffer to get through a sandbox system. Some sophisticated forms of malware can even detect when they are being run in a sandbox environment – and will play the part of an innocent program until they are let loose inside the network. How to protect yourself against sandbox exploits Many next-generation firewalls include cloud-enabled sandboxing capable of running programs of arbitrary size for a potentially unlimited amount of time. More sophisticated sandbox solutions go to great lengths to mimic the system specifications of an actual endpoint so malware won’t know it is being run in a virtual environment. Organizations may also be able to overcome the limitations of the sandbox approach using Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) techniques. This approach keeps potentially malicious files off the network entirely and only allows a reconstructed version of the file to enter the network. Since the new file is constructed from scratch, it will not contain any malware that may have been attached to the original file. Prevent firewall breaches with AlgoSec Managing firewalls manually can be overwhelming and time-consuming – especially when dealing with multiple firewall solutions. With the help of a firewall management solution , you easily configure firewall rules and manage configurations from a single dashboard. AlgoSec’s powerful firewall management solution integrates with your firewalls to deliver unified firewall policy management from a single location, thus streamlining the entire process. With AlgoSec, you can maintain clear visibility of your firewall ruleset, automate the management process, assess risk & optimize rulesets, streamline audit preparation & ensure compliance, and use APIs to access many features through web services. Schedule a demo Related Articles Q1 at AlgoSec: What innovations and milestones defined our start to 2026? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read 2025 in review: What innovations and milestones defined AlgoSec’s transformative year in 2025? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Navigating Compliance in the Cloud AlgoSec Cloud Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Speak to one of our experts Speak to one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Schedule a call