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What is network change management? Network Change Management (NCM) is the process of planning, testing, and approving changes to a network infrastructure. The goal is to minimize network disruptions by following standardized procedures for controlled network changes. NCM, or network configuration and change management (NCCM), is all about staying connected and keeping things in check. When done the right way, it lets IT teams seamlessly roll out and track change requests, and boost the... Network Security Policy Management Network Change Management: Best Practices for 2024 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 2/8/24 Published What is network change management? Network Change Management (NCM) is the process of planning, testing, and approving changes to a network infrastructure. The goal is to minimize network disruptions by following standardized procedures for controlled network changes. NCM, or network configuration and change management (NCCM), is all about staying connected and keeping things in check. When done the right way, it lets IT teams seamlessly roll out and track change requests, and boost the network’s overall performance and safety. There are 2 main approaches to implementing NCM: manual and automated. Manual NCM is a popular choice that’s usually complex and time-consuming. A poor implementation may yield faulty or insecure configurations causing disruptions or potential noncompliance. These setbacks can cause application outages and ultimately need extra work to resolve. Fortunately, specialized solutions like the AlgoSec platform and its Horizon FireFlow solution exist to address these concerns. With inbuilt intelligent automation, these solutions make NCM easier as they cut out errors and rework usually tied to manual NCM. The network change management process The network change management process is a structured approach that organizations use to manage and implement changes to their network infrastructure. When networks are complex with many interdependent systems and components, change needs to be managed carefully to avoid unintended impacts. A systematic NCM process is essential to make the required changes promptly, minimize risks associated with network modifications, ensure compliance, and maintain network stability. The most effective NCM process leverages an automated NCM solution like the intelligent automation provided by the AlgoSec platform to streamline effort, reduce the risks of redundant changes, and curtail network outages and downtime. The key steps involved in the network change management process are: Step 1: Security policy development and documentation Creating a comprehensive set of security policies involves identifying the organization’s specific security requirements, relevant regulations, and industry best practices. These policies and procedures help establish baseline configurations for network devices. They govern how network changes should be performed – from authorization to execution and management. They also document who is responsible for what, how critical systems and information are protected, and how backups are planned. In this way, they address various aspects of network security and integrity, such as access control , encryption, incident response, and vulnerability management. Step 2: Change the request A formal change request process streamlines how network changes are requested and approved. Every proposed change is clearly documented, preventing the implementation of ad-hoc or unauthorized changes. Using an automated tool ensures that every change complies with the regulatory standards relevant to the organization, such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, NIST FISMA, etc. This tool should be able to send automated notifications to relevant stakeholders, such as the Change Advisory Board (CAB), who are required to validate and approve normal and emergency changes (see below). Step 3: Change Implementation Standard changes – those implemented using a predetermined process, need no validation or testing as they’re already deemed low- or no-risk. Examples include installing a printer or replacing a user’s laptop. These changes can be easily managed, ensuring a smooth transition with minimal disruption to daily operations. On the other hand, normal and emergency changes require testing and validation, as they pose a more significant risk if not implemented correctly. Normal changes, such as adding a new server or migrating from on-premises to the cloud, entail careful planning and execution. Emergency changes address urgent issues that could introduce risks if not resolved promptly, like failing to install security patches or software upgrades, which may leave networks vulnerable to zero-day exploits and cyberattacks. Testing uncovers these potential risks, such as network downtime or new vulnerabilities that increase the likelihood of a malware attack. Automated network change management (NCM) solutions streamline simple changes, saving time and effort. For instance, AlgoSec’s firewall policy cleanup solution optimizes changes related to firewall policies, enhancing efficiency. Documenting all implemented changes is vital, as it maintains accountability and service level agreements (SLAs) while providing an audit trail for optimization purposes. The documentation should outline the implementation process, identified risks, and recommended mitigation steps. Network teams must establish monitoring systems to continuously review performance and flag potential issues during change implementation. They must also set up automated configuration backups for devices like routers and firewalls ensuring that organizations can recover from change errors and avoid expensive downtime. Step 4: Troubleshooting and rollbacks Rollback procedures are important because they provide a way to restore the network to its original state (or the last known “good” configuration) if the proposed change could introduce additional risk into the network or deteriorate network performance. Some automated tools include ready-to-use templates to simplify configuration changes and rollbacks. The best platforms use a tested change approval process that enables organizations to avoid bad, invalid, or risky configuration changes before they can be deployed. Troubleshooting is also part of the NCM process. Teams must be trained in identifying and resolving network issues as they emerge, and in managing any incidents that may result from an implemented change. They must also know how to roll back changes using both automated and manual methods. Step 5: Network automation and integration Automated network change management (NCM) solutions streamline and automate key aspects of the change process, such as risk analysis, implementation, validation, and auditing. These automated solutions prevent redundant or unauthorized changes, ensuring compliance with applicable regulations before deployment. Multi-vendor configuration management tools eliminate the guesswork in network configuration and change management. They empower IT or network change management teams to: Set real-time alerts to track and monitor every change Detect and prevent unauthorized, rogue, and potentially dangerous changes Document all changes, aiding in SLA tracking and maintaining accountability Provide a comprehensive audit trail for auditors Execute automatic backups after every configuration change Communicate changes to all relevant stakeholders in a common “language” Roll back undesirable changes as needed AlgoSec’s NCM platform can also be integrated with IT service management (ITSM) and ticketing systems to improve communication and collaboration between various teams such as IT operations and admins. Infrastructure as code (IaC) offers another way to automate network change management. IaC enables organizations to “codify” their configuration specifications in config files. These configuration templates make it easy to provision, distribute, and manage the network infrastructure while preventing ad-hoc, undocumented, or risky changes. Risks associated with network change management Network change management is a necessary aspect of network configuration management. However, it also introduces several risks that organizations should be aware of. Network downtime The primary goal of any change to the network should be to avoid unnecessary downtime. Whenever these network changes fail or throw errors, there’s a high chance of network downtime or general performance. Depending on how long the outage lasts, it usually results in users losing productive time and loss of significant revenue and reputation for the organization. IT service providers may also have to monitor and address potential issues, such as IP address conflicts, firmware upgrades, and device lifecycle management. Human errors Manual configuration changes introduce human errors that can result in improper or insecure device configurations. These errors are particularly prevalent in complex or large-scale changes and can increase the risk of unauthorized or rogue changes. Security issues Manual network change processes may lead to outdated policies and rulesets, heightening the likelihood of security concerns. These issues expose organizations to significant threats and can cause inconsistent network changes and integration problems that introduce additional security risks. A lack of systematic NCM processes can further increase the risk of security breaches due to weak change control and insufficient oversight of configuration files, potentially allowing rogue changes and exposing organizations to various cyberattacks. Compliance issues Poor NCM processes and controls increase the risk of non-compliance with regulatory requirements. This can potentially result in hefty financial penalties and legal liabilities that may affect the organization’s bottom line, reputation, and customer relationships. Rollback failures and backup issues Manual rollbacks can be time-consuming and cumbersome, preventing network teams from focusing on higher-value tasks. Additionally, a failure to execute rollbacks properly can lead to prolonged network downtime. It can also lead to unforeseen issues like security flaws and exploits. For network change management to be effective, it’s vital to set up automated backups of network configurations to prevent data loss, prolonged downtime, and slow recovery from outages. Troubleshooting issues Inconsistent or incorrect configuration baselines can complicate troubleshooting efforts. These wrong baselines increase the chances of human error, which leads to incorrect configurations and introduces security vulnerabilities into the network. Simplified network change management with AlgoSec AlgoSec’s configuration management solution automates and streamlines network management for organizations of all types. It provides visibility into the configuration of every network device and automates many aspects of the NCM process, including change requests, approval workflows, and configuration backups. This enables teams to safely and collaboratively manage changes and efficiently roll back whenever issues or outages arise. The AlgoSec platform monitors configuration changes in real-time. It also provides compliance assessments and reports for many security standards, thus helping organizations to strengthen and maintain their compliance posture. Additionally, its lifecycle management capabilities simplify the handling of network devices from deployment to retirement. Vulnerability detection and risk analysis features are also included in AlgoSec’s solution. The platform leverages these features to analyze the potential impact of network changes and highlight possible risks and vulnerabilities. This information enables network teams to control changes and ensure that there are no security gaps in the network. Click here to request a free demo of AlgoSec’s feature-rich platform and its configuration management tools. 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

Tsippi Dach, Director of Communications at AlgoSec, explores what happened during this past summer’s Fastly outage, and explores how your... Application Connectivity Management The great Fastly outage 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 9/29/21 Published Tsippi Dach, Director of Communications at AlgoSec, explores what happened during this past summer’s Fastly outage, and explores how your business can protect itself in the future. The odds are that before June 8th you probably hadn’t heard of Fastly unless you were a customer. It was only when swathes of the internet went down with the 503: Service Unavailable error message that the edge cloud provider started to make headlines . For almost an hour, sites like Amazon and eBay were inaccessible, costing millions of dollars’ worth of revenue. PayPal, which processed roughly $106 million worth of transactions per hour throughout 2020, was also impacted, and disruption at Shopify left thousands of online retail businesses unable to serve customers. While the true cost of losing a significant portion of the internet for almost one hour is yet to be tallied, we do know what caused it. What is Fastly and why did it break the internet? Fastly is a US-based content distribution network (CDN), sometimes referred to as an ‘edge cloud provider.’ CDNs relieve the load on a website’s servers and ostensibly improve performance for end-users by caching copies of web pages on a distributed network of servers that are geographically closer to them. The downside is that when a CDN goes down – due to a configuration error in Fastly’s case – it reveals just how vulnerable businesses are to forces outside of their control. Many websites, perhaps even yours, are heavily dependent on a handful of cloud-based providers. When these providers experience difficulties, the consequences for your business are amplified ten-fold. Not only do you run the risk of long-term and costly disruption, but these weak links can also provide a golden opportunity for bad actors to target your business with malicious software that can move laterally across your network and cause untold damage. How micro-segmentation can help The security and operational risks caused by these outages can be easily mitigated by implementing plans that should already be part of an organization’s cyber resilience strategy. One aspect of this is micro-segmentation , which is regarded as one of the most effective methods to limit the damage of an intrusion or attack and therefore limit large-scale downtime from configuration misfires and cyberattacks. Micro-segmentation is the act of creating secure “zones” in data centers and cloud deployments that allow your company to isolate workloads from one another. In effect, this makes your network security more compartmentalized, so that if a bad actor takes advantage of an outage in order to breach your organization’s network, or user error causes a system malfunction, you can isolate the incident and prevent lateral impact. Simplifying micro-segmentation with AlgoSec Security Management Suite The AlgoSec Security Management Suite employs the power of automation to make it easy for businesses to define and enforce their micro-segmentation strategy, ensuring that it does not block critical business services, and also meets compliance requirements. AlgoSec supports micro-segmentation by: Mapping the applications and traffic flows across your hybrid network Identifying unprotected network flows that do not cross any firewall and are not filtered for an application Automatically identifying changes that will violate the micro-segmentation strategy Ensuring easy management of network security policies across your hybrid network Automatically implementing network security policy changes Automatically validating changes Generating a custom report on compliance with the micro-segmentation policy Find out more about how micro-segmentation can help you boost your security posture, or request your personal 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

As organizations respond to an ever-evolving set of security threats, network teams are scrambling to find new ways to keep up with... Auditing and Compliance Continuous compliance monitoring best practices 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 3/19/23 Published As organizations respond to an ever-evolving set of security threats, network teams are scrambling to find new ways to keep up with numerous standards and regulations to dodge their next compliance audit violation. Can this nightmare be avoided? Yes, and it’s not as complex as one might think if you take a “compliance first” approach . It may not come as a surprise to many, but the number of cyber attacks is increasing every year and with it the risk to companies’ financial, organizational, and reputational standing. What’s at stake? The stakes are high when it comes to cyber security compliance. A single data breach can result in massive financial losses, damage to a company’s reputation, and even jail time for executives. Data breaches: Data breaches are expensive and becoming even more so by the day. According to the Ponemon Institute’s 2022 Cost of a Data Breach Report , the average cost of a data breach is $4.35 million. Fraud: Identity fraud is one of the most pressing cybersecurity threats today. In large organizations, the scale of fraud is also usually large, resulting in huge losses causing depletion of profitability. In a recent survey done by PwC, nearly one in five organizations said that their most disruptive incident cost over $50 million*. Theft: Identity theft is on the rise and can be the first step towards compromising a business. According a study from Javelin Strategy & Research found that identity fraud costs US businesses an estimated total of $56 billion* in 2021. What’s the potential impact? The potential impact of non-compliance can be devastating to an organization. Financial penalties, loss of customers, and damage to reputation are just a few of the possible consequences. To avoid these risks, organizations must make compliance a priority and take steps to ensure that they are meeting all relevant requirements. Legal impact:  Regulatory or legal action brought against the organization or its employees that could result in fines, penalties, imprisonment, product seizures, or debarment.  Financial impact:  Negative impacts with regard to the organization’s bottom line, share price, potential future earnings, or loss of investor confidence.  Business impact:  Adverse events, such as embargos or plant shutdowns, could significantly disrupt the organization’s ability to operate.  Reputational impact:  Damage to the organization’s reputation or brand—for example, bad press or social-media discussion, loss of customer trust, or decreased employee morale.  How can this be avoided? In order to stay ahead of the ever-expanding regulatory requirements, organizations must adopt a “compliance first” approach to cyber security. This means enforcing strict compliance criteria and taking immediate action to address any violations to ensure data is protected. Some of these measures include the following: Risk assessment: Conduct ongoing monitoring of compliance posture (risk assessment) and conduct regular internal audits (ensuring adherence with regulatory and legislative requirements (HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, SOX, etc.) Documentation: Enforce continuous tracking of changes and intent Annual audits: Commission 3rd party annual audits to ensure adherence with regulatory and legislative requirements (HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, SOX, etc.) Conclusion and next steps Compliance violations are no laughing matter. They can result in fines, business loss, and even jail time in extreme cases. They can be difficult to avoid unless you take the right steps to avoid them. You have a complex set of rules and regulations to follow as well as numerous procedures, processes, and policies. And if you don’t stay on top of things, you can end up with a compliance violation mess that is difficult to untangle. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce the risk of being blindsided by a compliance violation mess with your organization. Now that you know the risks and what needs to be done, here are six best practices for achieving it. External links: $50 million $56 billion 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

Problems with firewalls can be quite disastrous to your operations. When firewall rules are not set properly, you might deny all... Firewall Change Management Firewall troubleshooting steps & solutions to common issues 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 8/10/23 Published Problems with firewalls can be quite disastrous to your operations. When firewall rules are not set properly, you might deny all requests, even valid ones, or allow access to unauthorized sources. There needs to be a systematic way to troubleshoot your firewall issues, and you need to have a proper plan. You should consider security standards, hardware/software compatibility, security policy planning , and access level specifications. It is recommended to have an ACL (access control list) to determine who has access to what. Let us give you a brief overview of firewall troubleshooting best practices and steps to follow. Common firewall problems With the many benefits that firewalls bring, they might also pop out some errors and issues now and then. You need to be aware of the common issues, failures, and error codes to properly assess an error condition to ensure the smooth working of your firewalls. Misconfiguration errors A report by Gartner Research says that misconfiguration causes about 95% of all firewall breaches. A simple logical flaw in a firewall rule can open up vulnerabilities, leading to serious security breaches. Before playing with your firewall settings, you must set up proper access control settings and understand the security policy specifications. You must remember that misconfiguration errors in CLI can lead to hefty fines for non-compliance, data breaches , and unnecessary downtimes. All these can cause heavy monetary damages; hence, you should take extra care to configure your firewall rules and settings properly. Here are some common firewall misconfigurations: Allowing ICMP and making the firewall available for ping requests Providing unnecessary services on the firewall Allowing unused TCP/UDP ports The firewall is set to return a ‘deny’ response instead of a ‘drop’ for blocked ports. IP address misconfigurations that can allow TCP pinging of internal hosts from external devices. Trusting DNS and IP addresses that are not properly checked and source verified. Check out AlgoSec’s firewall configuration guide for best practices. Hardware issues Hardware bottlenecks and device misconfigurations can easily lead to firewall failures. Sometimes, running a firewall 24/7 can overload your hardware and lead to a lowered network performance of your entire system. You should look into the performance issues and optimize firewall functionalities or upgrade your hardware accordingly. Software vulnerabilities Any known vulnerability with your firewall software must be dealt with immediately. Hackers can exploit software vulnerabilities easily to gain backdoor entry into your network. So, stay current with all the patches and updates your software vendors provide. Types of firewall issues Most firewall issues can be classified as either connectivity or performance issues. Here are some tools you can use in each of these cases: Connectivity Issues Some loss of access to a network resource or unavailability usually characterizes these issues. You can use network connectivity tools like NetStat to monitor and analyze the inbound TCP/UDP packets. Both these tools have a wide range of sub-commands and tools that help you trace IP network traffic and control the traffic as per your requirements. Firewall Performance Issues As discussed earlier, performance issues can cause a wide range of issues, such as unplanned downtimes and firewall failures, leading to security breaches and slow network performance. Some of the ways you can rectify it include: Load balancing by regulating the outbound network traffic by limiting the internal server errors and streamlining the network traffic. Filtering the incoming network traffic with the help of Standard Access Control List filters. Simplifying firewall rules to reduce the load on the firewall applications. You can remove unused rules and break down complex rules to improve performance. Firewall troubleshooting checklist steps Step 1. Audit your hardware & software Create a firewall troubleshooting checklist to check your firewall rules, software vulnerabilities, hardware settings, and more based on your operating system. This should include all the items you should cover as part of your security policy and network assessment. With Algosec’s policy management , you can ensure that your security policy is complete, comprehensive and does not miss out on anything important. Step 2. Pinpoint the Issue Check what the exact issue is. Generally, a firewall issue can arise from any of the three conditions: Access from external networks/devices to protected resources is not functioning properly Access from the protected network/resources to unprotected resources is not functioning properly. Access to the firewall is not functioning properly. Step 3. Determine the traffic flow Once you have ascertained the exact access issue, you should check whether the issue is raised when traffic is going to the firewall or through the firewall. Once you have narrowed down this issue, you can test the connectivity accordingly and determine the underlying cause. Check for any recent updates and try to roll back if that can solve the issue. Go through your firewall permissions and logs for any error messages or warnings. Review your firewall rules and configurations and adjust them for proper working. Depending upon your firewall installation, you can make a checklist of items. Here is a simple guide you can follow to conduct routine maintenance troubleshooting . Monitor the network, test it out, and repeat the process until you reach a solution. Firewall troubleshooting best practices Here are some proven firewall troubleshooting tips. For more in-depth information, check out our Network Security FAQs page. Monitor and test Regular auditing and testing of your Microsoft firewall can help you catch vulnerabilities early and ensure good performance throughout the year. You can use expert-assisted penetration testing to get a good idea of the efficacy of your firewalls. Also be sure to check out the auditing services from Algosec , especially for your PCI security compliance . Deal with insider threats While a Mac or Windows firewall can help you block external threats to an extent, it can be powerless regarding insider attacks. Make sure you enforce strong security controls to avoid any such conditions. Your security policies must be crafted well to avoid any room for such conditions, and your access level specifications should also be well-defined. Device connections Make sure to pay attention to the other modes of attack that can happen besides a network access attempt. If an infected device such as a USB, router, hard drive, or laptop is directly connected to your system, your network firewall can do little to prevent the attack. So, you should put the necessary device restrictions in your privacy statement and the firewall rules. Review and Improve Update your firewall rules and security policies with regular audits and tests. Here are some more tips you can follow to improve your firewall security: Optimize your firewall ruleset to allow only necessary access Use unique user IP instead of a root ID to launch the firewall services Make use of a protected remote Syslog server and keep it safe from unauthorized access Analyze your firewall logs regularly to identify and detect any suspicious activity. You can use tools like Algosec Firewall Analyzer and expert help to analyze your firewall as well. Disable FTP connections by default Setup strict controls on how and which users can modify firewall configurations. Include both source and destination IP addresses and the ports in your firewall rules. Document all the updates and changes made to your firewall policies and rules. In the case of physical firewall implementations, restrict the physical access as well. Use NAT (network address translation) to map multiple private addresses to a public IP address before transmitting the information online. How does a firewall actually work? A Windows firewall is a network security mechanism that allows you to restrict incoming network traffic to your systems. It can be implemented as a hardware, software, or cloud-based security solution . It acts as a barrier stopping unauthorized network access requests from reaching your internal network and thus minimizing any attempt at hacking or breach of confidential data . Based on the type of implementation and the systems it is protecting, firewalls can be classified into several different types. Some of the common types of firewalls are: Packet filtering – Based on the filter standards, a small amount of incoming data is analyzed and subjected to restriction on distribution across the network. Proxy service – An application layer service that acts as an intermediary between the actual servers to block out unauthorized access requests. Stateful inspection – A dynamic packet filtering mechanism that filters out the network packets. Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) – A combination of deep packet inspection and application level inspection to block out unauthorized access into the network. Firewalls are essential to network security at all endpoints, whether personal computers or full-scale enterprise data centers. They allow you to set up strong security controls to prevent a wide range of cyberattacks and help you gain valuable data. Firewalls can help you detect suspicious activities and prevent intrusive attacks at the earliest. They can also help you regulate your incoming and outgoing traffic routing, helping you implement zero-trust security policies and stay compliant with security and data standards. 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

Webinars Cloud migrations made simpler: Safe, Secure and Successful Migrations Migrating applications to the cloud – without creating security holes, application outages or violating compliance – is within reach! In this webinar, Avivi Siman-Tov, Director of Product at AlgoSec, will guide you how to simplify and accelerate large-scale complex application migration projects. The webinar will cover: Why organizations choose to migrate their applications to the cloud What is required in order to move the security portion of your application and how long it may take Challenges and solutions to lower the cost, better prepare for the migration and reduce the risks involved How to deliver unified security policy management across the hybrid cloud environment October 28, 2020 Avivi Siman Tov Director of Product Relevant resources Cloud atlas: how to accelerate application migrations to the cloud Keep Reading A 3 Layered Approach to Application Migration Download (Multiligual) Migrating Application Connectivity to the Cloud Keep Reading CouchTalk: Software Defined Networks (SDN) – Migration, Security and Management 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

As 2022 comes to a close, Professor Avishai Wool, AlgoSec Co-Founder and CTO, provides his top 5 issues organizations will need to be... IaC 2023 Cybersecurity Predictions and Best Practices 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 12/6/22 Published As 2022 comes to a close, Professor Avishai Wool, AlgoSec Co-Founder and CTO, provides his top 5 issues organizations will need to be aware in 2023 that will also dominate the cyber community conversation. 1) Application centric approach to network security will supersede basic NSPM I think the market has matured to the point where the NSPM approach has reached a tipping point and I see the shift to an application perspective becoming the de facto approach in network security policy management as there are better and more robust technologies in the market that can help organizations get there faster. I see this shift becoming even more viable in 2023 based on recent market trends in which organizations are opting for downsizing and trying to do more with the smaller staff at the expense of losing tribal knowledge. As a result, I see organizations shifting more towards adopting a holistic approach to network security that are more application centric in which they can retain critical knowledge, such as application traffic intent and application policy rules, so that the new generations can step in and pick up where the previous predecessors left off. 2) Containerization will enhance layered security I expect container security to be increasingly popular in the future, as companies understand that their existing network security mechanisms are not enough for the communication networks of today. Containers are seen as a cost-effective light-weight solution for deployment – and deploying them introduces another inner layer where security policies can be applied: behind the perimeter filters, the internal zoning, and the micro-segmentation, organizations can now also consider nano-segmentation at the container level. Vulnerability testing is another dimension of the container platform especially within cloud applications and SaaS products. The common Kubernetes platform offers both opportunities and challenges for vulnerability scanners. Beyond 2023 , businesses will need to enhance both their visibility and management capabilities of security within their containerized applications 3) Security driven IaaS ecosystems to improve network security I expect the popularity of Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) to continue to soar, making it difficult for security teams to keep up with the associated risks and vulnerabilities. Pre-set security settings may not meet the needs of the organization and customizing these settings can prove to be difficult. The customizability of IaaS offers great potential for productivity, but it also makes it complicated to secure. The bottom line is that companies can no longer depend on their network perimeter to guard sensitive data. In response, I anticipate organizations that begin utilizing an “Always-on Security” approach such as Infrastructure as Code (IaC) which would permit them to construct personalized policies to control the development environments during each phase of the software development life cycle (SDLC) and recognize potential risks, security flaws, and compliance issues on a what-if basis, before deploying flawed settings into production. 4) Cloud-native security tools will reign supreme I expect that cloud-based security systems will become more commonplace: these security solutions offer a wide range of abilities, such as secure access, identity and access management, data loss prevention, application security, automation of security, detection and prevention of intrusions, security information and event management, and encryption. With companies transitioning more workloads to the cloud, they will want to make use of many of these features. These tools make it possible for remote teams to manage a greater public cloud presence: comfortably configuring services and automating processes, to identify and preemptively tackle any kind of threats. To bridge the gap in cloud data security, I anticipate the emergence of data safeguarding systems that are designed specifically for cloud usage and are able to link up with public cloud systems in an advanced, agentless manner. This has been classified in the market as Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) . These platforms must be able to detect where the data is stored and what sorts of data are stored in the cloud, so that corporations can prioritize on what is most important – defending their most sensitive data and cloud-based applications without interfering with their normal operations. 5) Expect ransomware not to go away and get even more sophisticated Organizations in 2022 saw no let-up from ransomware threats, some of whom were attacked multiple times and I do not see any reason why this trend will change in 2023. Cyber criminals are getting more resourceful and savvier in their attempts to stay ahead of law enforcement, and I anticipate these attacks will only become more frequent as their perpetrators are proving more capable of infiltrating many organizations’ cyber defenses. In response, organizations will have to seek more technology solutions to protect data at the source. But that would not suffice. I think organizations will need to look beyond technological solutions and apply better preparedness strategies. Whether it be Zero Trust or something less overarching but more practical for an organization’s business needs, such as Micro-segmentation , it would ensure that threat-actors would not be able to access the data residing inside the security perimeter. 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

Security Policy Management with Professor Wool Network Security for VMware NSX Network Security for VMware NSX with Professor Wool is a whiteboard-style series of lessons that examine the some of the challenges of and provide technical tips for managing security policies across the VMware NSX software-defined data center and traditional data center. Lesson 1 VMware’s NSX enables datacenter owners to secure East-West traffic using filtering policies that are enforced by the VMware infrastructure. However, migrating from existing traditional filtering technologies to VMware NSX can be a daunting task. In this lesson Professor will discuss why it’s important to understand the motivations for a migration to NSX in order to successfully plan and implement the actual migration to the VMware NSX platform. Migrating to NSX: Understanding the Why in Order to Figure Out the How Watch Lesson 2 When setting up an NSX data center you need to write filtering policies for any traffic that goes into an NSX data center, exits from it, or moves between different servers inside the NSX data center. In this lesson, Professor Wool recommends a multi-stage process to help users write secure and effective policies for east East-West traffic. Tips on How to Create Filtering Policies for NSX Watch Lesson 3 Once the NSX environment is up and running it needs to be part of the organization’s network security policy change process, and subject to the organization’s governance, audit, and regulatory compliance requirements. In this lesson Professor Wool discusses how to approach managing changes, auditing and compliance when the security team doesn’t ‘own’ the virtual environment. Best Practices for Bringing NSX Security Policy Management into the InfoSec Fold Watch Have a Question for Professor Wool? Ask him now 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

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

Discover how AlgoSec s automated application analyzer can simplify and accelerate connectivity management, while ensuring enterprise wide security and compliance Application discovery tool & connectivity management Select a size Which network Can AlgoSec be used for continuous compliance monitoring? Yes, AlgoSec supports continuous compliance monitoring. As organizations adapt their security policies to meet emerging threats and address new vulnerabilities, they must constantly verify these changes against the compliance frameworks they subscribe to. AlgoSec can generate risk assessment reports and conduct internal audits on-demand, allowing compliance officers to monitor compliance performance in real-time. Security professionals can also use AlgoSec to preview and simulate proposed changes to the organization’s security policies. This gives compliance officers a valuable degree of lead-time before planned changes impact regulatory guidelines and allows for continuous real-time monitoring. Introduction What is application connectivity management? Common challenges in application connectivity management The benefits of using intelligent automation in application connectivity management Application connectivity management vs. Network Security Policy Management (NSPM) Manage application connectivity security with AlgoSec Get the latest insights from the experts Use these six best practices to simplify compliance and risk mitigation with the AlgoSec White paper Learn how AlgoSec can help you pass PCI-DSS Audits and ensure Solution overview See how this customer improved compliance readiness and risk Case study 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

AlgoSec’s latest product release provides application-based identification and risk analysis in multi-cloud environments and on-premises. Gain more insights into multi cloud application connectivity with AlgoSec A32.50 AlgoSec’s latest product release provides application-based identification and risk analysis in multi-cloud environments and on-premises. January 10, 2023 Speak to one of our experts RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., January 10, 2023 – AlgoSec, a global cybersecurity leader in securing application connectivity, announced today the release of its latest product version A32.50. AlgoSec A32.50 provides a powerful solution for organizations to secure application connectivity in their hybrid and multi-cloud estate. With A32.50, organizations obtain granular visibility and discovery of applications, enabling identification and risk analysis in multi-cloud environments and on-premises. The key benefits that AlgoSec A32.50 delivers to IT, network, and security experts include: Application awareness for Cisco Firepower and Palo Alto’s Panorama as part of the change management cycle Enables SecOps teams to update firewall application information as part of the firewall rules in the workflow automation Extended SASE/SSE management Provides Zscaler users management capabilities focused on risk, regulatory compliance, and policy optimization. As an early availability, A32.50 supports Prisma Access visibility of mobile users. Ensure ongoing regulatory compliance with new and updated out of the box reports Generate full audit report for the ECB security of internet payments and maintain ongoing compliance with the regulatory requirements. Additionally, utilize updated PCI and SWIFT requirement reports. Integrate cloud security into your IaC initiative while streamlining processes Embed cloud security checks into the DevSecOps native tools, allowing them to proactively identify and mitigate risk as part of their ongoing process. About AlgoSec AlgoSec, a global cybersecurity leader, empowers organizations to secure application connectivity by automating connectivity flows and security policy, anywhere. The AlgoSec platform enables the world’s most complex organizations to gain visibility, reduce risk, and process changes at zero-touch across the hybrid network. AlgoSec’s patented application-centric view of the hybrid network enables business owners, application owners, and information security professionals to talk the same language, so organizations can deliver business applications faster while achieving a heightened security posture. Over 1,800 of the world’s leading organizations trust AlgoSec to help secure their most critical workloads across public cloud, private cloud, containers, and on-premises networks while taking advantage of almost two decades of leadership in Network Security Policy Management. See what securely accelerating your digital transformation, move-to-cloud, infrastructure modernization, or micro-segmentation initiatives looks like at www.algosec.com

Accelerate security with Algosec Jumpstart. Pre-configured packages for rapid deployment of firewalls, VPNs, and more. Streamline security operations now. Algosec Jumpstart: Quick Deployment Packages ---- ------- Schedule a Demo Select a size ----- Get the latest insights from the experts Choose a better way to manage your network

Explore Algosec's customer success stories to see how organizations worldwide improve security, compliance, and efficiency with our solutions. International Components Company Strengthens Network Security & Reduces Risks Organization Components Company Industry Retail & Manufacturing Headquarters International Download case study Share Customer
success stories "We quickly identified some unused rules, which we were able to safely remove. We're confident in the fact that we’re closing paths and we’ve also quickly managed to get compliance going,” says the company’s Head of Security Architecture." A leading international components company automates security policy change management and eliminates duplicate rules. BACKGROUND The company is a leading company specializing in high–performance components and sub-systems for the aerospace, defense, and energy markets. Backed by over a century of expertise, the company deliver solutions for the most challenging environments, enabling safe, cost-effective flight, power, and defense systems. CHALLENGE The company’s firewalls were growing consistently. There had not been enough insight and analysis into their network over the years, leading to a bloated and redundant network infrastructure. Firewalls and infrastructure did not get the care and attention they needed. Some of their challenges included: Legacy firewalls that had not been adequately maintained. Unused or overly permissive rules, which left open many security holes. Difficulty identifying and quantifying network risk. Change requests for functionality already covered by existing rules. SOLUTION The client searched for a vendor that understood their environment and challenges and could integrate into their existing solutions. They would need to offer: Faster implementation of firewall changes. Comprehensive firewall support. Automation of security policy change management. Visibility into their business applications and traffic flows. They implemented the AlgoSec Security Policy Management Solution, made up of AlgoSec Horizon Security Analyzer and AlgoSec Horizon FireFlow. AlgoSec Horizon Security Analyzer ensures security and compliance by providing visibility and analysis into complex network security policies. AlgoSec Horizon FireFlow improves security and saves security staffs’ time by automating the entire security policy change process, eliminating manual errors, and reducing risk. RESULTS By using the AlgoSec Security Management Solution, the customer gained: Greater insight and oversight into their firewalls and other network devices. Identification of risky rules and other holes in their network security policy. Audits and accountability into their network security policy changes. They were able to ensure ongoing compliance and make sure that rules submitted did not introduce additional risk. Identification and elimination of duplicate rules. The customer is also impressed with the dedicated attention they receive from AlgoSec. AlgoSec’s support team is familiar with their challenges and provides attention tailored to their exact needs. Schedule time with one of our experts