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The persistence of sophisticated ransomware In 2023, organizations faced a surge in ransomware attacks, prompting a reevaluation of... Network Segmentation Navigating the Cybersecurity Horizon in 2024 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 12/17/23 Published The persistence of sophisticated ransomware In 2023, organizations faced a surge in ransomware attacks, prompting a reevaluation of cybersecurity readiness. The focus on high-value assets and critical infrastructure indicated an escalating threat landscape, demanding stronger preemptive measures. This trend is expected to continue in 2024 as cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities. Beyond relying on technology alone, organizations must adopt strategies like Zero Trust and Micro-segmentation for comprehensive preparedness, fortifying data security. A resolute and practical response is crucial to safeguard critical assets in the evolving cybersecurity landscape. DevSecOps Integration DevSecOps is set to become a cornerstone in software development, integrating security practices proactively. As Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) popularity rises, customizing security settings becomes challenging, necessitating a shift from network perimeter reliance. Anticipating an “Always-on Security” approach like Infrastructure as Code (IaC), companies can implement policy-based guardrails in the CI/CD pipeline. If risks violating the guardrails are identified, automation should halt for human review. Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP): The CNAPP market has advanced from basic Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) to include varied vulnerability and malware scans, along with crucial behavioral analytics for cloud assets like containers. However, few vendors emphasize deep analysis of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) networking controls in risk and compliance reporting. A more complete CNAPP platform should also provide comprehensive analytics of cloud applications’ connectivity exposure. Application-centric approach to network security will supersede basic NSPM Prepare for the shift from NSPM to an application-centric security approach, driven by advanced technologies, to accelerate in 2024. Organizations, grappling with downsizing and staff shortages, will strategically adopt this holistic approach to improve efficiency in the security operations team. Emphasizing knowledge retention and automated change processes will become crucial to maintain security with agility. AI-based enhancements to security processes Generative AI, as heralded by Chat-GPT and its ilk, has made great strides in 2023, and has demonstrated that the technology has a lot of potential. I think that in 2024 we will see many more use cases in which this potential goes from simply being “cool” to a more mature technology that is brought to market to bring real value to owners of security processes. Any use case that involves analyzing, summarizing, or generalizing text, can potentially benefit from a generative AI assist. The trick will be to do so in ways that save human time, without introducing factual hallucinations. 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

Modern organizations face a wide and constantly changing range of network security threats, and security leaders must constantly update... Network Security Network Security Threats & Solutions for Cybersecurity Leaders 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 2/11/24 Published Modern organizations face a wide and constantly changing range of network security threats, and security leaders must constantly update their security posture against them. As threat actors change their tactics, techniques, and procedures, exploit new vulnerabilities , and deploy new technologies to support their activities — it’s up to security teams to respond by equipping themselves with solutions that address the latest threats. The arms race between cybersecurity professionals and cybercriminals is ongoing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, high-profile ransomware attacks took the industry by storm. When enterprise security teams responded by implementing secure backup functionality and endpoint detection and response, cybercriminals shifted towards double extortion attacks. The cybercrime industry constantly invests in new capabilities to help hackers breach computer networks and gain access to sensitive data. Security professionals must familiarize themselves with the latest network security threats and deploy modern solutions that address them. What are the Biggest Network Security Threats? 1. Malware-based Cyberattacks Malware deserves a category of its own because so many high-profile attacks rely on malicious software to work. These include everything from the Colonial Pipeline Ransomware attack to historical events like Stuxnet . Broadly speaking, cyberattacks that rely on launching malicious software on computer systems are part of this category. There are many different types of malware-based cyberattacks, and they vary widely in scope and capability. Some examples include: Viruses. Malware that replicates itself by inserting its own code into other applications are called viruses. They can spread across devices and networks very quickly. Ransomware. This type of malware focuses on finding and encrypting critical data on the victim’s network and then demanding payment for the decryption key. Cybercriminals typically demand payment in the form of cryptocurrency, and have developed a sophisticated industrial ecosystem for conducting ransomware attacks. Spyware. This category includes malware variants designed to gather information on victims and send it to a third party without your consent. Sometimes cybercriminals do this as part of a more elaborate cyberattack. Other times it’s part of a corporate espionage plan. Some spyware variants collect sensitive information that cybercriminals value highly. Trojans. These are malicious applications disguised as legitimate applications. Hackers may hide malicious code inside legitimate software in order to trick users into becoming victims of the attack. Trojans are commonly hidden as an email attachment or free-to-download file that launches its malicious payload after being opened in the victim’s environment. Fileless Malware. This type of malware leverages legitimate tools native to the IT environment to launch an attack. This technique is also called “living off the land” because hackers can exploit applications and operating systems from inside, without having to download additional payloads and get them past firewalls. 2. Network-Based Attacks These are attacks that try to impact network assets or functionality, often through technical exploitations. Network-based attacks typically start at the edge of the network, where it sends and receives traffic to the public internet. Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks. These attacks overwhelm network resources, leading to downtime and service unavailability, and in some cases, data loss . To launch DDoS attacks, cybercriminals must gain control over a large number of compromised devices and turn them into bots. Once thousands (or millions) of bots using unique IP addresses request server resources, the server breaks down and stops functioning. Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks: These attacks let cybercriminals eavesdrop on communications between two parties. In some cases, they can also alter the communications between both parties, allowing them to plan and execute more complex attacks. Many different types of man-in-the-middle attacks exist, including IP spoofing, DNS spoofing, SSL stripping, and others. 3. Social Engineering and Phishing These attacks are not necessarily technical exploits. They focus more on abusing the trust that human beings have in one another. Usually, they involve the attacker impersonating someone in order to convince the victim to give up sensitive data or grant access to a secure asset. Phishing Attacks. This is when hackers create fake messages telling victims to take some kind of action beneficial to the attacker. These deceptive messages can result in the theft of login credentials, credit card information, or more. Most major institutions are regularly impersonated by hackers running phishing scams, like the IRS . Social Engineering Attacks. These attacks use psychological manipulation to trick victims into divulging confidential information. A common example might be a hacker contacting a company posing as a third-party technology vendor, asking for access to a secure system, or impersonating the company CEO and demanding an employee pay a fictitious invoice. 4. Insider Threats and Unauthorized Access These network security threats are particularly dangerous because they are very difficult to catch. Most traditional security tools are not configured to detect malicious insiders, who generally have permission to access sensitive data and assets. Insider Threats. Employees, associates, and partners with access to sensitive data may represent severe security risks. If an authorized user decides to steal data and sell it to a hacker or competitor, you may not be able to detect their attack using traditional security tools. That’s what makes insider threats so dangerous, because they are often undetectable. Unauthorized Access. This includes a broad range of methods used to gain illegal access to networks or systems. The goal is usually to steal data or alter it in some way. Attackers may use credential-stuffing attacks to access sensitive networks, or they can try brute force methods that involve automatically testing millions of username and password combinations until they get the right one. This often works because people reuse passwords that are easy to remember. Solutions to Network Security Threats Each of the security threats listed above comes with a unique set of risks, and impacts organizations in a unique way. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to navigating these risks. Every organization has to develop a cybersecurity policy that meets its specific needs. However, the most secure organizations usually share the following characteristics. Fundamental Security Measures Well-configured Firewalls. Firewalls control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on security rules. These rules can deny unauthorized traffic attempting to connect with sensitive network assets and block sensitive information from traveling outside the network. In each case, robust configuration is key to making the most of your firewall deployment . Choosing a firewall security solution like AlgoSec can dramatically improve your defenses against complex network threats. Anti-malware and Antivirus Software. These solutions detect and remove malicious software throughout the network. They run continuously, adapting their automated scans to include the latest threat detection signatures so they can block malicious activity before it leads to business disruption. Since these tools typically rely on threat signatures, they cannot catch zero-day attacks that leverage unknown vulnerabilities. Advanced Protection Tools Intrusion Prevention Systems. These security tools monitor network traffic for behavior that suggests unauthorized activity. When they find evidence of cyberattacks and security breaches, they launch automated responses that block malicious activity and remove unauthorized users from the network. Network Segmentation. This is the process of dividing networks into smaller segments to control access and reduce the attack surface. Highly segmented networks are harder to compromise because hackers have to repeatedly pass authentication checks to move from one network zone to another. This increases the chance that they fail, or generate activity unusual enough to trigger an alert. Security and Information Event Management (SIEM) platforms. These solutions give security analysts complete visibility into network and application activity across the IT environment. They capture and analyze log data from firewalls, endpoint devices, and other assets and correlate them together so that security teams can quickly detect and respond to unauthorized activity, especially insider threats. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR). These solutions provide real-time visibility into the activities of endpoint devices like laptops, desktops, and mobile phones. They monitor these devices for threat indicators and automatically respond to identified threats before they can reach the rest of the network. More advanced Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions draw additional context and data from third party security tools and provide in-depth automation . Authentication and Access Control Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). This technology enhances security by requiring users to submit multiple forms of verification before accessing sensitive data. This makes it useful against phishing attacks, social engineering, and insider threats, because hackers need more than just a password to gain entry to secure networks. MFA also plays an important role in Zero Trust architecture. Strong Passwords and Access Policies. There is no replacement for strong password policies and securely controlling user access to sensitive data. Security teams should pay close attention to password policy compliance, making sure employees do not reuse passwords across accounts and avoid simple memory hacks like adding sequential numbers to existing passwords. Preventing Social Engineering and Phishing While SIEM platforms, MFA policies and strong passwords go a long way towards preventing social engineering and phishing attacks, there are a few additional security measures worth taking to reduce these risks: Security Awareness Training. Leverage a corporate training LMS to educate employees about phishing and social engineering tactics. Phishing simulation exercises can help teach employees how to distinguish phishing messages from legitimate ones, and pinpoint the users at highest risk of falling for a phishing scam. Email Filtering and Verification: Email security tools can identify and block phishing emails before they arrive in the inbox. They often rely on scanning the reputation of servers that send incoming emails, and can detect discrepancies in email metadata that suggest malicious intent. Even if these solutions generally can’t keep 100% of malicious emails out of the inbox, they significantly reduce email-related threat risks. Dealing with DDoS and MitM Attacks These technical exploits can lead to significant business disruption, especially when undertaken by large-scale threat actors with access to significant resources. Your firewall configuration and VPN policies will make the biggest difference here: DDoS Prevention Systems. Protect against distributed denial of service attacks by implementing third-party DDoS prevention solutions, deploying advanced firewall configurations, and using load balancers. Some next generation firewalls (NGFWs) can increase protection against DDoS attacks by acting as a handshake proxy and dropping connection requests that do not complete the TCP handshake process. VPNs and Encryption: VPNs provide secure communication channels that prevent MitM attacks and data eavesdropping. Encrypted traffic can only be intercepted by attackers who go through the extra step of obtaining the appropriate decryption key. This makes it much less likely they focus on your organization instead of less secure ones that are easier to target. Addressing Insider Threats Insider threats are a complex security issue that require deep, multi-layered solutions to address. This is especially true when malicious insiders are actually employees with legitimate user credentials and privileges. Behavioral Auditing and Monitoring: Regular assessments and monitoring of user activities and network traffic are vital for detecting insider threats . Security teams need to look beyond traditional security deployments and gain insight into user behaviors in order to catch authorized users doing suspicious things like escalating their privileges or accessing sensitive data they do not normally access. Zero Trust Security Model. Assume no user or device is trustworthy until verified. Multiple layers of verification between highly segmented networks — with multi-factor authentication steps at each layer — can make it much harder for insider threats to steal data and conduct cyberattacks. Implementing a Robust Security Strategy Directly addressing known threats should be just one part of your cybersecurity strategy. To fully protect your network and assets from unknown risks, you must also implement a strong security posture that can address risks associated with new and emerging cyber threats. Continual Assessment and Improvement The security threat landscape is constantly changing, and your security posture must adapt and change in response. It’s not always easy to determine exactly how your security posture should change, which is why forward-thinking security leaders periodically invest in vulnerability assessments designed to identify security vulnerabilities that may have been overlooked. Once you have a list of security weaknesses you need to address, you can begin the process of proactively addressing them by configuring your security tech stack and developing new incident response playbooks. These playbooks will help you establish a coordinated, standardized response to security incidents and data breaches before they occur. Integration of Security Tools Coordinating incident response plans isn’t easy when every tool in your tech stack has its own user interface and access control permissions. You may need to integrate your security tools into a single platform that allows security teams to address issues across your entire network from a single point of reference. This will help you isolate and address security issues on IoT devices and mobile devices without having to dedicate a particular team member exclusively to that responsibility. If a cyberattack that targets mobile apps occurs, your incident response plan won’t be limited by the bottleneck of having a single person with sufficient access to address it. Similarly, highly integrated security tools that leverage machine learning and automation can enhance the scalability of incident response and speed up incident response processes significantly. Certain incident response playbooks can be automated entirely, providing near-real-time protection against sophisticated threats and freeing your team to focus on higher-impact strategic initiatives. Developing and Enforcing Security Policies Developing and enforcing security policies is one of the high-impact strategic tasks your security team should dedicate a great deal of time and effort towards. Since the cybersecurity threat landscape is constantly changing, you must commit to adapting your policies in response to new and emerging threats quickly. That means developing a security policy framework that covers all aspects of network and data security. Similarly, you can pursue compliance with regulatory standards that ensure predictable outcomes from security incidents. Achieving compliance with standards like NIST, CMMC, PCI-DSS, and HIPPA can help you earn customers’ trust and open up new business opportunities. AlgoSec: Your Partner in Network Security Protecting against network threats requires continuous vigilance and the ability to adapt to fast-moving changes in the security landscape. Every level of your organization must be engaged in security awareness and empowered to report potential security incidents. Policy management and visibility platforms like AlgoSec can help you gain control over your security tool configurations. This enhances the value of continuous vigilance and improvement, and boosts the speed and accuracy of policy updates using automation. Consider making AlgoSec your preferred security policy automation and visibility platform. 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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A recent news article from Bleeping Computer called out an incident involving Japanese game developer Ateam, in which a misconfiguration... Cyber Attacks & Incident Response Mitigating cloud security risks through comprehensive automated solutions 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 1/8/24 Published A recent news article from Bleeping Computer called out an incident involving Japanese game developer Ateam, in which a misconfiguration in Google Drive led to the potential exposure of sensitive information for nearly one million individuals over a period of six years and eight months. Such incidents highlight the critical importance of securing cloud services to prevent data breaches. This blog post explores how organizations can avoid cloud security risks and ensuring the safety of sensitive information. What caused the Ateam Google Drive misconfiguration? Ateam, a renowned mobile game and content creator, discovered on November 21, 2023, that it had mistakenly set a Google Drive cloud storage instance to “Anyone on the internet with the link can view” since March 2017. This configuration error exposed 1,369 files containing personal information, including full names, email addresses, phone numbers, customer management numbers, and device identification numbers, for approximately 935,779 individuals. Avoiding cloud security risks by using automation To prevent such incidents and enhance cloud security, organizations can leverage tools such as AlgoSec, a comprehensive solution that addresses potential vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. It is important to look for cloud security partners who offer the following key features: Automated configuration checks: AlgoSec conducts automated checks on cloud configurations to identify and rectify any insecure settings. This ensures that sensitive data remains protected and inaccessible to unauthorized individuals. Policy compliance management: AlgoSec assists organizations in adhering to industry regulations and internal security policies by continuously monitoring cloud configurations. This proactive approach reduces the likelihood of accidental exposure of sensitive information. Risk assessment and mitigation: AlgoSec provides real-time risk assessments, allowing organizations to promptly identify and mitigate potential security risks. This proactive stance helps in preventing data breaches and maintaining the integrity of cloud services. Incident response capabilities: In the event of a misconfiguration or security incident, AlgoSec offers robust incident response capabilities. This includes rapid identification, containment, and resolution of security issues to minimize the impact on the organization. The Ateam incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of securing cloud services to safeguard sensitive data. AlgoSec emerges as a valuable ally in this endeavor, offering automated configuration checks, policy compliance management, risk assessment, and incident response capabilities. By incorporating AlgoSec into their security strategy, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of cloud security incidents and ensure the confidentiality of their data. Request a brief demo to learn more about advanced cloud protection. 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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While we optimistically hoped for normality in 2021, organizations continue to deal with the repercussions of the pandemic nearly two... Risk Management and Vulnerabilities Cybersecurity predictions and best practices in 2022 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 2/8/22 Published While we optimistically hoped for normality in 2021, organizations continue to deal with the repercussions of the pandemic nearly two years on. Once considered temporary measures to ride out the lockdown restrictions, they have become permanent fixtures now, creating a dynamic shift in cybersecurity and networking. At the same time, cybercriminals have taken advantage of the distraction by launching ambitious attacks against critical infrastructure. As we continue to deal with the pandemic effect, what can we expect to see in 2022? Here are my thoughts on some of the most talked about topics in cybersecurity and network management. Taking an application-centric approach One thing I have been calling attention to for several years now has been the need to focus on applications when dealing with network security. Even when identifying a single connection, you have a very limited view of the “hidden story” behind it, which means first and foremost, you need a clear cut answer to the following: What is actually going on with this application? You also need the broader context to understand the intent behind it: Why is the connection there? What purpose does it serve? What applications is it supporting? These questions are bound to come up in all sorts of use cases. For instance, when auditing the scope of an application, you may ask yourself the following: Is it secure? Is it aligned? Does it have risks? In today’s network organization chart, application owners need to own the risk of their application; the problem is no longer the domain of the networking team. Understanding intent can present quite a challenge. This is particularly the case in brownfield situations, where hundreds of applications are running across the environment and historically poor record keeping. Despite the difficulties, it still needs to be done now and in the future. Heightening ransomware preparedness We’ve continued to witness more ransomware attacks running rampant in organizations across the board, wreaking havoc on their security networks. Technology, food production and critical infrastructure firms were hit with nearly $320 million of ransom attacks in 2021, including the largest publicly known demand to date. Bad actors behind the attacks are making millions, while businesses struggle to recover from a breach. As we enter 2022, it is safe to expect that a curbing of this trend is unlikely to occur. So, if it’s not a question of “will a ransomware attack occur,” it begs the question of “how does your organization prepare for this eventuality?” Preparation is crucial, but antivirus software will only get you so far. Once an attacker has infiltrated the network, you need to mitigate the impact. To that end, as part of your overall network security strategy, I highly recommend Micro-segmentation, a proven best practice to reduce the attack surface and ensure that a network is not relegated to one linear thread, safeguarding against full-scale outages. Employees also need to know what to do when the network is under attack. They need to study, understand the corporate playbook and take action immediately. It’s also important to consider the form and frequency of back-ups and ensure they are offline and inaccessible to hackers. This is an issue that should be addressed in security budgets for 2022. Smart migration to the cloud Migrating to the cloud has historically been reserved for advanced industries. Still, increasingly we are seeing the most conservative vertical sectors, from finance to government, adopt a hybrid or full cloud model. In fact, Gartner forecasts that end-user spending on public cloud services will reach $482 billion in 2022. However, the move to the cloud does not necessarily mean that traditional data centers are being eliminated. Large institutions have invested heavily over the years in on-premise servers and will be reluctant to remove them entirely. That is why many organizations are moving to a hybrid environment where certain applications remain on-premise, and newly adopted services are predominantly transitioning to cloud-based software. We are now seeing more hybrid environments where organizations have a substantial and growing cloud estate and a significant on-premise data center. All this means that with the presence of the old historical software and the introduction of the new cloud-based software, security has become more complicated. And since these systems need to coexist, it is imperative to ensure that they communicate with each other. As a security professional, it is incumbent upon you to be mindful of that; it is your responsibility to secure the whole estate, whether on-premise, in the cloud, or in some transition state. Adopting a holistic view of network security management More frequently than not, I am seeing the need for holistic management of network objects and IP addresses. Organizations are experiencing situations where they manage their IP address usage using IPAM systems and CMDBs to manage assets. Unfortunately, these are siloed systems that rarely communicate with each other. The consumers of these types of information systems are often security controls such as firewalls, SDN filters, etc. Since each vendor has its own way of doing these things, you get disparate systems, inefficiencies, contradictions, and duplicate names across systems. These misalignments cause security problems that lead to miscommunication between people. The good news is that there are systems on the market that align these disparate silos of information into one holistic view, which organizations will likely explore over the next twelve months. Adjusting network security to Work from Home demands The pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns forced many employees to work from remote locations. This shift has continued for the last two years and is likely to remain part of the new normal, either in full or partial capacity. According to Reuters, decision-makers plan to move a third of their workforce to telework in the long term. That figure has doubled compared to the pre COVID period and subsequently, the cybersecurity implications of this increase have become paramount. As more people work on their own devices and need to connect to their organization’s network, one that is secure and provides adequate bandwidth, it also requires new technologies to be deployed. As a result, this has led to the SASE (Secure Access Security Edge) model, where security is delivered over the cloud- much closer to the end user. Since the new way of working appears to be here to stay in one shape or another, organizations will need to invest in the right tooling to allow security professionals to set policies, gain visibility for adequate reporting and control hybrid networks. The Takeaway If there’s anything we’ve learned from the past two years is that we cannot confidently predict the perils looming around the corner. However, there are things that we can and should be able to anticipate that can help you avoid any unnecessary risk to your security networks, whether today or in the future. To learn how your organization can be better equipped to deal with these challenges, click here to schedule a demo today. 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

Prof. Avishai Wool, AlgoSec co-founder and CTO, breaks down the truths and myths about micro-segmentation and how organizations can... Micro-segmentation Why Microsegmentation is Still a Go-To Network Security Strategy 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 5/3/22 Published Prof. Avishai Wool, AlgoSec co-founder and CTO, breaks down the truths and myths about micro-segmentation and how organizations can better secure their network before their next cyberattack Network segmentation isn’t a new concept. For years it’s been the go-to recommendation for CISOs and other security leaders as a means of securing expansive networks and breaking large attack surface areas down into more manageable chunks. Just as we separate areas of a ship with secure doors to prevent flooding in the event of a hull breach, network segmentation allows us to seal off areas of our network to prevent breaches such as ransomware attacks, which tend to self-propagate and spread laterally from machine to machine. Network segmentation tends to work best in controlling north-south traffic in an organization. Its main purpose is to segregate and protect key company data and limit lateral movement by attackers across the network. Micro-segmentation takes this one step further and offers more granular control to help contain lateral east-west movement. It is a technique designed to create secure zones in networks, allowing companies to isolate workloads from one another and introduce tight controls over internal access to sensitive data. Put simply, if network segmentation makes up the floors, ceilings and protective outer hull, micro-segmentation makes up the steel doors and corridors that allow or restrict access to individual areas of the ship. Both methods can be used in combination to fortify cybersecurity posture and reduce risk vulnerability across the security network. How does micro-segmentation help defend against ransomware? The number of ransomware attacks on corporate networks seems to reach record levels with each passing year. Ransomware has become so appealing to cybercriminals that it’s given way to a whole Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) sub-industry, plying would-be attackers with the tools to orchestrate their own attacks. When deploying micro-segmentation across your security network, you can contain ransomware at the onset of an attack. When a breach occurs and malware takes over a machine on a given network, the policy embedded in the micro-segmented network should block the malware’s ability to propagate to an adjacent micro-segment, which in turn can protect businesses from a system-wide shutdown and save them a great financial loss. What does Zero Trust have to do with micro-segmentation? Zero trust is a manifestation of the principle of “least privilege” security credentialing. It is a mindset that guides security teams to not assume that people, or machines, are to be trusted by default. From a network perspective, zero-trust implies that “internal” networks should not be assumed to be more trustworthy than “external” networks – quotation marks are intentional. Therefore, micro-segmentation is the way to achieve zero trust at the network level: by deploying restrictive filtering policy inside the internal network to control east-west traffic. Just as individuals in an organization should only be granted access to data on a need-to-know basis, traffic should only be allowed to travel from one area of the business to another only if the supporting applications require access to those areas. Can a business using a public cloud solution still use micro-segmentation? Prior to the advent of micro-segmentation, it was very difficult to segment networks into zones and sub-zones because it required the physical deployment of equipment. Routing had to be changed, firewalls had to be locally installed, and the segmentation process would have to be carefully monitored and managed by a team of individuals. Fortunately for SecOps teams, this is no longer the case, thanks to the rapid adoption of cloud technology. There seems to be a misconception associated with micro-segmentation where it might be thought of as a strictly private cloud environment network security solution, whereas in reality, micro-segmentation can be deployed in a hybrid cloud environment – public cloud, private cloud and on-premise. In fact, all public cloud networks, including those offered by the likes of Azure and AWS, offer “baked in” filtering capabilities that make controlling traffic much easier. This lends itself well to the concept of micro-segmentation, so even those businesses that use a hybrid cloud setup can still benefit enormously. The Bottom Line Micro-segmentation presents a viable and scalable solution to tighten network security policies, despite its inherent implementation challenges. While many businesses may find it hard to manage this new method of security, it’s nevertheless a worthwhile endeavor. By utilizing a micro-segmentation method as part of its network security strategy, an organization can immediately bolster its network security against possible hackers and potential data breaches. To help you navigate through your micro-segmentation fact-finding journey, watch this webcast or read more in our resource 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

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Information security is vital to business continuity. Organizations trust their IT teams to enable innovation and business transformation... Risk Management and Vulnerabilities How to optimize the security policy management lifecycle 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 8/9/23 Published Information security is vital to business continuity. Organizations trust their IT teams to enable innovation and business transformation but need them to safeguard digital assets in the process. This leads some leaders to feel that their information security policies are standing in the way of innovation and business agility. Instead of rolling new a new enterprise application and provisioning it for full connectivity from the start, security teams demand weeks or months of time to secure those systems before they’re ready. But this doesn’t mean that cybersecurity is a bottleneck to business agility. The need for speedier deployment doesn’t automatically translate to increased risk. Organizations that manage application connectivity and network security policies using a structured lifecycle approach can improve security without compromising deployment speed. Many challenges stand between organizations and their application and network connectivity goals. Understanding each stage of the lifecycle approach to security policy change management is key to overcoming these obstacles. Challenges to optimizing security policy management ` Complex enterprise infrastructure and compliance requirements A medium-sizded enterprise may have hundreds of servers, systems, and security solutions like firewalls in place. These may be spread across several different cloud providers, with additional inputs from SaaS vendors and other third-party partners. Add in strict regulatory compliance requirements like HIPAA , and the risk management picture gets much more complicated. Even voluntary frameworks like NIST heavily impact an organization’s information security posture, acceptable use policies, and more – without the added risk of non-compliance. Before organizations can optimize their approach to security policy management, they must have visibility and control over an increasingly complex landscape. Without this, making meaningful progress of data classification and retention policies is difficult, if not impossible. Modern workflows involve non-stop change When information technology teams deploy or modify an application, it’s in response to an identified business need. When those deployments get delayed, there is a real business impact. IT departments now need to implement security measures earlier, faster, and more comprehensively than they used to. They must conduct risk assessments and security training processes within ever-smaller timeframes, or risk exposing the organization to vulnerabilities and security breaches . Strong security policies need thousands of custom rules There is no one-size-fits-all solution for managing access control and data protection at the application level. Different organizations have different security postures and security risk profiles. Compliance requirements can change, leading to new security requirements that demand implementation. Enterprise organizations that handle sensitive data and adhere to strict compliance rules must severely restrict access to information systems. It’s not easy to achieve PCI DSS compliance or adhere to GDPR security standards solely through automation – at least, not without a dedicated change management platform like AlgoSec . Effectively managing an enormous volume of custom security rules and authentication policies requires access to scalable security resources under a centralized, well-managed security program. Organizations must ensure their security teams are equipped to enforce data security policies successfully. Inter-department communication needs improvement Application deliver managers, network architects, security professionals, and compliance managers must all contribute to the delivery of new application projects. Achieving clear channels of communication between these different groups is no easy task. In most enterprise environments, these teams speak different technical languages. They draw their data from internally siloed sources, and rarely share comprehensive documentation with one another. In many cases, one or more of these groups are only brought in after everyone else has had their say, which significantly limits the amount of influence they can have. The lifecycle approach to managing IT security policies can help establish a standardized set of security controls that everyone follows. However, it also requires better communication and security awareness from stakeholders throughout the organization. The policy management lifecycle addresses these challenges in five stages ` Without a clear security policy management lifecycle in place, most enterprises end up managing security changes on an ad hoc basis. This puts them at a disadvantage, especially when security resources are stretched thin on incident response and disaster recovery initiatives. Instead of adopting a reactive approach that delays application releases and reduces productivity, organizations can leverage the lifecycle approach to security policy management to address vulnerabilities early in the application development lifecycle. This leaves additional resources available for responding to security incidents, managing security threats, and proactively preventing data breaches. Discover and visualize application connectivity The first stage of the security policy management lifecycle revolves around mapping how your apps connect to each other and to your network setup. The more details can include in this map, the better prepared your IT team will be for handling the challenges of policy management. Performing this discovery process manually can cost enterprise-level security teams a great deal of time and accuracy. There may be thousands of devices on the network, with a complex web of connections between them. Any errors that enter the framework at this stage will be amplified through the later stages – it’s important to get things right at this stage. Automated tools help IT staff improve the speed and accuracy of the discovery and visualization stage. This helps everyone – technical and nontechnical staff included – to understand what apps need to connect and work together properly. Automated tools help translate these needs into language that the rest of the organization can understand, reducing the risk of misconfiguration down the line. Plan and assess security policy changes Once you have a good understanding of how your apps connect with each other and your network setup, you can plan changes more effectively. You want to make sure these changes will allow the organization’s apps to connect with one another and work together without increasing security risks. It’s important to adopt a vulnerability-oriented perspective at this stage. You don’t want to accidentally introduce weak spots that hackers can exploit, or establish policies that are too complex for your organization’s employees to follow. This process usually involves translating application connectivity requests into network operations terms. Your IT team will have to check if the proposed changes are necessary, and predict what the results of implementing those changes might be. This is especially important for cloud-based apps that may change quickly and unpredictably. At the same time, security teams must evaluate the risks and determine whether the changes are compliant with security policy. Automating these tasks as part of a regular cycle ensures the data is always relevant and saves valuable time. Migrate and deploy changes efficiently The process of deploying new security rules is complex, time-consuming, and prone to error . It often stretches the capabilities of security teams that already have a wide range of operational security issues to address at any given time. In between managing incident response and regulatory compliance, they must now also manually update thousands of security rules over a fleet of complex network assets. This process gets a little bit easier when guided by a comprehensive security policy change management framework. But most organizations don’t unlock the true value of the security policy management lifecycle until they adopt automation. Automated security policy management platforms enable organizations to design rule changes intelligently, migrate rules automatically, and push new policies to firewalls through a zero-touch interface. They can even validate whether the intended changes updated correctly. This final step is especially important. Without it, security teams must manually verify whether their new policies successfully address the vulnerabilities the way they’re supposed to. This doesn’t always happen, leaving security teams with a false sense of security. Maintain configurations using templates Most firewalls accumulate thousands of rules as security teams update them against new threats. Many of these rules become outdated and obsolete over time, but remain in place nonetheless. This adds a great deal of complexity to small-scale tasks like change management, troubleshooting issues, and compliance auditing. It can also impact the performance of firewall hardware , which decreases the overall lifespan of expensive physical equipment. Configuration changes and maintenance should include processes for identifying and eliminating rules that are redundant, misconfigured, or obsolete. The cleaner and better-documented the organization’s rulesets are, the easier subsequent configuration changes will be. Rule templates provide a simple solution to this problem. Organizations that create and maintain comprehensive templates for their current firewall rulesets can easily modify, update, and change those rules without having to painstakingly review and update individual devices manually. Decommission obsolete applications completely Every business application will eventually reach the end of its lifecycle. However, many organizations keep decommissioned security policies in place for one of two reasons: Oversight that stems from unstandardized or poorly documented processes, or; Fear that removing policies will negatively impact other, active applications. As these obsolete security policies pile up, they force the organization to spend more time and resources updating their firewall rulesets. This adds bloat to firewall security processes, and increases the risk of misconfigurations that can lead to cyber attacks. A standardized, lifecycle-centric approach to security policy management makes space for the structured decommissioning of obsolete applications and the rules that apply to them. This improves change management and ensures the organization’s security posture is optimally suited for later changes. At the same time, it provides comprehensive visibility that reduces oversight risks and gives security teams fewer unknowns to fear when decommissioning obsolete applications. Many organizations believe that Security stands in the way of the business – particularly when it comes to changing or provisioning connectivity for applications. It can take weeks, or even months to ensure that all the servers, devices, and network segments that support the application can communicate with each other while blocking access to hackers and unauthorized users. It’s a complex and intricate process. This is because, for every single application update or change, Networking and Security teams need to understand how it will affect the information flows between the various firewalls and servers the application relies on, and then change connectivity rules and security policies to ensure that only legitimate traffic is allowed, without creating security gaps or compliance violations. As a result, many enterprises manage security changes on an ad-hoc basis: they move quickly to address the immediate needs of high-profile applications or to resolve critical threats, but have little time left over to maintain network maps, document security policies, or analyze the impact of rule changes on applications. This reactive approach delays application releases, can cause outages and lost productivity, increases the risk of security breaches and puts the brakes on business agility. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Nor is it necessary for businesses to accept greater security risk to satisfy the demand for speed. Accelerating agility without sacrificing security The solution is to manage application connectivity and network security policies through a structured lifecycle methodology, which ensures that the right security policy management activities are performed in the right order, through an automated, repeatable process. This dramatically speeds up application connectivity provisioning and improves business agility, without sacrificing security and compliance. So, what is the network security policy management lifecycle, and how should network and security teams implement a lifecycle approach in their organizations? Discover and visualize The first stage involves creating an accurate, real-time map of application connectivity and the network topology across the entire organization, including on-premise, cloud, and software-defined environments. Without this information, IT staff are essentially working blind, and will inevitably make mistakes and encounter problems down the line. Security policy management solutions can automate the application connectivity discovery, mapping, and documentation processes across the thousands of devices on networks – a task that is enormously time-consuming and labor-intensive if done manually. In addition, the mapping process can help business and technical groups develop a shared understanding of application connectivity requirements. Plan and assess Once there is a clear picture of application connectivity and the network infrastructure, you can start to plan changes more effectively – ensure that proposed changes will provide the required connectivity, while minimizing the risks of introducing vulnerabilities, causing application outages, or compliance violations. Typically, it involves translating application connectivity requests into networking terminology, analyzing the network topology to determine if the changes are really needed, conducting an impact analysis of proposed rule changes (particularly valuable with unpredictable cloud-based applications), performing a risk and compliance assessment, and assessing inputs from vulnerabilities scanners and SIEM solutions. Automating these activities as part of a structured lifecycle keeps data up-to-date, saves time, and ensures that these critical steps are not omitted – helping avoid configuration errors and outages. Functions Of An Automatic Pool Cleaner An automatic pool cleaner is very useful for people who have a bad back and find it hard to manually operate the pool cleaner throughout the pool area. This type of pool cleaner can move along the various areas of a pool automatically. Its main function is to suck up dirt and other debris in the pool. It functions as a vacuum. Automatic pool cleaners may also come in different types and styles. These include automatic pressure-driven cleaners, automatic suction side-drive cleaners, and robotic pool cleaners. Migrate and deploy Deploying connectivity and security rules can be a labor-intensive and error-prone process. Security policy management solutions automate the critical tasks involved, including designing rule changes intelligently, automatically migrating rules, and pushing policies to firewalls and other security devices – all with zero-touch if no problems or exceptions are detected. Crucially, the solution can also validate that the intended changes have been implemented correctly. This last step is often neglected, creating the false impression that application connectivity has been provided, or that vulnerabilities have been removed, when in fact there are time bombs ticking in the network. Maintain Most firewalls accumulate thousands of rules which become outdated or obsolete over the years. Bloated rulesets not only add complexity to daily tasks such as change management, troubleshooting and auditing, but they can also impact the performance of firewall appliances, resulting in decreased hardware lifespan and increased TCO. Cleaning up and optimizing security policies on an ongoing basis can prevent these problems. This includes identifying and eliminating or consolidating redundant and conflicting rules; tightening overly permissive rules; reordering rules; and recertifying expired ones. A clean, well-documented set of security rules helps to prevent business application outages, compliance violations, and security gaps and reduces management time and effort. Decommission Every business application eventually reaches the end of its life: but when they are decommissioned, its security policies are often left in place, either by oversight or from fear that removing policies could negatively affect active business applications. These obsolete or redundant security policies increase the enterprise’s attack surface and add bloat to the firewall ruleset. The lifecycle approach reduces these risks. It provides a structured and automated process for identifying and safely removing redundant rules as soon as applications are decommissioned while verifying that their removal will not impact active applications or create compliance violations. We recently published a white paper that explains the five stages of the security policy management lifecycle in detail. It’s a great primer for any organization looking to move away from a reactive, fire-fighting response to security challenges, to an approach that addresses the challenges of balancing security and risk with business agility. Download your copy 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

Kyle Wickert explains how organizations can balance the need to modernize their networks without compromising security For businesses of... Digital Transformation Modernizing your infrastructure without neglecting security Kyle Wickert 2 min read Kyle Wickert 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 8/19/21 Published Kyle Wickert explains how organizations can balance the need to modernize their networks without compromising security For businesses of all shapes and sizes, the inherent value in moving enterprise applications into the cloud is beyond question. The ability to control computing capability at a more granular level can lead to significant cost savings, not to mention the speed at which new applications can be provisioned. Having a modern cloud-based infrastructure makes businesses more agile, allowing them to capitalize on market forces and other new opportunities much quicker than if they depended on on-premises, monolithic architecture alone. However, there is a very real risk that during the goldrush to modernized infrastructures, particularly during the pandemic when the pressure to migrate was accelerated rapidly, businesses might be overlooking the potential blind spot that threatens all businesses indiscriminately, and that is security. One of the biggest challenges for business leaders over the past decade has been managing the delicate balance between infrastructure upgrades and security. Our recent survey found that half of organizations who took part now run over 41% of workloads in the public cloud, and 11% reported a cloud security incident in the last twelve months. If businesses are to succeed and thrive in 2021 and beyond, they must learn how to walk this tightrope effectively. Let’s consider the highs and lows of modernizing legacy infrastructures, and the ways to make it a more productive experience. What are the risks in moving to the cloud? With cloud migration comes risk. Businesses that move into the cloud actually stand to lose a great deal if the process isn’t managed effectively. Moreover, they have some important decisions to make in terms of how they handle application migration. Do they simply move their applications and data into the cloud as they are as a ‘lift and shift’, or do they seek to take a more cloud-native approach and rebuild applications in the cloud to take full advantage of its myriad benefits? Once a business has started this move toward the cloud, it’s very difficult to rewind the process and unpick mistakes that may have been made, so planning really is critical. Then there’s the issue of attack surface area. Legacy on-premises applications might not be the leanest or most efficient, but they are relatively secure by default due to their limited exposure to external environments. Moving said applications onto the cloud has countless benefits to agility, efficiency, and cost, but it also increases the attack surface area for potential hackers. In other words, it gives bots and bad actors a larger target to hit. One of the many traps that businesses fall into is thinking that just because an application is in the cloud, it must be automatically secure. In fact, the reverse is true unless proper due diligence is paid to security during the migration process. The benefits of an app-centric approach One of the ways in which AlgoSec helps its customer master security in the cloud is by approaching it from an app-centric perspective. By understanding how a business uses its applications, including its connectivity paths through the cloud, data centers and SDN fabrics, we can build an application model that generates actionable insights such as the ability to create policy-based risks instead of leaning squarely on firewall controls. This is of particular importance when moving legacy applications onto the cloud. The inherent challenge here is that a business is typically taking a vulnerable application and making it even more vulnerable by moving it off-premise, relying solely on the cloud infrastructure to secure it. To address this, businesses should rank applications in order of sensitivity and vulnerability. In doing so, they may find some quick wins in terms of moving modern applications into the cloud that have less sensitive data. Once these short-term gains are dealt with, NetSecOps can focus on the legacy applications that contain more sensitive data which may require more diligence, time, and focus to move or rebuild securely. Migrating applications to the cloud is no easy feat and it can be a complex process even for the most technically minded NetSecOps. Automation takes a large proportion of the hard work away and enables teams to manage cloud environments efficiently while orchestrating changes across an array of security controls. It brings speed and accuracy to managing security changes and accelerates audit preparation for continuous compliance. Automation also helps organizations overcome skills gaps and staffing limitations. We are likely to see conflict between modernization and security for some time. On one hand, we want to remove the constraints of on-premises infrastructure as quickly as possible to leverage the endless possibilities of cloud. On the other hand, we have to safeguard against the opportunistic hackers waiting on the fray for the perfect time to strike. By following the guidelines set out in front of them, businesses can modernize without compromise. To learn more about migrating enterprise apps into the cloud without compromising on security, and how a DevSecOps approach could help your business modernize safely, watch our recent Bright TALK webinar here . Alternatively, get in touch or book a free 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... 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Avivi Siman-Tov, Director of Product Management at AlgoSec, discusses the benefits of network automation and takes us through a... Firewall Change Management Change automation: A step-by-step guide to network security policy change management Avivi Siman Tov 2 min read Avivi Siman Tov 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 10/21/21 Published Avivi Siman-Tov, Director of Product Management at AlgoSec, discusses the benefits of network automation and takes us through a step-by-step process to standardize change management In today’s fast-paced, data-driven environment, the only constant that businesses can bank on is change. For organizations to function and compete in the modern digital landscape, they need their data to be able to move freely and unobstructed through every branch of their business, unimpeded by security issues that require constant manual attention. The network is arguably the beating heart of an organization but keeping it ticking requires more maintenance than it once did, owing to constantly changing risk profiles and circumstances. That’s why a greater number of businesses are turning to change automation to bridge the gap between network alerts and the action that needs to be taken. Barriers to automation According to Gartner , organizations that can automate more than 70% of their network changes can reduce the number of outages by at least 50% and deliver services up to 50% faster. That’s because a lot of legacy solutions tend to take a reactive rather than proactive approach to dealing with security. There are multiple controls in place that simply don’t talk to each other. While most businesses get alerts from SIEM solutions and vulnerability scanners, responding to them turns into a full-time job, distracting your team from other important work they could be doing. Most organizations know that manual policy changes impact their productivity, but they’re afraid to take the leap to automation because of an ill-placed perception around security. Production environments in all organizations are maintained by different teams — for example, DevOps, maintenance, cloud security, IT, and more. Not all of these teams are educated to the same level in security matters, and some see it as a constraint that slows their work. This can lead to conflict between teams, which means that automation is not always welcome. Despite some resistance to change, enterprise-wide change automation makes it possible to transform network security policies without needing to reinvent the wheel or replace existing business processes. Automation and actionable intelligence are proven to enhance security and business agility without the stress often associated with misconfigurations caused by manual, ad-hoc processes. A typical network change workflow By elevating firewall change management from a manual, arduous task to a fully automated, zero-touch process, networks can become more agile and organizations far more adaptive. There are several steps that organizations need to take towards complete network security automation, from a simple change request through to implementation and validation. Let’s take a look at the most common steps in establishing automation for a simple change request. Step 1 – Request a network change Every change begins with a request. At this stage, you need to clarify who is asking for the amendment and why because sometimes the request is unnecessary or covered by an existing ruleset. Step 2 – Find relevant security devices Once this request is translated, the change automation platform will handle the request and implement the changes to hybrid networks. The administrator will be able to see which firewall and routing devices are involved and what impact the change will have. Step 3 – Plan change The change automation platform understands how to deal with different vendor-specific settings and how to implement the requests in a way that avoids creating any duplicates. Step 4 – Risk check The administrator will get a ‘ what if’ analysis, which checks the change for any risks. In this phase, the decision as to whether to allow the change and expose the network to the risk mentioned is in the hands of the network admin or security manager, depending on who is handling this phase. Step 5 – Push change to device Once planned changes are approved, the ‘magic’ happens. The change automation platform implements and pushes the changes to the desired devices automatically, either through APIs or directly to the device (CLI). This is a fully automated action that can be conducted on multiple devices, whether cloud-based or on-premises. The push can be done in a scheduled manner, in your maintenance window, or on-demand. Step 6 – Validate change At the end of each request, the solution will check that the request was successfully implemented across all devices. The solution also provides ongoing audits of the whole process, enabling easy checking of each stage. Step 7 – Documentation and logging Network security automation platforms can provide you with a full, automated audit trail. Documentation happens on the go, saving IT and security teams time and accelerating tedious network compliance management tasks. Put your trust in network automation While change management is complex stuff, the decision for your business is simple. It’s like the engine of an expensive car. Would you drive at high speeds if you didn’t have your brakes tested or a steering wheel to keep your course straight? Hopefully, the answer is no. With AlgoSec FireFlow , you can automate the security policy change process without introducing any element of risk, vulnerability, or compliance violation. AlgoSec FireFlow allows you to analyze every change before it is introduced, and validate successful changes as intended, all within your existing IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions . By putting your trust in us we can put you firmly in the driving seat with zero-touch change management and secure application deployment. For more information, or to arrange a demo , visit our website . 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