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Vulnerability scanning is only half the battle. Explore the difference between different types of scans, common pitfalls in modern cloud environments, and how to turn scan data into actionable security policies. Vulnerability scanning 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. What is vulnerability scanning? Vulnerability scanning is the automated inspection of IT system attributes, applications, servers, ports, endpoints, and configuration parameters to detect weaknesses before adversaries find and exploit them. With increasingly sophisticated adversaries and costly breaches, organizations must be proactive. Vulnerability scanning is the cornerstone of this approach, giving companies an edge in defending their assets and operations against malicious actors. Vulnerability scanning vs. vulnerability management As the first step in the vulnerability management lifecycle, vulnerability scanning provides a snapshot of a cloud or IT infrastructure, generating baseline data for remediation, system validation, and improvement. This allows an organization to get ahead of threat actors performing their own reconnaissance. Vulnerability management, on the other hand, is a continuous governance process that encompasses the entire lifecycle: asset discovery, risk assessment, prioritization, remediation, validation, and reporting. Scanning is the tactical instrument; management is the strategic framework. How does a vulnerability scan work? A scan works much like reconnaissance, leveraging either: Passive techniques , which only observe and log configurations and asset inventories or Active but safe engagement with systems to identify open ports and missing security patches How do scanners “see” flaws? Vulnerability scanners inspect IT assets and detect vulnerabilities by matching their fingerprints against known vulnerability signatures from authoritative sources, including open-source databases (e.g., CISA’s Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) and NIST’s National Vulnerability Database (NVD) ) and proprietary databases (e.g., Qualys and Tenable ). A scanner interacts with databases using the Open Vulnerability and Assessment Language (OVAL) . This standardized framework describes vulnerabilities, configurations, and system states so that scanners can compare their detection with vulnerabilities logged in databases. A scanner’s detection workflow includes: Fingerprinting: Collects signatures of IT assets, e.g., operating system type, patch level, installed software versions, service configurations, etc. Signature matching: Compares fingerprints against OVAL definitions or proprietary vulnerability databases Correlation logic (advanced): Applies logical rules to reduce false positives, e.g., no report for an Apache 2.4.38 vulnerability if the system runs Apache 2.4.50 with the relevant patch Confidence scoring: Generates confidence levels indicating detection certainty, helping analysts prioritize validation efforts Benefits of vulnerability scanning A snapshot of an organization’s vulnerability landscape has multiple advantages. Proactive vulnerability detection Scanning identifies security gaps before malicious actors exploit them. Find and fix an SQL injection vulnerability during routine scanning cycles—not after an unauthorized database exfiltration. Efficient risk management Businesses can prioritize risks based on a scanner’s generated vulnerability landscape. Security teams can then focus on fixing high-severity vulnerabilities for critical assets rather than applying uniform patching across all systems. Efficiency brings time and cost savings as well. This is critical, given IBM’s most recent average cost estimate for a breach stands at $4.4 million. Automated scanning helps businesses limit the vulnerabilities that lead to such incidents and their financial fallout. Regulatory compliance & enhanced security posture Vulnerability scanning is now an explicit cybersecurity requirement across multiple regulatory frameworks. Continuous scanning creates a feedback loop that improves baseline security. As vulnerabilities are identified and remediated, the overall attack surface shrinks, increasing operational costs for adversaries while reducing organizational risk exposure. What does a vulnerability scan entail? The vulnerability scanning process follows four steps. 1. Scope definition This involves determining IP ranges, hostnames, and FQDNs and DNS-resolvable targets for web applications and cloud resources. This step also differentiates systems by their criticality to business operations and excludes systems that cannot tolerate scanning. 2. Discovery & fingerprinting Before vulnerability identification begins, scanners must understand the target environment. This starts with identifying active systems, analyzing their behavior, logging their services, and retrieving their versions from service banners and application-specific queries. 3. Vulnerability probing The scanner compares service versions against known vulnerable configurations. It then evaluates their security settings or patch level to determine if those systems lack critical security updates. 4. Reporting & raw data export This final phase is where a scanner takes its findings and turns them into actionable intelligence. For many scanners, this involves assigning CVSS scores (0-10) to quantify vulnerability impact. This report then feeds into the broader vulnerability management workflow. Is there only 1 type of vulnerability scanning? Vulnerability scanning is not limited to one form. In fact, there are eight major types to choose from: External vulnerability scans assess an attack surface from outside the corporate network perimeter, targeting cloud assets, public-facing web applications, and internet-exposed infrastructure. Internal vulnerability scans simulate the perspective of an authenticated user or an attacker with initial access to uncover opportunities for lateral movement, vectors for privilege escalation, or segmentation failures. Credentialed scans authenticate to target systems using legitimate credentials to provide "inside-out" visibility and reduce false positives. Uncredentialed scans operate without authentication, relying on external observation. These scans can carry higher false-positive rates because they cannot detect local vulnerabilities or audit system configurations. Network scans focus on infrastructure vulnerabilities, e.g., network devices, protocols, and services, to identify vulnerabilities that may enable lateral movement and man-in-the-middle attacks. Database scans check relational and NoSQL database systems for weak authentication, excessive privileges, configuration errors, and unpatched database engines. Website scans , aka dynamic application security testing (DAST), probe web apps for real-time vulnerabilities via the HTTP interface, e.g., injection flaws, authentication bypass, and security misconfigurations. Host-based scans deploy agents on endpoints (workstations, servers) for continuous vulnerability assessment, identifying new vulnerabilities as software is installed or updated. Limitations of Vulnerability Scanning Getting ahead of an adversary gives companies an edge in what is a volatile ecosystem. However, vulnerability scanning is by no means a comprehensive security practice. Let’s discuss why. Zero-day vulnerabilities Vulnerability scanners rely on known vulnerability fingerprints. So what happens when they encounter a strange pattern? Zero-day vulnerabilities, or new flaws unknown to vendors and security researchers, are invisible to signature-based detection, which means they can slip through and lead to incidents. Misconfiguration blindspots This is another limitation tied to only being able to identify known software vulnerabilities. Scanners struggle with business-logic flaws and complex misconfigurations, such as custom application logic errors, context-dependent weaknesses, and cloud-specific misconfigurations. Authentication challenges Many vulnerability scanners rely on remote or network-level assessments to detect system flaws. While they may detect exposed assets and services, they cannot access internal configurations or workflows. No behavioral insight Vulnerability scanners assess impressions and signatures, not behavior or activity . Without covering how systems handle actual inputs in real-world operations or an attack, the scanner may miss critical vulnerabilities and underestimate real-time risks. From bulk scanning to "context-aware" discovery Traditional vulnerability management follows a simple CVSS-centric approach: Identify all vulnerabilities, rank them by severity score (0-10), and patch from highest to lowest. But a CVSS score of 9.8 only answers "How bad could exploitation be?" rather than "How likely is exploitation?" Introducing smart scanning Smart scanning combines traditional vulnerability identification with threat intelligence, business context, and exploitation likelihood. It prioritizes vulnerabilities based on business risk rather than theoretical severity. The Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) is a data-driven model that estimates the probability of vulnerability exploitation in the next 30 days. A vulnerability with a 9.0 CVSS but a 0.1% EPSS receives lower priority than a 7.0 CVSS vulnerability with an 85% EPSS. Scan smart with AlgoSec AppViz Traditional vulnerability scanners answer one question: "What vulnerabilities exist?" AlgoSec AppViz answers the operationally critical follow-up: "Which vulnerabilities can attackers actually reach?" AlgoSec AppViz delivers business-specific value by prioritizing a detected vulnerability risk not only by severity but also by business criticality. This saves you precious time by generating actionable reports that better protect your business. Are you ready to move beyond traditional vulnerability scanning? Schedule a demo of AlgoSec today. Get the latest insights from the experts Schedule time with one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... 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Manage and secure your enterprise's hybrid network with integrated solutions that offer visibility, control, and efficiency across diverse infrastructures. Enterprise hybrid network management solutions ---- ------- Schedule a Demo Select a size ----- Get the latest insights from the experts Choose a better way to manage your network

Automate network management and policy changes to increase efficiency, reduce errors, and ensure security compliance across your network infrastructure. Network management & policy change automation ---- ------- Schedule a Demo Select a size ----- Get the latest insights from the experts Choose a better way to manage your network

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AlgoSec enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of network security in Cisco environments by providing application-centric security, automation, and compliance capabilities AlgoSec Heads to Cisco Live to Empower Organizations to Effectively Secure Application Connectivity across Multi-Cloud and Hybrid networks AlgoSec enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of network security in Cisco environments by providing application-centric security, automation, and compliance capabilities February 2, 2024 Speak to one of our experts RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ, February 2, 2024 – Global cybersecurity leader AlgoSec will demonstrate the quality of its application-centric hybrid network solutions at this year’s Cisco Live in Amsterdam. AlgoSec will illustrate how its range of value-added product integrations enables organizations to support their business-critical applications while minimizing security risks and ensuring compliance. AlgoSec operates deep at the business application level, allowing organizations to monitor traffic patterns, identify anomalies, and prioritize security incidents. This profound application-level understanding enables network and cloud security professionals to optimize their Cisco environments and minimize the attack surface and risk of unauthorized access. As a SolutionsPlus partner, AlgoSec have fostered a strong relationship with Cisco that enables us to effectively address the needs of their customers, which have changed over time with the increasing adoption of hybrid cloud networks. The integration of Cisco and AlgoSec’s solutions delivers innovation to the market and offers greater value to our joint prospects and existing customers. AlgoSec integrates seamlessly with Cisco networking and security solutions, including Cisco Firepower and Cisco ACI (Application Centric Infrastructure). This integration ensures consistent policy enforcement and centralized management, helping organizations to better secure their networks while reducing operational overhead and complexity. AlgoSec has recently introduced early availability for Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator (NDO) support, underscoring a commitment to providing continuity and support for customers navigating transitions in their network infrastructure. As evidence of the company’s commitment and efforts, AlgoSec was recently recognized as one of the “Meraki Picks” companies on the Meraki Marketplace. This showcases partners based on their proven track record with customers, highlighting AlgoSec’s exceptional performance in Network Security and Network Automation. AlgoSec is inviting customers and partners to visit them at Booth E10 at Cisco Live from February 5-8th. For the latest information and to set up a meeting at the show, please visit the event portal . About AlgoSec AlgoSec, a global cybersecurity leader, empowers organizations to secure application connectivity and cloud-native applications throughout their multi-cloud and hybrid network. Trusted by more than 1,800 of the world’s leading organizations, AlgoSec’s application-centric approach enables to securely accelerate business application deployment by centrally managing application connectivity and security policies across the public clouds, private clouds, containers, and on-premises networks. Using its unique vendor-agnostic deep algorithm for intelligent change management automation, AlgoSec enables acceleration of digital transformation projects, helps prevent business application downtime and substantially reduces manual work and exposure to security risks. AlgoSec’s policy management and CNAPP platforms provide a single source for visibility into security and compliance issues within cloud-native applications as well as across the hybrid network environment, to ensure ongoing adherence to internet security standards, industry, and internal regulations. Learn how AlgoSec enables application owners, information security experts, DevSecOps and cloud security teams to deploy business applications up to 10 times faster while maintaining security at https://www.algosec.com .

Understand how to achieve and maintain firewall compliance with ISO/IEC 27001. Learn key requirements, best practices, and how to strengthen your overall security posture. Firewall ISO compliance: ISO/IEC 27001 explained ---- ------- Schedule a Demo Select a size ----- Get the latest insights from the experts Use these six best practices to simplify compliance and risk mitigation with the AlgoSec platform White paper Learn how AlgoSec can help you pass PCI-DSS Audits and ensure continuous compliance Solution overview See how this customer improved compliance readiness and risk management with AlgoSec Case study Choose a better way to manage your network

The state of automation in security 2016 Download PDF Schedule time with one of our experts 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

Learn from expert-crafted firewall ruleset examples and best practices. Optimize your security posture with actionable guidance and improve your firewall configurations. Firewall ruleset examples & policy best practices ---- ------- Schedule a Demo Select a size ----- Get the latest insights from the experts Use these six best practices to simplify compliance and risk 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 Choose a better way to manage your network

Partner solution brief AlgoSec & Zscaler Download PDF Schedule time with one of our experts 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

Explore Algosec's customer success stories to see how organizations worldwide improve security, compliance, and efficiency with our solutions. PORSCHE INFORMATIK SIMPLIFIES NETWORK OPERATIONS AND STRENGTHENS SECURITY Organization PORSCHE Industry Retail & Manufacturing Headquarters Austria Download case study Share Customer
success stories "We quickly saw a clear return on our investment with AlgoSec. It enabled us to significantly increase the efficiency of our firewall operations team without increasing head count. With AlgoSec, We can focus on what is most important to Porsche Informatik: our customers" Leading European Automobile Trading Enterprise Increases Security, Ensures Compliance, Optimizes Firewall Operations and Streamlines Productivity AlgoSec Business Impact • Increase IT productivity without adding headcount• Reduce time and resources required to implement firewall policy changes• Improve IT Governance and accountability over the network security policy• Improve security posture and gain visibility into the impact of proposed changes Background Porsche Informatik GmbH, a subsidiary of Porsche Holding, is one of the biggest private trading enterprises in Austria and the most successful automobile trade companies in Europe. The Company provides integrated software solutions for the automobile sector serving importers, retailers and financial service providers in over 21 countries. With its multi-vendor, multi-firewall infrastructure consisting of various Check Point clusters and firewalls, Porsche Informatik has been supporting some of the most successful automobile brands in the world including Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda. Challenge As an enterprise serving the leading automobile brands, Porsche Informatik is committed to ensuring the integrity of its network and maintaining compliance with corporate security policies. Optimizing its operations is another top priority. With a large number of firewalls undergoing continuous rule changes, Porsche Informatik’s team had to manually confirm that all of the changes were correctly configured and adhered to corporate policy. To do this, Porsche Informatik needed to keep track of changes: when they were made, who made them and verify that they weren’t introducing clutter and subsequent risk into their environment. “As the rule base continued to grow, it became increasingly complex and harder to keep track of the details,” says Anton Spitzer, Infrastructure Services Manager at Porsche Informatik. “Monitoring and auditing of our firewalls and clusters has become a painstaking manual, time and labor intensive process and we needed to handle it more effectively.” Porsche Informatik looked for a solution that would allow them to automatically and comprehensively manage the entire change lifecycle of their heterogeneous firewall infrastructure to improve and optimize operations, bolster security and comply with the corporate security policy in an easier way. Solution Porsche Informatik selected the AlgoSec Security Management solution to provide automated, comprehensive firewall operations and security risk management.In particular, Porsche Informatik liked AlgoSec’s auditing capability as it tracks changes in real-time as well as provides analysis of the operational and security implications of those changes. Results With AlgoSec, Porsche Informatik can now intelligently automate manual, labor and time intensive tasks, optimize firewall operations and improve network security while enforcing corporate policies to provide improved IT Governance.“AlgoSec allows our team to quickly and easily understand the operational and security impact of rule changes on our corporate policy, while at the same time provides a detailed audit trail, which is crucial for us to maintain compliance,” says Spitzer. From an operations and risk perspective, AlgoSec enables Porsche Informatik to instantly know which rules and objects are obsolete, invalid and duplicate and where potential security holes exist. The ability to clean up the firewall policy has streamlined network operations and given Porsche Informatik better visibility into their firewall infrastructure. “We cleaned up our existing policy base and now utilize the “what if” analysis to prevent the introduction of clutter and risk into our environment,” explains Spitzer.Ultimately, with AlgoSec, Porsche Informatik can now easily determine the necessity of changes and their potential security implications which saves time and effort. As a result productivity has increased without adding headcount. “After several months of use, AlgoSec has made a quantifiable impact on our firewall operations and security risk management. We know exactly what changes are being made, by whom and the implications of those changes on our operations and security posture,” said Spitzer. “We now spend much less time analyzing and auditing our firewalls, allowing our IT personnel to work on additional projects. As a customer-centric company, optimized internal operations directly benefits our clients by allowing Porsche Informatik to focus wholly on their needs instead of on firewall management.” Schedule time with one of our experts

Jeremiah Cornelius, Technical Leader for Alliances and Partners at AlgoSec, explores the security capability native to VMware’s approach... Digital Transformation Intrinsic Transformation: VMware NSX-T and AlgoSec Go Beyond Virtualization Jeremiah Cornelius 2 min read Jeremiah Cornelius Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 7/8/21 Published Jeremiah Cornelius, Technical Leader for Alliances and Partners at AlgoSec, explores the security capability native to VMware’s approach for virtual networking with NSX-T. Intrinsic transformation NSX-T culminates VMware’s decade of development of these technologies, that better align than ever before with AlgoSec’s approach for software automation of micro-segmentation and compliant security operations management. It is the latest iteration of VMware’s approach to networking and security, derived from many years as a platform for operating virtual machines, and managing these as hosted “vApp” workloads. If you’re familiar with the main players in Software Defined Networking, then you may remember that NSX-T shares its origin in the same student research at Stanford University, which also gave rise to several other competing SDN offerings. One thing that differentiated VMware from other players was their strong focus on virtualization over traditional network equipment stacks. This meant in some cases, network connections, data-packets, forwarding, and endpoints all existing in software and no “copper wire” existing anywhere! Knowing about this difference is more than a bit of trivia — it explains how the NSX family was designed with security features built into the architecture, having native capability for software security controls such as firewall segmentation and packet inspection. Described by VMware as “Intrinsic Security,” these are NSX capabilities that first drove the widespread acceptance of practical micro-segmentation in the data center. Since that first introduction of NSX micro-segmentation, a transformation occurred in customer demands, which required an expansion of VMware’s universe to horizons beyond their hypervisor and virtual machines. As a key enabler for this expansion, NSX-T has emerged as a networking and security technology that extends from serverless micro-services and container frameworks to VMs hosted on many cloud architectures located in physical data centers or as tenants in public clouds. The current iteration is called the NSX-T Service-Defined Firewall, which controls access to applications and services along with business-focused policies. Leaders in our segments If you’ve followed this far along, then maybe you’ve recognized several common themes between AlgoSec’s Security Management Suite and VMware’s NSX-T. Among these are security operations management as software configuration, modeling connectivity on business uses versus technology conventions, and transforming security into an enabling function. It’s not a surprise then, to know that our companies are technology partners. In fact, we began our alliance with VMware back in 2015 as the uptake in NSX micro-segmentation began to reveal an increased need for visibility, planning, automation, and reporting — along with requirements for extending policy from NSX objects to attached physical security devices from a variety of vendors. The sophistication and flexibility of NSX enforcement capability were excellently matched by the AlgoSec strengths in identifying risk and maintaining compliance while sustaining a change management record of configurations from our combined workflow automation. Strength to strength Up until now, this is a rosy picture painted, with an emphasis on the upsides of the AlgoSec partnership with VMware NSX-T. In the real world, we find that many of our applications are not-so-well understood as to be ready for micro-segmentation. More often, the teams responsible for the availability and security of these applications are detached from the business intent and value, further making it difficult to assess and therefore address risks. The line between traditional-style infrastructure and modern services isn’t always as clearly defined, either — making the advantages possible by migration and transformation difficult to determine and potentially introducing their own risks. It is in these environments, with multiple technologies, different stakeholders, and operation teams with different scopes, that AlgoSec solves hard problems with better automation tools. Taking advantage of NSX-T means first being faced with multiple deployment types, including public and private clouds as well as on-prem infrastructure, multiple security vendors, unclear existing network flows, and missing associations between business applications and their existing controls. These are visibility issues that AlgoSec resolves by automating the discovery and mapping of business applications , including associated policies across different technologies, and producing visual, graphic analysis that includes risk assessment and impact of changes. This capability for full visibility leads directly to addressing the open issues for risk and compliance. After all, if these present challenges in discovering and identifying risk using existing technology solutions, then there’s a big gap to close on the way to transforming these. Since AlgoSec has addressed the visibility across these, identifying risk becomes uniform and manageable. AlgoSec can lower transformation risk with NSX-T while ensuring that risk and compliance management are maintained on an ongoing basis. Workflow for risk mitigation by NSX-T intrinsic security can be driven by AlgoSec policy automation, without recourse to multiple tools when these mitigations need to cross boundaries to third-party firewalls or cloud security controls. With this integrated policy automation, what were once point-in-time configurations can be enabled for discovery-based updates for internal standards and changes to regulatory mandates. The result of AlgoSec pairing with VMWare NSX-T is a simplified overall security architecture — one that more rapidly responds to emerging risk and requests for changes, accelerates the speed of operations while more closely aligning with business, and ensures both compliant configurations and compliant lifecycle operations. VMware NSX? Ask AlgoSec The AlgoSec integration with VMware NSX-T builds on our years of collaboration with earlier versions of the NSX platform, with a track record of solving the more difficult configuration management problems for leaders of principal industries around the globe. If you want to discover more about what AlgoSec does to enable and enrich our alliance solution with VMware , contact us! AlgoSec works directly with VMware and your trusted technology delivery partners, and we’re glad to share more with you. Schedule a personal demo to see how AlgoSec makes your transformation to VMware Intrinsic Security possible now. Schedule a demo Related Articles Q1 at AlgoSec: What innovations and milestones defined our start to 2026? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read 2025 in review: What innovations and milestones defined AlgoSec’s transformative year in 2025? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Navigating Compliance in the Cloud AlgoSec Cloud Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Speak to one of our experts Speak to one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Schedule a call

Explore Algosec's customer success stories to see how organizations worldwide improve security, compliance, and efficiency with our solutions. VERIZON HELPS CLIENTS IMPROVE SECURITY AND BUSINESS AGILITY USING ALGOSEC Organization Verizon Industry Telecom Headquarters NJ, USA Download case study Share Customer
success stories "I selected AlgoSec’s Security Management Solution because the reporting is very trustworthy, it helps reduce the operational workload for network security administrators, and ultimately it improves performance and security." AlgoSec Business Impact Reduce the workload for the operations team and improve efficiency Provide comprehensive trustworthy reporting on change management Improve overall network performance and security Background Verizon is one of the world’s largest global communications companies and an international technology innovator. Verizon provides products and services related to networks, cloud, machine to machine and mobile technologies; data, hosting and storage; and managed security, as well as other wired and wireless offerings to business and government clients around the world. The company’s Global IP Network connects people and businesses in 2,700 cities and 150 countries. Challenge Verizon’s professional services consultants find that their clients too often focus on compliance to the detriment of security and operational issues. “From an auditing perspective, if the firewall is up and running some clients think they are more or less okay,” says Stefano Ciminelli, EMEA Practice Manager, Business Resiliency & Optimization at Verizon Business. Ciminelli warns that clients also need to be certain that “the firewall policies do not contain mistakes—those that could bring down their business. It’s not just a problem of protecting the IT systems, it’s really a matter of protecting the business,” he notes. Firewall management can also create tension between the network security group and business managers. “You always have the network security people focused on IT and the business people who like to focus on change management. Often these two groups don’t really communicate or understand each other easily,” Ciminelli adds.Moreover, many companies have several people devoted to managing firewalls and “firefighting,” “because they simply do not have the right tools,” says Ciminelli. Solution Ciminelli and his team at Verizon wanted to provide their clients with a way to address IT and security issues and, at the same time, automate change management workflows in order to support business continuity.“You want to be operationally efficient; you want to be secure; and especially, you want to help your business do their business. But, when it comes to network firewall management and analysis, you actually have few tools available that help you meet all those goals,” says Ciminelli. From the security manager’s perspective, AlgoSec’s Security Management Solution was the top choice. “The reporting is very trustworthy, it helps reduce the operational workload for network security administrators, and ultimately it improves performance and security,” Ciminelli states. “You can find a lot of vendors for security products in the market. But I don’t want to just sell products. I am entrusted to recommend quality services, so I rely on an extremely trustworthy partner like AlgoSec.” Results Ciminelli reports that when his customers invest in AlgoSec, “they are very happy because they can proactively manage their firewalls.” More importantly, though, “they are not forced to change a rule, close their eyes, cross their fingers and hope that everything is going to be okay.” Customers can trust AlgoSec’s reports to show how a rule change will affect access and their overall security before a change is made, and that there will be no surprises after the fact. The ability to share information between IT and business managers has also provided some unexpected benefits for Ciminelli. “When it comes to asking for additional budget, for instance, IT can now prove value and that makes life easier for everybody,” he notes. Customer service ranks high in Ciminelli’s priorities—and AlgoSec consistently delivers. “Whenever I have a problem I always get very efficient and proactive technical support from the AlgoSec team. This is one of the primary reasons I continue to advise my customers to purchase AlgoSec,” he says. Ciminelli urges his clients and other companies to think broadly about the real purpose of firewall policy management. “What you want is not just a well configured firewall, you want good long-term security management.” The goal is to have a firewall that provides excellent protection as the company grows, needs change, and applications are deployed, changed or decommissioned. Ciminelli’s final recommendation? “Using AlgoSec products and relying on good professional services to help you, that is really the smart choice.” Schedule time with one of our experts