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Looking to learn about cloud security compliance requirements and standards This article covers everything you need to know how AlgoSec can help your company Cloud compliance standards & security best practices What is cloud security compliance? Did you know that about 60% of the world’s corporate data is stored in the cloud? This figure is expected to keep rising as more companies adopt the cloud. Why is there a massive rise in the adoption of cloud computing? Cloud solutions offer great speed, agility, and flexibility. Organizations use emerging cloud technologies to deliver cutting-edge products and services. That said, deploying your workload to the cloud has many inherent security risks. Cloud infrastructures have an increased attack surface. And companies significantly rely on cloud providers to secure their sensitive data and applications. The cloud is complex with many access points that malicious actors can exploit. In other words, data stored in the cloud is more exposed to cyber-attacks To reinforce security and mitigate risks, there are cloud compliance frameworks you are required to comply with. There are many regulatory requirements or standards, including cloud provider compliance requirements and industry-specific compliance standards (like Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard [PCI DSS]). In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about cloud compliance, including compliance challenges & tips and how AlgoSec can help you implement compliant data security policies and procedures. Schedule a Demo Cloud compliance challenges Even though cloud technologies give organizations the speed and agility they need to stay ahead of the curve in the fast-changing business world, maintaining compliance with security standards is difficult. Here are some key compliance challenges cloud users are generally dealing with: Visibility into Hybrid Networks Complying with standards is difficult for organizations that operate hybrid networks due to visibility issues. A hybrid network uses more than one type of connection technology or topology. Managing a range of technologies makes gaining visibility into each network component more difficult. Meeting compliance requirements demand having good oversight over your network components. This is a big challenge for companies that run on hybrid cloud technologies. Keeping tabs on hybrid environments is time-consuming and requires advanced capabilities due to the complexity of these emerging cloud solutions. That said, you can solve the visibility issues by integrating a dedicated cloud security management solution to provide complete visibility into your hybrid and multi-cloud network environment. Multi-Cloud Workflows Most companies use multi-cloud solutions. As the technologies get more complex, so do the workflows. In other words, multi-cloud workflows are sophisticated and multi-faceted. Consequently, it’s harder for compliance officers to ensure the workflows meet relevant requirements. Dealing with multiple cloud services and having employees accessing data from various devices makes keeping up with information security and cloud governance standards very difficult. The multi-cloud architecture enables the distribution of roles in the company for better flexibility and agility. This impacts compliance as there are many people making decisions and applying changes. Monitoring who did what and how the changes affect your security posture is a labor-intensive process that can cause non-compliance. Automation Noncompliance can result from the inability of security officers to use automation solutions to comply with the metrics. Some security laws or regulations require manual monitoring of cloud infrastructures. This approach is time-consuming. Security standards are a lot easier to meet when the compliance check processes can be automated. Data Security The primary objective of cloud security regulations is to ensure the safety and confidentiality of sensitive data. Today, security data has become more challenging than ever. Deploying workloads and data to the cloud has worsened this problem. Cloud data security is challenging for two reasons: cloud storage or infrastructures have a wide attack surface area and ever-growing cyber threats. There is an increase in cyber-attacks, and cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated than before. This trend is expected to worsen, with cyber criminality becoming a lucrative business. With cloud environments having multiple access points that can be compromised, malicious cyber actors are motivated to attack cloud systems. In addition, having data stored across multiple cloud services make data security a major threat to compliance. Maintaining Compliance Standards Each time CloudOps or a regulation evolve, organizations find it challenging to follow the rules or comply with new standards. When a compliance standard is updated, companies invest massive resources to understand the requirements and implement changes accordingly – while ensuring their optimal performance. Depending on the size of an organization, maintaining compliance is mentally tasking, time-consuming, and capital-intensive. Schedule a Demo Cloud compliance tips Having discussed the major cloud compliance challenges, here are some tips you can leverage to meet relevant requirements and remain compliant. Conduct a Network Security Audit Data security is a major compliance problem companies are facing. You can significantly improve your network security by instituting a security audit policy. An audit helps you to know the state of your security framework. It helps you understand how effective or reliable your security solutions are and uncover security policies you need to optimize. In addition, regular inspection enables you to avoid breaches by spotting vulnerabilities promptly. Conduct Periodic Compliance Checks Companies used to meet compliance standards through a well-regulated annual audit. Today, you are required to demonstrate to customers and regulators that your company is constantly compliant. As a result, you need to run periodic compliance check-ups in real-time. This doesn’t only help you avoid fines & penalties but also enables you to avoid security breaches and loss of data. Consider Micro-Segmentation This cloud security approach involves dividing cloud environments or data centers into unique segments and applying custom access and security controls to each segment. Micro-segmentation boosts security and gives better control over data and risk management . With security policies applied separately to each segment, a company-wide breach is unlikely. And when something goes wrong, restoring compliance is easier since security controls are not lumped together. In other words, micro-segmentation minimizes attack surface. It creates many “small networks” with independent security controls. So, when a malicious actor breaches your firewall, they don’t have access to your entire data centers and cloud environments – reducing the scope of damage of a single breach. In addition, micro-segmentation prevents east-west movement in your network. This security posture helps prevent east-west attacks by bringing granular segmentation down to the virtual machine level Periodically Audit Your Firewall Rules Firewall rules define what traffic your firewall allows and what is rejected. As the threat landscape keeps changing, there is a need to audit and update your firewall rules. Cybercriminals are constantly evolving and finding new ways to compromise networks. To be a thousand steps ahead of them, implement a security policy that mandates periodic auditing of your firewall rules. Schedule a Demo Cloud security FAQs If you are looking to learn more about cloud solutions and security compliance, this section covers some common questions you might have: What are the Main Security Benefits of a Hybrid Cloud Solution? A hybrid cloud solution enhances data security and helps you comply with regulations. It improves data security by giving organizations better flexibility with data storage options. With the hybrid model, you can store the most sensitive data in on-premise data centers and use public cloud services like Google Cloud for less sensitive data. On-premise data centers are more difficult to compromise, while data stored in a public cloud is easy to access and process by your team members. If your company operates in places with data localization laws, you don’t need to build data centers in each country. Customer data collected locally can be stored in public cloud infrastructures that comply with the data localization requirements. What are Some Hybrid Cloud Security Best Practices? Hybrid cloud security best practices include automation & visibility, regular audits, access control, consistent data encryption, secure endpoints, and secure backups. What About Public Cloud Security? How Do You Ensure AWS and Azure Compliance To ensure compliance, employ Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure cloud engineers to help you configure and set up your cloud network. Public clouds are super complex. Not having experts configure and manage your cloud assets can lead to misconfigurations, waste of resources, and non-compliance. In addition to hiring experienced public cloud engineers, you should have a dedicated compliance specialist. The person will be responsible for monitoring compliance status to ensure your company is never found wanting. And when things go wrong, your compliance officer will be there to proffer solutions. What are the Top Cybersecurity Threats in the Public Cloud? Top cybersecurity threats in the public cloud include unauthorized access to data, distributed denial of services (DDoS) attacks, cloud misconfiguration, data leaks & data breaches, insecure API, insecure third-party resources, and system vulnerabilities. What are Some Common Regulatory Compliance Requirements? There are many global regulatory frameworks that set requirements organizations must meet when collecting and managing customer data. These regulations include HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, ISO/IEC 27001, NIST, NERC, and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). Some of these regulatory frameworks are industry specific, while some apply to every company that operates where they are effective. For instance, HIPAA applies to the healthcare industry, and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to any organization that processes the personal data of EU citizens. Not all compliance standards apply to both on-premises data centers and cloud environments. Some regulations relate specifically to your cloud controls. What is the Shared Responsibility Model? The shared responsibility model stipulates that cloud service providers and their customers are responsible for ensuring the security of cloud networks. While cloud providers maintain basic compliance standards and provide security tools, your organization has a part to play in protecting its cloud networks. Use the security capabilities and tools offered by the cloud providers and third-party cloud security services to ensure your company has full visibility and management of its SaaS, PaaS, or IaaS assets. What are the Main Types of Network Security Policies? A network security policy defines a company’s security framework. It provides guidelines for computer network access, determines policy enforcement, and lays out the architecture of your organization’s network security environment. Network security policies determine how security best practices are implemented throughout the network estate. That being said, the main types of security policies include access management, email security, log management, BYOD, Password, patch management, server security, systems monitoring & auditing, vulnerability assessment, firewall management, and cloud configuration policies. Schedule a Demo How does AlgoSec help with cloud compliance? AlgoSec is a leader in cloud security management. It helps the world’s largest and most complex organizations to gain visibility, reduce risk, and maintain security & compliance across hybrid networks. Here is how AlgoSec can help your company with cloud compliance: End-to-End Network Visibility Get visibility of the underlying security policies implemented on firewalls and other security devices across your cloud-only or hybrid network, including multiple cloud vendors. Have a detailed insight into your network’s traffic flows and the state of your applications and data in real-time. Complete end-to-end visibility gives you the insights you need to implement suitable security policies to ensure compliance. Ensure Continuous Compliance Major regulations, like PCI DSS, ISO 27001 , HIPAA, SOX, NERC, and GDPR require you to conduct an audit to show compliance. This is time-consuming and labor-intensive, especially for organizations that run super complex cloud systems. Simplify and reduce audit preparation efforts and costs with out-of-the-box audit reports. Multi-Cloud Management You don’t have to spend more resources implementing multiple management consoles. With AlgoSec, you can handle multiple cloud management portals using a single solution. Secure Change Management Implement changes and configurations securely with zero-touch provisioning (ZTP). Manage security policies across single-cloud, multi-cloud, and hybrid environments via automation with zero-touch. Deploy changes automatically and eliminate most of the error-prone manual labor. Cloud Security Training AlgoSec offers comprehensive training for cloud security professionals. Cloud technologies are complex. And they keep evolving. Keeping tabs on new technologies and best practices requires regular cloud security training. Optimal training of your security personnel helps you stay compliant and proactively avert a crisis. Hybrid Cloud Environment Management Automatically migrates application connectivity and provides a unified security policy through easy-to-use workflows, risk assessment, and security policy management . Schedule a Demo Select a size What is cloud security compliance? Cloud compliance challenges Cloud compliance tips Cloud security FAQs How does AlgoSec help with cloud compliance? Get the latest insights from the experts Use these six best practices to simplify compliance and risk White paper Choose a better way to manage your network

In the bustling world of cloud security, where complexity and rapid change are the norms, Ava Chawla, Director of Cloud Security at... Cloud Security Securing the Future: A Candid Chat with Ava Chawla, Director of cloud security at AlgoSec Adel Osta Dadan 2 min read Adel Osta Dadan Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 6/15/24 Published In the bustling world of cloud security, where complexity and rapid change are the norms, Ava Chawla, Director of Cloud Security at AlgoSec, sits down to share her insights and experiences. With a relaxed yet passionate demeanor, Ava discusses how her team is pioneering strategies to keep businesses safe and thriving amidst the digital transformation. Embracing the “100x Revolution” “Look, the landscape has transformed dramatically,” Ava reflects with a thoughtful pause. “We’re not just talking about incremental changes here; it’s about a revolution—a ‘100x revolution.’ It’s where everything is exponentially more complex and moves at breakneck speeds. And at the heart? Applications. They’re no longer just supporting business processes; they’re driving them, creating new opportunities, modernizing how we operate, and pushing boundaries.” The Power of Double-Layered Cloud Security Leaning in, Ava shares the strategic thinking behind their innovative approach to cloud security. “One of the things we’ve pioneered is what we call application-centric double-layered cloud security. This is about proactively stopping attacks, and better managing vulnerabilities to safeguard your most critical business applications and data. Imagine a stormy day, you layer up with raincoat and warm clothes for protection The sturdy raincoat represents the network layer, shielding against initial threats, while the layers of clothing underneath symbolize the configuration layer, providing added insulation. Together, these layers offer double layer protection. For businesses, double-layer cloud security means defense in depth at the network layer, unique to AlgoSec, and continuous monitoring across everything in the cloud. Now combine double-layered security with an application centric approach focused on business continuity and data protection across the applications that run the business. Cloud configurations risks are inevitable. You are responsible for safeguarding the business. Imagine you have a tool where you start with an AI-driven view of all your business applications and the attack surface, in seconds you can spot any vulnerable paths open for exploitation as it relates to your most critical applications. Application centric double layer security – the double layers is that extra layer of protection you need when the environment is unpredictable. Combine this with an app-centric perspective for effective prioritization and better security management. It’s a powerful combination! This approach isn’t just about adding more security; it’s about smart security, designed to tackle the challenges that our IT and security teams face every day across various cloud platforms.” Making Security Predictive, Not Just Reactive Ava’s passion is evident as she discusses the proactive nature of their security measures. “We can’t just be reactive anymore,” she says, emphasizing each word. “Being predictive, anticipating what’s next, that’s where we really add value. It’s about seeing the big picture, understanding the broader implications of connectivity and security. Our tools and solutions are built to be as dynamic and forward-thinking as the businesses we protect.” Aligning Security With Business Goals “There’s a beautiful alignment that happens when security and business goals come together,” Ava explains. “It’s not just about securing things; it’s about enabling business growth, expansion, and innovation. We integrate our security strategies with business objectives to ensure that as companies scale and evolve, their security posture does too.” A Vision for the Future With a reflective tone, Ava looks ahead. “What excites me the most about the future is our commitment to innovation and staying ahead of the curve. We’re not just keeping up; we’re setting the pace. We envision a world where technology empowers, enhances, and expands human potential. That’s the future we’re building towards—a secure, thriving digital landscape.” A Closing Thought As the conversation wraps up, Ava’s enthusiasm is palpable. “Our promise at AlgoSec is simple: we empower businesses without interfering with their productivity. We turn digital challenges into growth opportunities. It’s not just about managing risks—it’s about leveraging them for growth.” In a world driven by rapid technological advancements and significant security risks, Ava Chawla and her team at AlgoSec are crafting solutions that ensure businesses can navigate the complexities of the digital landscape with confidence and creativity. Schedule a demo Related Articles 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 5 Multi-Cloud Environments Cloud Security Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Speak to one of our experts Speak to one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Schedule a call

AlgoSec & Juniper Networks AlgoSec seamlessly integrates with Juniper devices to automate application and user aware security policy management and ensure that Juniper devices are properly configured. AlgoSec supports the entire security policy management lifecycle — from application connectivity discovery, through ongoing management and compliance, to rule recertification and secure decommissioning. How to Juniper Policy Optimization Learn how to achieve a clean and optimized security policy on your Juniper device Juniper Regulatory Compliance Learn how to prepare for a regulatory audit Juniper Risk Assessment Learn how to assess risk on your Juniper devices with AlgoSec See how Juniper Users Can Benefit from AlgoSec Schedule time with one of our experts

Implement micro-segmentation effectively, from strategy to execution, to enhance security, minimize risks, and protect critical assets across your network. Micro-segmentation from strategy to execution ---- ------- Schedule a Demo Select a size ----- Get the latest insights from the experts Choose a better way to manage your network

The past few years have witnessed a rapid surge in the use of SaaS applications across various industries. But with this growth comes a... Hybrid Cloud Security Management Cloud security study reveals: over 50% of system failures are caused by human error and mismanagement Malynnda Littky-Porath 2 min read Malynnda Littky-Porath Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 6/20/23 Published The past few years have witnessed a rapid surge in the use of SaaS applications across various industries. But with this growth comes a significant challenge: managing security and assessing risk in application connectivity. In this blog, I’ll explore the fascinating insights from a recent study conducted by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA). The study delves into the complexities of managing security and assessing the risk of application connectivity in the rapidly growing world of SaaS applications and cloud environments. With responses from 1,551 IT and security professionals from organizations of all sizes and from all corners of the globe, this study provides valuable insights into the challenges of application security in cloud environments and how to best manage them. Insight # 1 – Human error is the leading cause of application outages With more than half of these outages linked to manual processes and the increasing complexity of the systems themselves, businesses are losing productivity, revenue, and even reputation due to downtime. In many cases, the root cause of these outages is traced back to configuration errors, software bugs, or human mistakes during deployments or maintenance activities. To combat these issues, investment in automation and machine learning technologies can mitigate the risk of human error and ensure the reliability and stability of their applications. Insight # 2 – 75% of organizations experienced application outages lasting an hour or more. The financial impact of outages has been significant, with an estimated cost of $300,000 or more per instance. These costs include lost productivity, revenue, and potential customer churn. While human error is the major contributor to downtime, outages are often caused by a combination of additional factors, including hardware or software failure and cyber-attacks. Comprehensive disaster recovery plans, backup systems, and application performance monitoring tools are necessary to minimize outages and ensure business continuity. Insight # 3 – A lack of visibility and compliance are the primary constraints to rolling out new applications . Visibility is essential to understanding how applications are used, where they are deployed, and how they integrate with other systems. Compliance gaps, on the other hand, can pose significant risks, resulting in issues such as data breaches, regulatory fines, or reputational damage. To ensure successful application rollout, organizations must have a clear view of their application environment and ensure compliance with relevant standards and regulations. Insight # 4 – The shift to the DevOps methodology has led to a shift-left movement where security is integrated into the application development process . Traditionally, application security teams have been responsible for securing applications in the public cloud. However, DevOps teams are becoming more involved in the security of applications in the public cloud. DevOps teams are now responsible for ensuring that applications are designed with security in mind, and they work with the application security teams to ensure that the necessary controls are in place. Involving the DevOps teams in the security process can reduce the risk of security breaches and ensure that security is integrated throughout the application lifecycle. Insight # 5 – Organizations are targeting unauthorized access to applications in the public cloud . Organizations can protect their applications by implementing strong authentication mechanisms, access controls, and encryption to protect sensitive data. Using the principle of least privilege can limit application access to only authorized personnel. cloud infrastructure is secure and that vulnerabilities are regularly identified and addressed. Organizations must review their security requirements, monitor the application environment, and regularly update their security controls to protect their data and applications in the public cloud. Insight # 6 – A rapidly evolving technology landscape has created skills gaps and staffing issues Specialized skills are not always readily available within organizations, which can result in a shortage of qualified personnel. This can overburden teams, resulting in burnout and increased staff turnover. Staffing shortages can also lead to knowledge silos, where critical skills and knowledge are concentrated in a few key individuals, leaving the rest of the team vulnerable to knowledge gaps. Organizations must invest in training and development programs to ensure that their teams have the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in their roles. Successful cloud migrations require a comprehensive knowledge of cloud security controls and how they interconnect and collaborate with on-premise security systems. To make this happen, organizations need complete visibility across both cloud and on-premise environments, and must automate the network security management processes. To sum up, the rapidly evolving threat environment demands new ways to enhance security. Proactive risk detection, powerful automation capabilities, and enhanced visibility in the cloud and outside of it are just a few ways to strengthen your security posture. AlgoSec can do all that, and more, to help you stay ahead of emerging threats and protect your critical assets.. Even better, our solution is ideal for organizations that may lack in-house expertise and resources, complementing the existing security measures and helping to keep you one step ahead of attackers. Don’t miss out on the full insights and recommendations from the study. Click here to access the complete findings. Schedule a demo Related Articles 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 5 Multi-Cloud Environments Cloud Security 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. Leading FinTech Provider Reduces Security Risks With AlgoSec Organization FinTech Provider Industry Technology Headquarters Download case study Share Customer
success stories "With AlgoSec, we get a holistic view of how our entire network operates.” FinTech company gains a holistic view of hybrid network, enhances compliance posture. BACKGROUND The company has thousands of employees and annual revenue over a billion euros. The company manages 168,750 banking workstations, over 82.2 million customer accounts and ensures nationwide smooth cash supply with its 34,000 ATMs and self-service terminals. THE CHALLENGE The company relies on over 170 firewalls from Check Point Software, Juniper, and Cisco. They also have over 48,000 virtual servers, and security controls including proxies, security gateways, DDoS protection, and intrusion protection systems (IPS) from vendors including Check Point, Juniper, Cisco, and F5. Their networks process approximately 3.17 petabytes daily. Some of the challenges included: Difficulty maintaining internal toolset. High maintenance costs for their internal tools. Lack of visibility into their network. THE SOLUTION The company was searching for a solution that provided: Automation for their entire network, including software-defined networks. Visibility of the required communications of the business applications. Review and approval of traffic flows. Ability to apply a predefined set of firewall rules to newly deployed virtual machines. Following an in-depth evaluation, the company selected AlgoSec’s security policy management solution. “The main reason we chose AlgoSec was extensive support for multiple firewall vendors,” said their IT systems engineer. “We have a multi-vendor strategy, and AlgoSec fully supports all of the vendors that we are using.” For over a decade, they have been using AlgoSec’s Security Policy Management Solution, which includes AlgoSec Firewall Analyzer and AlgoSec FireFlow. After several years of relying just on Firewall Analyzer and FireFlow, they also added AlgoSec AppViz and AppChange (formerly AlgoSec BusinessFlow) to their toolkit. AlgoSec Firewall Analyzer ensures security and compliance by providing visibility and analysis into complex network security policies. AlgoSec FireFlow improves security and saves security staffs’ time by automating the entire security policy change process, eliminating manual errors, and reducing risk. AlgoSec AppViz provides critical security information regarding the firewalls and firewall rules supporting each connectivity flow by letting users discover, identify, and map business applications. AlgoSec AppChange empowers customers to make changes at the business application level, including application migrations, server deployment, and decommissioning projects. “AppViz and AppChange provide a more application-centric viewpoint. It’s really helpful for communication within our business departments,” said their IT engineer. THE RESULTS By using the AlgoSec Security Management solution, the company was able to automate their network policy change management processes, enhance their compliance posture, accelerate hardware migrations, and gain deep visibility into their hybrid network. Some of the benefits gained include: Deep integration and visibility into their hybrid network. Faster firewall migrations and deployments of virtual firewalls. Eliminated unnecessary policy changes and reduced the time required to process policy changes. Ability to review and approve communication flows (a PCI DSS requirement). Automatic assessment and reporting for regulations including PCI DSS and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). “The network map is one of the keys in AlgoSec,” said their network engineer. “The greatest benefit we had from AlgoSec is the integration into the network and holistic view of how our entire network operated,” added the network engineer. “AlgoSec really fits into our environment. You can customize AlgoSec to fit into your business processes and workflows,” noted the engineer. “We have a long partnership with AlgoSec and really appreciate working together and the great support we receive.” Schedule time with one of our experts

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

For your organization to implement robust security policies, it must have clear information on the security risks it is exposed to. An... Uncategorized How to Perform a Network Security Risk Assessment in 6 Steps Tsippi Dach 2 min read Tsippi Dach Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 1/18/24 Published For your organization to implement robust security policies, it must have clear information on the security risks it is exposed to. An effective IT security plan must take the organization’s unique set of systems and technologies into account. This helps security professionals decide where to deploy limited resources for improving security processes. Cybersecurity risk assessments provide clear, actionable data about the quality and success of the organization’s current security measures. They offer insight into the potential impact of security threats across the entire organization, giving security leaders the information they need to manage risk more effectively. Conducting a comprehensive cyber risk assessment can help you improve your organization’s security posture, address security-related production bottlenecks in business operations, and make sure security team budgets are wisely spent. This kind of assessment is also a vital step in the compliance process . Organizations must undergo information security risk assessments in order to meet regulatory requirements set by different authorities and frameworks, including: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) What is a Security Risk Assessment? Your organization’s security risk assessment is a formal document that identifies, evaluates, and prioritizes cyber threats according to their potential impact on business operations. Categorizing threats this way allows cybersecurity leaders to manage the risk level associated with them in a proactive, strategic way. The assessment provides valuable data about vulnerabilities in business systems and the likelihood of cyber attacks against those systems. It also provides context into mitigation strategies for identified risks, which helps security leaders make informed decisions during the risk management process. For example, a security risk assessment may find that the organization needs to be more reliant on its firewalls and access control solutions . If a threat actor uses phishing or social engineering to bypass these defenses (or take control of them entirely), the entire organization could suffer a catastrophic data breach. In this case, the assessment may recommend investing in penetration testing and advanced incident response capabilities. Organizations that neglect to invest in network security risk assessments won’t know their weaknesses until after they are actively exploited. By the time hackers launch a ransomware attack, it’s too late to consider whether your antivirus systems are properly configured against malware. Who Should Perform Your Organization’s Cyber Risk Assessment? A dedicated internal team should take ownership over the risk assessment process . The process will require technical personnel with a deep understanding of the organization’s IT infrastructure. Executive stakeholders should also be involved because they understand how information flows in the context of the organization’s business logic, and can provide broad insight into its risk management strategy . Small businesses may not have the resources necessary to conduct a comprehensive risk analysis internally. While a variety of assessment tools and solutions are available on the market, partnering with a reputable managed security service provider is the best way to ensure an accurate outcome. Adhering to a consistent methodology is vital, and experienced vulnerability assessment professionals ensure the best results. How to Conduct a Network Security Risk Assessment 1. Develop a comprehensive asset map The first step is accurately mapping out your organization’s network assets. If you don’t have a clear idea of exactly what systems, tools, and applications the organization uses, you won’t be able to manage the risks associated with them. Keep in mind that human user accounts should be counted as assets as well. The Verizon 2023 Data Breach Investigation Report shows that the human element is involved in more than a quarter of all data breaches. The better you understand your organization’s human users and their privilege profiles, the more effectively you can protect them from potential threats and secure critical assets effectively. Ideally, all of your organization’s users should be assigned and managed through a centralized system. For Windows-based networks, Active Directory is usually the solution that comes to mind. Your organization may have a different system in place if it uses a different operating system. Also, don’t forget about information assets like trade secrets and intellectual property. Cybercriminals may target these assets in order to extort the organization. Your asset map should show you exactly where these critical assets are stored, and provide context into which users have permission to access them. Log and track every single asset in a central database that you can quickly access and easily update. Assign security value to each asset as you go and categorize them by access level . Here’s an example of how you might want to structure that categorization: Public data. This is data you’ve intentionally made available to the public. It includes web page content, marketing brochures, and any other information of no consequence in a data breach scenario. Confidential data. This data is not publicly available. If the organization shares it with third parties, it is only under a non-disclosure agreement. Sensitive technical or financial information may end up in this category. Internal use only. This term refers to data that is not allowed outside the company, even under non-disclosure terms. It might include employee pay structures, long-term strategy documents, or product research data. Intellectual property. Any trade secrets, issued patents, or copyrighted assets are intellectual property. The value of the organization depends in some way on this information remaining confidential. Compliance restricted data. This category includes any data that is protected by regulatory or legal obligations. For a HIPAA-compliant organization, that would include patient data, medical histories, and protected personal information. This database will be one of the most important security assessment tools you use throughout the next seven steps. 2. Identify security threats and vulnerabilities Once you have a comprehensive asset inventory, you can begin identifying risks and vulnerabilities for each asset. There are many different types of tests and risk assessment tools you can use for this step. Automating the process whenever possible is highly recommended, since it may otherwise become a lengthy and time-consuming manual task. Vulnerability scanning tools can automatically assess your network and applications for vulnerabilities associated with known threats. The scan’s results will tell you exactly what kinds of threats your information systems are susceptible to, and provide some information about how you can remediate them. Be aware that these scans can only determine your vulnerability to known threats. They won’t detect insider threats , zero-day vulnerabilities and some scanners may overlook security tool misconfigurations that attackers can take advantage of. You may also wish to conduct a security gap analysis. This will provide you with comprehensive information about how your current security program compares to an established standard like CMMC or PCI DSS. This won’t help protect against zero-day threats, but it can uncover information security management problems and misconfigurations that would otherwise go unnoticed. To take this step to the next level, you can conduct penetration testing against the systems and assets your organization uses. This will validate vulnerability scan and gap analysis data while potentially uncovering unknown vulnerabilities in the process. Pentesting replicates real attacks on your systems, providing deep insight into just how feasible those attacks may be from a threat actor’s perspective. When assessing the different risks your organization faces, try to answer the following questions: What is the most likely business outcome associated with this risk? Will the impact of this risk include permanent damage, like destroyed data? Would your organization be subject to fines for compliance violations associated with this risk? Could your organization face additional legal liabilities if someone exploited this risk? 3. Prioritize risks according to severity and likelihood Once you’ve conducted vulnerability scans and assessed the different risks that could impact your organization, you will be left with a long list of potential threats. This list will include more risks and hazards than you could possibly address all at once. The next step is to go through the list and prioritize each risk according to its potential impact and how likely it is to happen. If you implemented penetration testing in the previous step, you should have precise data on how likely certain attacks are to take place. Your team will tell you how many steps they took to compromise confidential data, which authentication systems they had to bypass, and what other security functionalities they disabled. Every additional step reduces the likelihood of a cybercriminal carrying out the attack successfully. If you do not implement penetration testing, you will have to conduct an audit to assess the likelihood of attackers exploiting your organization’s vulnerabilities. Industry-wide threat intelligence data can give you an idea of how frequent certain types of attacks are. During this step, you’ll have to balance the likelihood of exploitation with the severity of the potential impact for each risk. This will require research into the remediation costs associated with many cyberattacks. Remediation costs should include business impact – such as downtime, legal liabilities, and reputational damage – as well as the cost of paying employees to carry out remediation tasks. Assigning internal IT employees to remediation tasks implies the opportunity cost of diverting them from their usual responsibilities. The more completely you assess these costs, the more accurate your assessment will be. 4. Develop security controls in response to risks Now that you have a comprehensive overview of the risks your organization is exposed to, you can begin developing security controls to address them. These controls should provide visibility and functionality to your security processes, allowing you to prevent attackers from exploiting your information systems and detect them when they make an attempt. There are three main types of security control available to the typical organization: Physical controls prevent unauthorized access to sensitive locations and hardware assets. Security cameras, door locks, and live guards all contribute to physical security. These controls prevent external attacks from taking place on premises. Administrative controls are policies, practices, and workflows that secure business assets and provide visibility into workplace processes. These are vital for protecting against credential-based attacks and malicious insiders. Technical controls include purpose-built security tools like hardware firewalls, encrypted data storage solutions, and antivirus software. Depending on their configuration, these controls can address almost any type of threat. These categories have further sub-categories that describe how the control interacts with the threat it is protecting against. Most controls protect against more than one type of risk, and many controls will protect against different risks in different ways. Here are some of the functions of different controls that you should keep in mind: Detection-based controls trigger alerts when they discover unauthorized activity happening on the network. Intrusion detection systems (IDS) and security information and event management (SIEM) platforms are examples of detection-based solutions. When you configure one of these systems to detect a known risk, you are implementing a detection-based technical control. Prevention-based controls block unauthorized activity from taking place altogether. Authentication protocols and firewall rules are common examples of prevention-based security controls. When you update your organization’s password policy, you are implementing a prevention-based administrative control. Correction and compensation-based controls focus on remediating the effects of cyberattacks once they occur. Disaster recovery systems and business continuity solutions are examples. When you copy a backup database to an on-premises server, you are establishing physical compensation-based controls that will help you recover from potential threats. 5. Document the results and create a remediation plan Once you’ve assessed your organization’s exposure to different risks and developed security controls to address those risks, you are ready to condense them into a cohesive remediation plan . You will use the data you’ve gathered so far to justify the recommendations you make, so it’s a good idea to present that data visually. Consider creating a risk matrix to show how individual risks compare to one another based on their severity and likelihood. High-impact risks that have a high likelihood of occurring should draw more time and attention than risks that are either low-impact, unlikely, or both. Your remediation plan will document the steps that security teams will need to take when responding to each incident you describe. If multiple options exist for a particular vulnerability, you may add a cost/benefit analysis of multiple approaches. This should provide you with an accurate way to quantify the cost of certain cyberattacks and provide a comparative cost for implementing controls against that type of attack. Comparing the cost of remediation with the cost of implementing controls should show some obvious options for cybersecurity investment. It’s easy to make the case for securing against high-severity, high-likelihood attacks with high remediation costs and low control costs. Implementing security patches is an example of this kind of security control that costs very little but provides a great deal of value in this context. Depending on your organization’s security risk profile, you may uncover other opportunities to improve security quickly. You will probably also find opportunities that are more difficult or expensive to carry out. You will have to pitch these opportunities to stakeholders and make the case for their approval. 6. Implement recommendations and evaluate the effectiveness of your assessment Once you have approval to implement your recommendations, it’s time for action. Your security team can now assign each item in the remediation plan to the team member responsible and oversee their completion. Be sure to allow a realistic time frame for each step in the process to be completed – especially if your team is not actively executing every task on its own. You should also include steps for monitoring the effectiveness of their efforts and documenting the changes they make to your security posture. This will provide you with key performance metrics that you can compare with future network security assessments moving forward, and help you demonstrate the value of your remediation efforts overall. Once you have implemented the recommendations, you can monitor and optimize the performance of your information systems to ensure your security posture adapts to new threats as they emerge. Risk assessments are not static processes, and you should be prepared to conduct internal audits and simulate the impact of configuration changes on your current deployment. You may wish to repeat your risk evaluation and gap analysis step to find out how much your organization’s security posture has changed. You can use automated tools like AlgoSec to conduct configuration simulations and optimize the way your network responds to new and emerging threats. Investing time and energy into these tasks now will lessen the burden of your next network security risk assessment and make it easier for you to gain approval for the recommendations you make in the future. Schedule a demo Related Articles 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 5 Multi-Cloud Environments Cloud Security 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

Tal Dayan, security expert for AlgoSec, discusses the secret to passing audits seamlessly and how to introduce automated compliance... Auditing and Compliance Compliance Made Easy: How to improve your risk posture with automated audits Tal Dayan 2 min read Tal Dayan Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 4/29/21 Published Tal Dayan, security expert for AlgoSec, discusses the secret to passing audits seamlessly and how to introduce automated compliance Compliance standards come in many different shapes and sizes. Some organizations set their own internal policies, while others are subject to regimented global frameworks such as PCI DSS , which protects customers’ card payment details; SOX to safeguard financial information or HIPAA , which protects patients’ healthcare data. Regardless of which industry you operate in, regular auditing is key to ensuring your business retains its risk posture whilst also remaining compliant. The problem is that running manual risk and security audits can be a long, drawn-out, and tedious affair. A 2020 report from Coalfire and Omdia  found that for the majority of organizations, growing compliance obligations are now consuming 40% or more of IT security budgets and threaten to become an unsustainable cost.  The report suggests two reasons for this growing compliance burden.  First, compliance standards are changing from point-in-time reviews to continuous, outcome-based requirements. Second, the ongoing cyber-skills shortage is stretching organizations’ abilities to keep up with compliance requirements. This means businesses tend to leave them until the last moment, leading to a rushed audit that isn’t as thorough as it could be, putting your business at increased risk of a penalty fine or, worse, a data breach that could jeopardize the entire organization. The auditing process itself consists of a set of requirements that must be created for organizations to measure themselves against. Each rule must be manually analyzed and simulated before it can be implemented and used in the real world. As if that wasn’t time-consuming enough, every single edit to a rule must also be logged meticulously. That is why automation plays a key role in the auditing process. By striking the right balance between automated and manual processes, your business can achieve continuous compliance and produce audit reports seamlessly. Here is a six-step strategy that can set your business on the path to sustainable and successful ongoing auditing preservation: Step 1: Gather information This step will be the most arduous but once completed it will become much easier to sustain. This is when you’ll need to gather things like security policies, firewall access logs, documents from previous audits and firewall vendor information – effectively everything you’d normally factor into a manual security audit. Step 2: Define a clear change management process A good change management process is essential to ensure traceability and accountability when it comes to firewall changes. This process should confirm that every change is properly authorized and logged as and when it occurs, providing a picture of historical changes and approvals. Step 3: Audit physical & OS security With the pandemic causing a surge in the number of remote workers and devices used, businesses must take extra care to certify that every endpoint is secured and up-to-date with relevant security patches. Crucially, firewall and management services should also be physically protected, with only designated personnel permitted to access them. Step 4: Clean up & organize rule base As with every process, the tidier it is, the more efficient it is. Document rules and naming conventions should be enforced to ensure the rule base is as organized as possible, with identical rules consolidated to keep things concise. Step 5: Assess & remediate risk Now it’s time to assess each rule and identify those that are particularly risky and prioritize them by severity. Are there any that violate corporate security policies? Do some have “ANY” and a permissive action? Make a list of these rules and analyze them to prepare plans for remediation and compliance. Step 6: Continuity & optimization Now it’s time to simply hone the first five steps and make these processes as regular and streamlined as possible. By following the above steps and building out your own process, you can make day-to-day compliance and auditing much more manageable. Not only will you improve your compliance score, you’ll also be able to maintain a sustainable level of compliance without the usual disruption and hard labor caused by cumbersome and expensive manual processes. To find out more about auditing automation and how you can master compliance, watch my recent webinar and visit our firewall auditing and compliance page. Schedule a demo Related Articles 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 5 Multi-Cloud Environments Cloud Security 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

Eric Jeffery, AlgoSec’s regional solutions engineer, gives his view on the pivotal role of AppSec network engineers and how they can... Application Connectivity Management How AppSec Network Engineers Can Align Security with the Business Eric Jeffery 2 min read Eric Jeffery 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 7/13/22 Published Eric Jeffery, AlgoSec’s regional solutions engineer, gives his view on the pivotal role of AppSec network engineers and how they can positively impact the business It may surprise many people but the number one skills gap hampering today’s application security network engineers is primarily centred around the soft skills which includes communication, writing, presentation, team building and critical thinking. Why is this so important? Because first and foremost, their goal is to manage the organization’s security posture by deploying the best application security tools and technologies for the specific security and growth needs of the business. Keep things safe but don’t get in the way of revenue generation What an application security network engineer should not do is get in the way of developing new business-critical or revenue generating applications. At the same time, they need to understand that they have a leadership role to play in steering a safe and profitable course for the business. Starting with an in depth understanding of all wired traffic, AppSec network engineers need to know what applications are running on the network, how they communicate, who they communicate with and how to secure the traffic and connectivity flow associated with each one of them. An AppSec network engineer’s expertise should extend much more than mastering simple applications such as FTP and SSH. Rather, business traffic continuity should sit at the pinnacle of their responsibilities. There’s a lot of revenue generating traffic that they need to understand and put the right guardrails to protect it. However, equally as important, they need to make sure that the traffic is not hindered by outdated or irrelevant rules and policies, to avoid any negative financial impact on the organization. Layers of expertise beyond the OSI model A good starting point for any AppSec network engineer is to acquire a commanding knowledge of the seven layers of the OSI model, especially Layer 6 which covers Presentation. In practical terms, this means that they should have a thorough understanding of the network and transport layers – knowing what traffic is going across the network and why. It’s also helpful to have basic scripting knowledge and an understanding of simple scripts such as a cron job for scheduling tasks. It could also be useful to know some basic level programming like Perl and PHP. Beyond the network skills, AppSec network engineers should grasp the business vertical in which they operate. Once they gain an understanding of the business DNA and the applications that make it tick, then they can add real value to their organizations. What’s on the network vs. what should be on the network Should AppSec network engineers be expected to understand business and applications? Absolutely. With this level of skill and knowledge, they can help the business progress securely by corelating what is actually in the network environment versus what should be in the environment. Once they have clear understanding, they can clean up then environment and optimize network performance with enhanced security. This becomes more critical as organizations grow and develop, often allowing too much unnecessary traffic into the environment. Typically, this is how the scenario plays out: Applications are added or removed (decommissioned), or a new vendor or solution is brought on board and the firewall turns into a de facto router. The end result of such often leads to new vulnerabilities and too many unnecessary threat vectors. This is precisely where the aforementioned soft skills come in – an AppSec network engineer should be able to call out practices that don’t align with business goals. It’s also incumbent upon organizations to offer soft skills training to help their AppSec network engineers become more valuable to their teams. Need an application view to be effective in securing the business When firewalls become de facto routers, organizations end up relying on other areas for security. However, security needs to be aligned with the applications to prevent cyber attacks from getting onto the network and then from moving laterally across the network, should they manage to bypass the firewalls. All too often, east-west security is inadequate and therefore, AppSec network engineers need to look at network segmentation and application segmentation as part of a holistic network security strategy. The good news is that there are some great new technologies that can help with segmenting an internal network. The lesser good news is that there’s a danger in the thinking that by bolting on new tools, the problem will be solved. So often these tools are only partially deployed before the team moves onto the next “latest and the greatest” solution. When exploring new technologies, AppSec network engineers must ask themselves the following: Is there a matching use case for each solution? Will procurement of another tool lead to securing the environment or will it just be another useless “flavor of the month” tool? Irregardless, once the new technology solution is acquired, it is imperative to align the right skilful people with this technology to enable the organization to intelligently secure the whole environment before moving onto a new tool. To further hone this point, celebrating the introduction of a new firewall is superfluous if at the end of the day, it does not utilize the right rules and policies. Ushering some of these new technologies without proper deployment will only leave gaping holes and give organizations a false sense of security, exposing them to continuous risks. Don’t put the cloud native cart before the horse The role of an AppSec network engineer becomes even more critical when moving to the cloud. It starts with asking probing questions: What are the applications in the business and why are we moving them to the cloud? Is it for scalability, speed of access or to update a legacy system? Will the business benefit from the investment and the potential performance impact? It’s also important to consider the architecture in the cloud: Is it containerized, public cloud, private cloud or hybrid? Once you get definitive answers to these questions, create reference architectures and get senior level buy-in. Finally, think about the order in which the enterprise migrates applications to the cloud and maybe start with some non-critical applications that only affect a small number of locations or people before risking moving critical revenue generating applications. Don’t put the cart before the horse. DevSecOps: We should be working together; you can be sure the criminals are… Network application security is complicated enough without introducing internal squabbles over resources or sacrificing security for speed. Security teams and development teams need to work together and focus on what is best for your business. Again, this where the soft skills like teamwork, communications and project management come into play. The bottom line is this: Understand bad actors and prepare for the worst. The bad guys are just chomping at the bit, waiting for your organizations to make the next mistake. To beat them, DevSecOps teams must leverage all the resources they have available. Future promise or false sense of security? There are some exciting new technologies to look forward to in the horizon to help secure the application environment. Areas like quantum computing, machine learning, AI and blockchain show great promise in outfoxing the cyber criminals in the healthcare and financial services industries. It is expected that the AppSec network engineer will play a vital role in the viability of these new technologies. Yet, the right technology will still need to be applied to the right use case correctly and then fully deployed to in order see any effective results. The takeaway So much of the role of the AppSec network engineer is about taking a cold hard look at the goals of the business and asking some challenging questions. It all starts with “what’s right for the business?” rather than “what’s the latest technology we can get our hands on?” To be an effective AppSec network engineer, individuals should not only know the corporate network inside out, but they also must have an overall grasp of applications and the applicable business cases they support. Furthermore, collaboration with developers and operations (DevOps) becomes an agent for rapid deployment of revenue generating or mission critical applications. But it still goes back to the soft skills. To protect the business from taking needless security risks and demand a seat at the decision-making table, AppSec network engineers need to apply strong leadership, project management and communications skills To learn more on the importance of AppSec network engineers to your organization’s cybersecurity team, watch the following video Schedule a demo Related Articles 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 5 Multi-Cloud Environments Cloud Security Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Speak to one of our experts Speak to one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Schedule a call

A quarter-by-quarter review of AlgoSec’s 2025 covering key product launches like Horizon, our latest research on zero trust and convergence, customer milestones, and the industry recognition that defined our year. AlgoSec Reviews 2025 in review: What innovations and milestones defined AlgoSec’s transformative year in 2025? Adel Osta Dadan 2 min read Adel Osta Dadan Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 12/18/25 Published As we close out 2025, I find myself reflecting on what has been an extraordinary journey for AlgoSec. This year was marked by breakthrough innovations, significant industry recognition, and an unwavering commitment to our vision of secure application connectivity. From launching game-changing solutions to earning accolades on the global stage, 2025 challenged us to push boundaries – and we rose to the occasion with confidence and purpose. Every challenge met, every milestone achieved, has reinforced our resolve to lead in network security policy management across hybrid cloud environments. The story of AlgoSec in 2025 is one of innovation validated by the industry and, most importantly, by the trust of our customers. In this featured year-end review, I’ll walk through AlgoSec’s 2025 journey quarter by quarter. It’s a personal narrative from my vantage point as someone fortunate enough to help shape our story. The tone is proud and forward-looking because the accomplishments of this year have set the stage for an even more ambitious 2026. So let’s dive in, quarter by quarter, into how 2025 unfolded for AlgoSec – a year of solidifying leadership, fostering innovation, and securing connectivity for enterprises worldwide. Q1 – Launching a new horizon in hybrid cloud security The first quarter of 2025 was all about bold beginnings. We started the year by challenging the status quo in hybrid network security and laying the groundwork for everything to follow. Launch of the AlgoSec Horizon platform: In February, we unveiled AlgoSec Horizon , our most advanced application-centric security management platform for converging cloud and on-premise environments. This wasn’t just a product launch – it was a statement of direction. AlgoSec Horizon is the industry’s first platform to unify security policy automation across hybrid networks, giving teams a single pane of glass for both cloud and data center connectivity. By applying AI-driven visibility and risk mitigation, Horizon allows security teams to consistently manage application connectivity and policies across any environment. “Today’s networks are 100x more complex... requiring organizations to unify security operations, automate policies and enhance visibility across infrastructures,” as our VP of Product Eran Shiff noted at launch. With Horizon, our customers gained full visibility into their hybrid-cloud network and the power to remediate risks without slowing down the business. We even showcased Horizon live at Cisco Live 2025 in Amsterdam, letting attendees see firsthand how it simplifies hybrid cloud security. This Q1 milestone set the tone for the year – proving that we don’t just adapt to industry shifts, we lead them. Continuing analyst recognition and thought leadership: Building on momentum from the previous year, we carried forward strong validation from industry analysts. AlgoSec entered 2025 still highlighted as a Market Outperformer in GigaOm’s recent Radar Report for Cloud Network Security. In that report, analyst Andrew Green praised our core strength: “AlgoSec automates application connectivity and security policy across the hybrid network estate including public cloud, private cloud, containers, and on-premises networks.” Such independent insight validated our unique, application-centric approach. Internally, these early recognitions energized our teams. We doubled down on R&D and prepared to share our expertise more broadly – including wrapping up work on our annual research report. Q1’s focus on innovation and expert validation paved the way for the accomplishments that followed in subsequent quarters. Q2 – Thought leadership and industry accolades on the global stage If Q1 was about innovation, Q2 was about validation. In the second quarter, AlgoSec stepped onto the global stage at RSAC 2025 and emerged with both influential research and prestigious awards. It was a period where our thought leadership in secure connectivity met with resounding industry recognition. State of network security report 2025: In April, we released our annual State of Network Security Report , a comprehensive vendor-agnostic study of emerging trends and challenges in network security. This report quickly became a cornerstone of our thought leadership. It revealed how businesses are prioritizing multi-cloud strategies and zero-trust architecture in unprecedented ways. For instance, zero-trust adoption reached an all-time high – 56% of organizations reported they had fully or partially implemented zero-trust by 2025. We also highlighted that multi-cloud environments are now the norm, with Azure rising to become the most widely used cloud platform among respondents. Perhaps most telling was the finding that automating application connectivity ranked as the top priority for minimizing risk and downtime [9] . These insights underscored a message we’ve championed for years – that security can and should be an enabler of business agility. By shining a light on gaps in visibility and the need for policy automation, our Q2 research reinforced AlgoSec’s role as a thought leader in secure application connectivity. The report’s influence was evident in conversations at industry events and in how customers approached their network security strategy. Awards at RSAC 2025 – best security company and more: The highlight of Q2 came during the RSA Conference in late April, when AlgoSec earned two major industry accolades in one week. SC Media honored AlgoSec with the 2025 SC Award for Best Security Company, a recognition of our impact and innovation in cybersecurity. At the same time, Cyber Defense Magazine announced us as a winner of a 2025 Global InfoSec Award for Best Service – Cybersecurity Company [11] . Securing these prestigious awards simultaneously was a proud and humbling moment. It marked a significant milestone for our team as we continue to gain momentum across the global enterprise market. These accomplishments also validated our mission to deliver secure, seamless application connectivity across hybrid environments. “We’re honored to be recognized for empowering our customers to move faster and stay secure,” an AlgoSec spokesperson said, when discussing what the SC Award means to us. Indeed, being named Best Security Company came on the heels of some impressive company growth metrics – over 2,200 organizations now trust AlgoSec for their security policy management needs, and we saw 14% customer growth over the past year. The SC Award judges also noted that we command roughly 32% of the security policy management market share , highlighting AlgoSec’s leadership in this space. For me personally, seeing our work celebrated at RSAC 2025 was exhilarating. It wasn’t just about trophies; it was about validation from the community that the path we chose – focusing on application-centric, hybrid-cloud security – is the right one. Q2 ended with our trophy cabinet a bit fuller and our resolve stronger than ever to keep raising the bar. Q3 – Accelerating growth and fostering community The third quarter saw our innovations bear fruit in the market and our community initiatives take center stage. Coming out of the big wins of Q2, we maintained that momentum through the summer by executing on our strategies and engaging deeply with customers and partners. Q3 was about scaling up – both in terms of business impact and thought leadership outreach. Surging adoption and business growth: By mid-year, the impact of our new platform and solutions was clear in the numbers . In fact, we recorded a 36% year-over-year increase in new annual recurring revenue (ARR) in the first half of 2025 , driven largely by strong adoption of the AlgoSec Horizon platform. Our existing customers stayed with us as well – we maintained a gross dollar retention rate above 90%, a metric that speaks to the tangible value organizations are getting from our products. One anecdote that sticks with me is a story from a major U.S. financial institution: after deploying Horizon, they discovered 1,800 previously unknown applications and their connectivity requirements within the first two weeks . That kind of visibility – uncovering what was once shadow IT – is a game-changer for risk reduction. It proved that our focus on hybrid cloud security and intelligent automation is solving real problems. Equally rewarding was the feedback from customers. By Q3, AlgoSec was sustaining an average rating of 4.5 stars on Gartner Peer Insights , with users praising our platform’s depth and ease of use. We’ve also consistently ranked at the top of our category on peer review sites like G2 and PeerSpot, reflecting the positive outcomes our users are achieving . This convergence of market growth and customer satisfaction in Q3 affirmed that our application-centric approach is resonating strongly. Extending thought leadership through strategic research: Our growth in Q3 wasn’t just reflected in numbers—it also showed in how we’re shaping the security conversation. One standout was the publication of the Security Convergence eBook , developed in partnership with ESG. This research-backed guide addressed the operational and strategic challenges of aligning application, network, and cloud security. It offered actionable insights for enterprises navigating the intersection of security domains, a challenge we consistently hear about from our customers. The eBook resonated with CISOs and security leaders tasked with unifying fragmented processes under growing compliance and performance pressures. It reaffirmed AlgoSec’s unique position—not just as a solution provider, but as a partner helping drive clarity and convergence in the face of growing complexity. Community engagement and knowledge sharing : Even as we grew, we never lost sight of the importance of community and education. In September, we launched the AlgoSec Horizon Tour , a roadshow of interactive sessions across EMEA and the U.S. aimed at sharing best practices in secure application connectivity. These workshops gave enterprise security teams a hands-on look at Horizon’s capabilities and provided a forum for us to hear feedback directly from users. The tour culminated in our annual AlgoSummit 2025 – a virtual conference we hosted on September 30th that brought together customers, partners, and industry experts. If I had to choose a proud moment from Q3, AlgoSummit 2025 would be high on the list. We facilitated deep-dive discussions on zero trust architecture , cloud security, and the future of network policy automation. It was inspiring to see our community openly exchange ideas and solutions. This summit wasn’t just a company event; it felt like an industry think-tank. It reinforced AlgoSec’s role as a trusted advisor in the field of network security, not just a product vendor. By the end of Q3, we had strengthened the bonds with our user community and showcased that as networks evolve, we’re evolving right alongside our customers – providing guidance, platform innovations, and an open ear to their needs. Recognition of customer success: On a more personal note, Q3 also brought moments that reminded us why we do what we do. I recall one customer review that particularly struck me, where a network security manager described how AlgoSec became indispensable as their organization embraced zero trust. “As we aspire to achieve zero-trust… we need tools like AlgoSec to assist us in the journey because most application owners do not know what access is needed. This tool helps them learn what needs to be implemented to reduce the attack surface,” he noted. Hearing directly from customers about how we’re helping them reduce risk and implement zero trust principles is incredibly motivating. It underscores that behind the growth statistics are real organizations becoming safer and more agile, powered by our solutions. This customer-centric ethos carried us through Q3 and into the final stretch of the year. Q4 – Culminating achievements and setting the stage for what’s next As the year drew to a close, AlgoSec showed no signs of slowing down. In fact, Q4 was about finishing strong and preparing for the future. We used the final quarter to expand our solution capabilities, help customers navigate new security paradigms, and celebrate the capstone of several achievements. It’s been a period of tying up 2025’s narrative threads and pointing our compass toward 2026. Expanding zero-trust and cloud security initiatives: In Q4, we doubled down on helping customers realize Zero Trust Architecture across their increasingly complex environments. Building on the micro-segmentation and application dependency mapping capabilities of our platform, we introduced new workflows to streamline zero-trust policy adoption. Our approach has been to make zero trust practical – ensuring that as enterprises segment their networks, they maintain clear visibility into application flows and can automate rule changes without fear of breaking things. We also expanded integrations with cloud platforms, recognizing that hybrid cloud deployments require consistent enforcement of zero-trust principles. The goal is simple: only allow what’s necessary. As one of our customers at NCR put it, “we need tools like AlgoSec… because most application owners do not know what access is needed. This tool helps them learn what needs to be implemented to reduce the attack surface.” That insight from the field echoes in our Q4 product enhancements – we focused on features that help identify and tighten overly permissive access, be it on-prem or in the cloud. Additionally, we kept an eye on emerging regulations and frameworks. With new security compliance requirements on the horizon, we ensured our solutions can automate audits and segmentation policies to keep our customers one step ahead. In short, Q4 was about reinforcing our commitment to hybrid cloud security and zero trust, so that our users can enter 2026 with confidence in their security posture. Even as 2025 ends, the wave of recognition we’ve ridden continues into Q4. I’m thrilled to share that in November, AlgoSec was named a “Trailblazing” company in Network Security and Management as part of the 2025 Top InfoSec Innovator Awards . This honor, bestowed by Cyber Defense Magazine’s panel of judges, places us among a select group of cybersecurity companies driving innovation and shaping the future of the industry. It’s a testament to our team’s hard work and our forward-thinking roadmap. Looking ahead to 2026 Reflecting on 2025, it’s clear that this year has been t ransformationa l for AlgoSec. We innovated boldly, earned trust widely, and solidified our position as the go-to partner for enterprises seeking secure, agile connectivity. The awards and recognitions were wonderful highlights – they energize us – but what truly drives our pride is knowing we helped organizations around the world accelerate their business securely . The foundations we laid this year in areas like zero trust architecture, hybrid cloud security, and intelligent policy automation have set us up for an even more impactful 2026. As we turn toward 2026, our vision is sharper than ever. We will continue to advance our platform – expect even more AI-driven insights, broader cloud integrations, and features that make managing network security policies in complex environments simpler than ever. We’ll also keep championing thought leadership through research and community engagement, because educating the market is part of our DNA. The threat landscape will undoubtedly evolve in 2026, but we plan to stay ahead of the curve , helping our customers navigate whatever comes next with confidence and clarity. On a personal note, I am incredibly grateful for the dedication of our team and the unwavering support of our AlgoSec community. It’s your feedback and your challenges that inspire our innovations. This year we’ve seen what we can achieve together – from launching Horizon to embracing zero trust, from winning awards to solving tough problems on the ground. 2025 has been a chapter of leadership and growth in AlgoSec’s story. Now we set our sights on writing the next chapter. With the momentum at our backs and our mission guiding us, we step into 2026 ready to continue redefining what’s possible in secure application connectivity. Here’s to another year of innovation, collaboration, and success on the horizon! Thank you for being part of our 2025 journey. We’re excited for what’s to come – and we’ll be sure to keep you posted every step of the way. Schedule a demo Related Articles 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 5 Multi-Cloud Environments Cloud Security 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

Compared to on-premises data storage, cloud computing comes with a lot of benefits. On-demand access to company data, flexibility, and... Cloud Security What is a Cloud Security Assessment? (and How to Perform One) Rony Moshkovich 2 min read Rony Moshkovich Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 7/12/23 Published Compared to on-premises data storage, cloud computing comes with a lot of benefits. On-demand access to company data, flexibility, and fast collaboration are just a few. But along with these advantages come increased security risks. To manage them, companies should invest in regular cloud security assessments. What Is a Cloud Security Risk Assessment? A cloud security assessment evaluates the potential vulnerabilities of an organization’s cloud environment. These assessments are essential to mitigate risks and ensure the continued security of cloud-based systems. By looking at cloud applications, services, and data, companies can better understand the biggest threats to their cloud environment. By managing these threats, businesses can avoid costly workflow interruptions. A security assessment can be done by an organization’s internal security team or by an outside security expert. This can happen one time only, or it can be done regularly as part of an organization’s overall cybersecurity plan. How Do Cloud Security Risk Assessments Protect Your Business? Cloud-based systems and services are an essential part of most businesses nowadays. Unfortunately, what makes them convenient is also what makes them vulnerable to security threats. A cloud security risk assessment helps organizations find out what might go wrong and prevent it from happening. It also helps with prioritizing and managing the most serious issues before they become full-on data breaches. One way assessments do this is by identifying misconfigurations. Cloud misconfigurations are behind many security breaches. They result from errors introduced by network engineers working on early cloud systems. A cloud security assessment earmarks these and other outmoded security features for repair. What’s more, cloud security assessments identify third-party risks from APIs or plugins. When your company identifies risks and manages permissions, you keep your cloud environment safe. By mitigating third-party risks, you can still benefit from outside vendors. Of course, none of this information is valuable without employee education. Employees need to know about risks and how to stop them; this is the best way to reduce the number of security incidents caused by human error or carelessness. To put it simply, a cloud security assessment helps your business run smoothly. When you know the risks your company faces and can manage them, you reduce the impact of security-related incidents. That means you can recover faster and get back to work sooner. 7 Benefits of Cloud Security Risk Assessments Cloud security risk assessments provide lots of benefits. They can help you: Improve cloud security posture . Understanding the ins and outs of a cloud-based system helps organizations plan better. For example, they can modify their security budget or improve their risk management strategy based on the results. Uncover security vulnerabilities . Cloud security assessments pinpoint weak spots. This includes misconfigurations , access control issues, and missing multi-factor authentications (MFAs). Once identified, organizations can fix the issues and avoid security breaches. Develop a more secure multi-cloud environment . Most organizations use multiple cloud platforms. Usually, this involves private or public clouds or a combination of both. This is ideal from a financial and agility perspective. But every extra layer in a cloud environment introduces potential risks. A cloud security assessment is essential in identifying these cross-cloud threats. Achieve compliance with industry standards and regulatory bodies . Ensuring compliance with GDPR, PCI-DSS, and HIPAA helps protect organizations from millions of dollars of potential fines . Manage your reputation. A sensitive data leak or other cloud security incident damages a company’s reputation. Think of companies like Target, Facebook, and LinkedIn. All have faced backlash after security breaches . Conducting cloud security assessments shows that organizations value customer and stakeholder privacy. Detect past threats . A cloud security assessment looks for things that might be wrong with the way your cloud system is set up. It can also help you find out if there have been any past security problems. By doing this, you can see if someone has tried to tamper with the security of your cloud system in the past, which could signal a bigger problem. Increase efficiency . Cloud security assessments show you which security measures are working and which aren’t. By getting rid of security tools that aren’t needed, employees have more time to work on other tasks. Cost savings . The most compelling reason to run a cloud security assessment is that it helps save money. Cost savings come from eliminating unnecessary security measures and from missed work time due to breaches. What Risks Do Cloud Security Assessments Look For? Cloud security assessments focus on six areas to identify security vulnerabilities in your cloud infrastructure: overall security posture, access control and management, incident management, data protection, network security, and risk management and compliance. Some specific risks cloud security assessments look for include: Cloud Misconfigurations Misconfigurations are one of the most common threats to overall security posture. In fact, McAfee’s enterprise security study found that enterprises experience 3,500 security incidents per month because of misconfigurations. From improperly stored passwords to insecure automated backups, misconfiguration issues are everywhere. Because they’re so common, fixing this issue alone can reduce the risk of a security breach by up to 80%, according to Gartner . Access Control and Management Problems This assessment also highlights ineffective access control and management. One way it does this is by identifying excessive network permissions. Without the proper guardrails (like data segmentation) in place, an organization’s attack surface is greater. Plus, its data is at risk from internal and external threats. If an employee has too much access to a company’s network, they might accidentally delete or change important information. This could cause unintended system problems. Additionally, if hackers get access to the company’s network, they could easily steal important data. Cloud security assessments also look at credentials as part of user account management. A system that uses only static credentials for users or cloud workloads is a system at risk. Without multifactor authentication (MFA) in place, hackers can gain access to your system and expose your data. Improper Incident Management and Logging When it comes to incident management, a cloud security assessment can reveal insufficient or improper logging — problems that make detecting malicious activities more difficult. Left unchecked, the damage is more severe, making recovery more time-consuming and expensive. Insufficient Data and Network Security Data protection and network security go hand in hand. Without proper network controls in place (for example firewalls and intrusion detection), data in the cloud is vulnerable to attack. A cloud security assessment can identify gaps in both areas. Based on the results of a cloud security assessment, a company can make a risk management plan to help them react as quickly and effectively as possible in the event of an attack. The last aspect of cloud security the assessment looks at is compliance with industry standards. 7 Steps To Perform a Cloud Security Assessment The main components of cloud security assessments include: Identifying your cloud-based assets, discovering vulnerabilities through testing, generating recommendations, and retesting once the issues have been addressed. The steps to performing a cloud security assessment are as follows: Step One: Define the project Get a picture of your cloud environment. Look at your cloud service providers (CSPs), third-party apps, and current security tools. First, decide which parts of your system will be evaluated. Next, look at the type of data you’re handling or storing. Then consider the regulations your business must follow. Step Two: Identify potential threats Look at both internal and external threats to your cloud-based system. This could include endpoint security, misconfigurations, access control issues, data breaches, and more. Then figure out how likely each type of attack is. Finally, determine what impact each attack would have on your business operations. Step Three: Examine your current security system Look for vulnerabilities in your existing cloud security. In particular, pay attention to access controls, encryption, and network security. Step Four: Test Penetration testing, port scanners, and vulnerability scanners are used to find weaknesses in your cloud environment that were missed during the original risk assessment. Step Five: Analyze Look at the results and determine which weaknesses need immediate attention. Deal with the issues that will have the biggest impact on your business first. Then, focus on the issues most likely to occur. Finish by handling lower-priority threats. Step Six: Develop an action plan Come up with a time-bound remediation plan. This plan should spell out how your organization will deal with each security vulnerability. Assign roles and responsibilities as part of your incident response program. Depending on the results, this could include updating firewalls, monitoring traffic logs, and limiting access control. Step Seven: Maintain Cloud security assessments can be done as a one-off, but it’s much better to monitor your systems regularly. Frequent monitoring improves your organization’s threat intelligence. It also helps you identify and respond to new threats in real time. Getting Help With Your Cloud Security Assessment Cloud security assessment tools are used to identify vulnerabilities in a cloud infrastructure which could lead to data loss or compromise by attackers. As an agentless cloud security posture management (CSPM) tool , Prevasio helps identify and fix security threats across all your cloud assets in minutes. Our deep cloud scan checks for security weaknesses, malware, and compliance. This helps ensure that your company’s cloud environment is protected against potential risks. But any CSPM can do that . Prevasio is the only solution that provides container security dynamic behavior analysis. Our technology spots hidden backdoors in your container environments. It also identifies supply chain attack risks. Paired with our container security static analysis for vulnerabilities and malware, your containers will never be safer. Our CSPM works across multi-cloud, multi-accounts, cloud-native services , and cloud assets. Whether you’re using Microsoft Azure, S3 buckets in AWS, or Cosmos DB in GCP, Prevasio is the security system your company has been looking for. But we do more than identify security threats. We increase your team’s efficiency. How? By providing a prioritized list of cloud risks ranked according to CIS benchmarks. That means no more uncertainty about what needs to get done. Our easy-to-understand results help your team concentrate on the most important things. This saves time and money by reducing the need for extra administrative work. A Final Word on Cloud Security Assessments Performing regular cloud security assessments helps your business spot security issues before they become major problems. When you reinforce your security controls and define your incident response plan, you make your organization more efficient. Plus, you keep things going even when issues arise. Put together, these proactive measures can save you money. Sign up today and see how Prevasio can help your team ! FAQs About Cloud Security Assessments What are the four areas of cloud security? The four pillars of cloud security are data availability, data confidentiality, data integrity, and regulatory compliance. What is included in a security assessment? Cloud security assessments include: Identifying your cloud-based assets, discovering vulnerabilities through testing, generating recommendations, and retesting once the issues have been addressed. Schedule a demo Related Articles 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 5 Multi-Cloud Environments Cloud Security 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