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Protect your network from cyber attacks with firewall management Configure, monitor, and update firewall policies for effective security Firewall management solution for network policy compliance Select a size Which network Can AlgoSec be used for continuous compliance monitoring? Yes, AlgoSec supports continuous compliance monitoring. As organizations adapt their security policies to meet emerging threats and address new vulnerabilities, they must constantly verify these changes against the compliance frameworks they subscribe to. AlgoSec can generate risk assessment reports and conduct internal audits on-demand, allowing compliance officers to monitor compliance performance in real-time. Security professionals can also use AlgoSec to preview and simulate proposed changes to the organization’s security policies. This gives compliance officers a valuable degree of lead-time before planned changes impact regulatory guidelines and allows for continuous real-time monitoring. Firewall management How do you manage firewall rules? Firewall policy management Firewall configuration monitoring and alerts Firewall vulnerability management Firewall security compliance management Extensive multi-vendor support Distributed firewall management Best 6 Practices for Firewall Management Managing firewalls with AlgoSec Get the latest insights from the experts Use these six best practices to simplify compliance and risk mitigation with the AlgoSec White paper Learn how AlgoSec can help you pass PCI-DSS Audits and ensure Solution overview See how this customer improved compliance readiness and risk Case study Schedule time with one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Continue

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

The fusion of Cloud and AI is more than just a technological advancement; it’s a paradigm shift. As businesses harness the combined power... Hybrid Cloud Security Management The confluence of cloud and AI: charting a secure path in the age of intelligent innovation 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 9/20/23 Published The fusion of Cloud and AI is more than just a technological advancement; it’s a paradigm shift. As businesses harness the combined power of these transformative technologies, the importance of a security-centric approach becomes increasingly evident. This exploration delves deeper into the strategic significance of navigating the Cloud-AI nexus with a focus on security and innovation. Cloud and AI: catalysts for business transformation The cloud provides the foundational infrastructure, while AI infuses intelligence, making systems smarter and more responsive. Together, they’re reshaping industries, driving efficiencies, and creating new business models. However, with these opportunities come challenges. Ensuring robust security in this intertwined environment is not just a technical necessity but a strategic imperative. As AI algorithms process vast datasets in the cloud, businesses must prioritize the protection and integrity of this data to build and maintain trust. Building trust in intelligent systems In the age of AI, data isn’t just processed; it’s interpreted, analyzed, and acted upon. This autonomous decision-making demands a higher level of trust. Ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data in the cloud becomes paramount. Beyond just data protection, it’s about ensuring that AI-driven decisions, which can have real-world implications, are made based on secure and untampered data. This trust forms the bedrock of AI’s value proposition in the cloud. Leadership in the Cloud-AI era Modern leaders are not just visionaries; they’re also gatekeepers. They stand at the intersection of innovation and security, ensuring that as their organizations harness AI in the cloud, ethical considerations and security protocols are front and center. This dual role is challenging but essential. As AI-driven applications become integral to business operations, leaders must champion a culture where security and innovation coexist harmoniously. Seamless integration and the role of DevSecOps Developing AI applications in the cloud is a complex endeavor. It requires a seamless integration of development, operations, and crucially, security. Enter DevSecOps. This approach ensures that security is embedded at every stage of the development lifecycle. From training AI models to deploying them in cloud environments, security considerations are integral, ensuring that the innovations are both groundbreaking and grounded in security. Collaborative security for collective intelligence AI’s strength lies in its ability to derive insights from vast datasets. In the interconnected world of the cloud, data flows seamlessly across boundaries, making collaborative security vital. Protecting this collective intelligence requires a unified approach, where security protocols are integrated across platforms, tools, and teams. Future-proofing the Cloud-AI strategy The technological horizon is ever-evolving. The fusion of Cloud and AI is just the beginning, and as businesses look ahead, embedding security into their strategies is non-negotiable. It’s about ensuring that as new technologies emerge and integrate with existing systems, the foundation remains secure and resilient. AlgoSec’s unique value proposition At AlgoSec, we understand the intricacies of the Cloud-AI landscape. Our application-based approach ensures that businesses have complete visibility into their digital assets. With AlgoSec, organizations gain a clear view of their application connectivity, ensuring that security policies align with business processes. As AI integrates deeper into cloud strategies, AlgoSec’s solutions empower businesses to innovate confidently, backed by a robust security framework. Our platform provides holistic, business-level visibility across the entire network infrastructure. With features like AlgoSec AppViz and AppChange, businesses can seamlessly identify network security vulnerabilities, plan migrations, accelerate troubleshooting, and adhere to the highest compliance standards. By taking an application-centric approach to security policy management, AlgoSec bridges the gap between IT teams and application delivery teams, fostering collaboration and ensuring a heightened security posture. 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

Learn how to create a practical container security framework that protects Kubernetes environments throughout their entire lifecycle, from CI/CD security to secrets management, with AlgoSec. Containerization technologies Select a size Which network Can AlgoSec be used for continuous compliance monitoring? Yes, AlgoSec supports continuous compliance monitoring. As organizations adapt their security policies to meet emerging threats and address new vulnerabilities, they must constantly verify these changes against the compliance frameworks they subscribe to. AlgoSec can generate risk assessment reports and conduct internal audits on-demand, allowing compliance officers to monitor compliance performance in real-time. Security professionals can also use AlgoSec to preview and simulate proposed changes to the organization’s security policies. This gives compliance officers a valuable degree of lead-time before planned changes impact regulatory guidelines and allows for continuous real-time monitoring. Container security across the Kubernetes lifecycle The modern attack surface: Containerization, Kubernetes security, and container vulnerabilities Shift left: CI/CD security, secure base images, and container image scanning Container security, orchestration security, and container hardening in Kubernetes How AlgoSec helps Runtime protection and container vulnerabilities for containerized workloads How AlgoSec helps End-to-end container security with AlgoSec’s Prevasio Next steps: Secrets management and container security checklist Get the latest insights from the experts Schedule time with one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Continue

Marking the start of a consolidation era defined by unification, automation, and centralized control State of Network Security 2026 Select a size Which network Can AlgoSec be used for continuous compliance monitoring? Yes, AlgoSec supports continuous compliance monitoring. As organizations adapt their security policies to meet emerging threats and address new vulnerabilities, they must constantly verify these changes against the compliance frameworks they subscribe to. AlgoSec can generate risk assessment reports and conduct internal audits on-demand, allowing compliance officers to monitor compliance performance in real-time. Security professionals can also use AlgoSec to preview and simulate proposed changes to the organization’s security policies. This gives compliance officers a valuable degree of lead-time before planned changes impact regulatory guidelines and allows for continuous real-time monitoring. Executive summary After years of expansion and tool proliferation, 2026 will mark the beginning of a consolidation period defined by unification, automation, and control. As hybrid architectures, AI-driven workloads, and shared operational responsibilities continue to blur the boundaries between security, cloud, and network teams, the focus has shifted from adding tools to simplifying them. Security management solutions are now being evaluated through a much more strategic lens. When respondents were asked to identify the primary driver behind their selection, the dominant theme was control: the ability to unify policies, streamline operations, and reduce the overhead that comes from managing multiple, disconnected systems. Since last year’s report, interest in consolidation and simplification has only intensified. Multi-cloud remains the dominant operating model, but instead of seeking scale and breadth, businesses are prioritizing visibility and control. 55% of companies now select cloud platforms primarily based on security, a trend reinforced by Deloitte’s 2024 findings that security plays a “major role” in cloud investment decisions. Increasingly, every cloud decision is a security decision. AI is reshaping this environment even further. The priority has shifted from pilot to practice, with teams applying AI to practical, low-risk functions such as hybrid network visibility, compliance enforcement, and rule optimization. Across all trends uncovered in this research paper, the unifying thread is consolidation. This reflects an industry moving from fragmentation to cohesion, simplifying technology stacks, standardizing workflows, and building shared accountability across disciplines that once operated separately. Based on insights from 504 security, network, and cloud professionals across 28 countries, this year’s report offers one of the clearest snapshots yet of this transformation. As the network security landscape enters this new period of consolidation and clarity, one message stands out: resilience now depends less on how many tools an organization deploys, and more on how effectively those tools connect technically, operationally, and organizationally. Trend 1: The great firewall rebalance Organizations no longer buy tools solely to check boxes for compliance or to deliver incremental improvements. Instead, they are motivated by the need to regain centralized control in the face of sprawling hybrid architectures and increasingly fragmented policy enforcement. When respondents were asked to identify the primary driver behind their selection, the dominant theme was control: the ability to unify policies, streamline operations, and reduce the overhead that comes from managing multiple, disconnected systems. Performance and cost continue to matter, but they are no longer defining factors with performance and scalability emerging as the top driver at 29.4%. Our findings indicate that organizations are prioritizing platforms that can deliver consistent visibility across hybrid environments, integrate seamlessly with cloud-native services, and support automation at scale. This shift reinforces a broader trend seen throughout the survey – that security teams are consolidating around fewer, more capable management layers that can provide visibility in an increasingly complex network environment. This strategic shift is tied closely to the broader evolution of the firewall itself. As hybrid and multi-cloud architectures continue to expand, the role of the firewall is undergoing its most significant shift in more than a decade. Firewalls remain a critical enforcement point for securing digital assets, but the way enterprises deploy, manage, and evaluate them is changing rapidly. Rather than treating firewalls as isolated perimeter controls, organizations are increasingly viewing them as part of a distributed, policy-driven security environment that must operate consistently across data centers, public clouds, and emerging application environments. This evolution is being driven by the growing complexity of distributed infrastructures and the rising need for unified visibility. With workloads and data now spanning multiple clouds and service layers, security teams are rethinking how firewall capabilities fit into broader governance and automation frameworks. Scalability, interoperability, and centralized orchestration have become as important as raw inspection performance. What’s left is a strategic rebalance, where organizations are demanding more flexibility at the edge, more consistency in the middle, and more visibility at the management layer. Firewall strategies split across three paths This year’s findings report that 30% of respondents plan to expand into multi-vendor environments to maintain flexibility and avoid lock-in, while 24% are actively consolidating. A further 22% intend to maintain their current mix, signaling a period of stabilization after years of expansion. The data suggests that rather than pursuing one path exclusively, enterprises are balancing control and choice, consolidating at the management layer while retaining multi-vendor diversity at the edge. Palo Alto and Fortinet lead a tightening vendor field Vendor preferences in 2026 highlight consolidation in practice. Palo Alto Networks has reclaimed the top position it lost in 2025, with Fortinet rising from fourth to second, showing the appeal of tightly integrated security and networking under one platform. Palo Alto has gone on the record this year stating that consolidating security data into a single platform will avoid redundant ingestion costs and, with the help of AI analytics, make insights available across the entire security stack1 Azure Firewall drops to third as organizations rebalance native integration with cross-cloud interoperability. AWS Firewall and Check Point maintain steady adoption, while GCP enters the ranking – perhaps evidence that, even as the market consolidates, ecosystem “fit” can create room for additional players. Notably, Cisco dropped out of the cloud-firewall list entirely, reflecting a maturing market where nearly all organizations now deploy some form of pure cloud-based firewalling. Top five firewall vendors ranked by enterprise deployment and market shifts Key takeaway Firewall strategy is moving into a more deliberate and balanced phase. Rather than expanding indiscriminately or consolidating outright, organizations are adopting nuanced approaches that blend flexibility with control. Multi-vendor diversity remains valuable at the edge, but consolidation at the management layer is becoming essential for achieving consistent policy enforcement and operational clarity. As hybrid environments grow more complex, the enterprises that succeed will be those that rationalize their footprint without sacrificing the adaptability required in a multi-cloud world. Trend 2: Cloud firewall strategies prioritize consolidation As organizations mature their hybrid and multi-cloud environments, 2026 marks an inflection point in firewall strategy. After several years of vendor diversification, the pendulum is swinging back toward consolidation. Businesses are prioritizing unified visibility, simplified operations, and consistency in policy enforcement across complex, distributed networks. In other words, the focus has shifted from expanding coverage to regaining control – reducing sprawl, streamlining management, and integrating security more deeply into cloud architectures. Cloud firewall adoption solidifies as a strategic standard The move toward cloud-based firewalls continues, but with a change in tone. Rather than experimenting with cloud-native protection, most organizations now view it as essential to enterprise security. 24% of respondents plan to move primarily to cloud firewalls over the next two years, confirming that cloud-native controls are no longer an emerging consideration but a baseline expectation. As hybrid infrastructures become the norm, firewall strategies are being designed to operate seamlessly across both on-premise and cloud environments, enforcing consistent policy without introducing operational complexity. Hybrid control replaces hybrid compromise On the face of it, the emphasis on consolidation might signal a retreat from hybrid operations, but it actually represents a new approach to managing them. The question has simply evolved from, “which firewall secures the cloud,” to “which cloud secures the enterprise?” Firewalls are evolving from perimeter defenses into unified control planes for policy orchestration, compliance, and risk management across all environments. As AI workloads and distributed applications proliferate, organizations are standardizing policy and automating enforcement to prevent drift and maintain continuous compliance. Over the next 2 years, how do you expect your firewall strategy to evolve? Key takeaway The firewall market is consolidating around fewer, more integrated vendors. Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet now anchor the field, with cloud-native solutions firmly mainstream and GCP emerging as a secondary player. The dominant priority for 2026 is control: simplifying management, tightening policy enforcement, and building the unified visibility layer that modern hybrid enterprises depend on for resilience. Trend 3: Security becomes the deciding factor in cloud platform selection The cloud has now confidently become the enterprise control layer, where security, data, and consolidation converge. As organizations mature their multi-cloud strategies, the criteria for choosing providers are shifting. Performance and price remain relevant, but they are no longer decisive. In 2026, the dominant priority will be security, confirming that every cloud decision will indeed be a security decision. The rise of AI-driven workloads, compliance requirements, and cross-platform orchestration has made security the critical benchmark for platform selection. Security leads cloud decision-making According to Gartner, worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services reached $723.4 billion in 2025 (up from $595.7 billion in 2024)². More than half (55%) cited security as their top consideration, far exceeding any other factor. Ecosystem and integrations ranked second at 44%, while AI and data services (42%) followed closely behind. Collectively, this paints a picture of a market driven by protection, compatibility, and intelligence rather than cost. The finding also underscores a broader mindset shift – enterprises are no longer treating cloud as infrastructure, but as the foundation for secure operations. Integration and ecosystem strength outweigh price and performance The emphasis on ecosystem integration reflects how organizations are consolidating around platforms that offer tighter interoperability across security, networking, and data layers. Rather than adopting best-of-breed tools in isolation, businesses are favoring providers that enable unified visibility and shared policy control. This trend echoes the broader consolidation theme observed across firewall and automation data: complexity has reached its limit, and integration has become the differentiator. When selecting a cloud platform, which factor carries the most weight? AI and data services redefine platform value The inclusion of AI and data services among the top selection criteria signals a growing recognition that intelligence is now inseparable from security. Organizations increasingly choose cloud platforms that can support AI-enhanced monitoring, anomaly detection, and compliance analytics within the same environment. The result is a more strategic alignment between where data resides and how it is protected, a shift from infrastructure management to intelligent security orchestration. Consolidation shapes platform strategy These findings also reflect a broader pattern of consolidation across cloud ecosystems. While multi-cloud remains the operational norm, the drivers behind it have changed. Rather than spreading workloads for cost or redundancy, organizations are choosing fewer platforms and using them more deeply, consolidating workloads, policies, and visibility tools to reduce friction. The balance of flexibility and control remains key, but the overall gravitational pull is toward simplification. Consistent policy enforcement overtakes visibility as the top cloud security challenge The findings from the survey show a notable shift in the challenges organizations face when securing cloud applications. For the first time, maintaining consistent policies across on-premise and cloud environments (58.6%) has overtaken lack of visibility into cloud applications (54.3%) as the number-one obstacle. This change reflects the realities of growing tool sprawl and increasingly mixed deployment models. As businesses consolidate platforms and pursue unified control, the problem isn’t identifying what applications exist, but enforcing the right policies for those applications across multiple clouds, networks, and security layers. This also reinforces the broader consolidation narrative, where consistency is key to cloud security. Rank the cloud service providers most used in your organization Key takeaway It would be reasonable to say that cloud strategy and security strategy are now one and the same. With more than half of organizations ranking security as the defining factor in provider selection, this year has cemented the cloud’s role as the enterprise security backbone. The future of multi-cloud will not be decided by speed or scale alone, but by how effectively each platform can deliver integrated protection, data intelligence, and operational clarity across the entire digital estate. Trend 4: SD-WAN further cements its role The enterprise network edge continues to evolve, with SD-WAN now established as a mainstream capability rather than a specialist solution. As organizations expand their hybrid environments and distributed workforces, the demand for secure, high-performance connectivity has solidified SD-WAN’s role as the connective tissue between data centers, clouds, and users. This year’s findings show that the market is maturing: adoption is nearly universal, leadership has reshuffled, and the differentiator is no longer deployment speed but the depth of security integration. SD-WAN adoption reaches maturity For the first time, SD-WAN can be considered standard practice across most enterprise environments. The share of organizations reporting no solution applied has dropped sharply to 21.1%, confirming that SD-WAN has moved beyond early adoption. Businesses increasingly view it as foundational to hybrid and multi-cloud architectures, providing the visibility and policy control that traditional WAN models lacked. The focus now is on consolidating SD-WAN with broader security frameworks to create unified, adaptive network fabrics. Which SD-WAN ( Software-Defined WAN) solutions is your organization using? (select all that apply) Fortinet takes the lead in an increasingly competitive market This year’s results mark a significant milestone: Fortinet (31%) has become the most widely used SD-WAN solution for the first time, reflecting its strength in integrating advanced security and networking under one platform. Cisco (30.7%) remains a close second, leveraging both its Viptela and Meraki offerings to address enterprise and distributed site use cases. VMware (20.7%) and Palo Alto Networks (19.2%) maintain consistent adoption, while Aruba (16.1%) and Versa (13%) continue to serve mid-enterprise and service-provider environments. The data suggests a crowded but stabilizing market, with leadership now determined by convergence rather than coverage. Integration overtakes performance as the new priority While performance and scalability remain important, the defining value of SD-WAN this year will be integration, particularly its ability to operate seamlessly within consolidated security ecosystems. According to Gartner, by the end of 2026, 60% of new SD-WAN purchases will be part of a single-vendor SASE offering, up from 15 % in 2022.³ Organizations are no longer viewing SD-WAN as a stand-alone connectivity layer but as a key component of unified network and security orchestration. This trend is reinforced by the parallel growth of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), where many SD-WAN platforms now serve as the underlying transport for cloud-delivered security functions. Simplified management drives next-phase adoption As the market matures, ease of management has emerged as a primary differentiator. Enterprises want simplified, policy-based control that extends across both SD-WAN and security operations. Vendors capable of offering single-pane management, covering traffic routing, segmentation, and threat prevention, are gaining a decisive edge. This shift underscores the industry’s pivot from product expansion to platform unification, where value lies in operational simplicity and end-to-end visibility. Key takeaway SD-WAN has transitioned from optional to essential. Adoption is near-universal, and leadership now depends on the depth of integration with security and orchestration platforms. Fortinet has overtaken Cisco to lead the market, signaling that convergence, not performance, is the new metric for success. As enterprises strive to unify their networking and security stacks, SD-WAN’s role as the foundation of hybrid connectivity has never been clearer. Trend 5: SASE moves from exploration to standardization Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) continues its steady progression from a niche innovation to a mainstream framework for unified security and networking. Once viewed primarily as an aspirational goal, SASE is now being operationalized across industries as organizations seek to consolidate connectivity, control, and cloud-delivered protection within a single architecture. This year’s findings show a market that has matured beyond experimentation. Adoption is broadening, vendor leadership is stabilizing, and integration with SD-WAN has become the norm. Non-adoption falls for the third consecutive year For the third year running, the share of organizations without a SASE solution has declined, down to 27.5% from 40% in 2025. This consistent decrease signals that SASE adoption is no longer exploratory but a planned progression for most enterprises. The increasing prominence of SASE is also reflected by Gartner, who estimate that between 2025 and 2028 the market will have a CAGR of 26% and exceed $30 billion by the end of the decade. As hybrid and remote workforces become permanent fixtures, businesses are embedding SASE as the control layer that secures access, governs data movement, and enforces consistent policy across all environments. The technology’s role has shifted from experimental pilot to strategic pillar. Which SASE platform is your organization using? Zscaler and Prisma Access maintain leadership amid growing competition Zscaler (37.8%) remains the market leader in SASE adoption, closely followed by Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma Access (34.4%). Both platforms have consolidated their positions through strong ecosystem partnerships and mature policy integration, particularly across large enterprise deployments. Netskope (21.9%) continues its rapid ascent as the fastest-growing challenger, driven by its focus on data protection and multi-cloud visibility. Smaller providers, including Cato (9.3%), Barracuda (4.7%), and other vendors (5.4%), maintain regional or industry-specific footholds where turnkey simplicity and localized deployment remain priorities. SD-WAN and SASE converge under single-vendor models According to the Dell’Oro Group, single vendor SASE will grow twice as fast as multi-vendor SASE in the next few years5. Organizations increasingly favor single-vendor frameworks that deliver both connectivity and security from the same platform, reducing latency and operational overhead. This reflects the same drive toward consolidation seen across the broader network security landscape to fewer moving parts, shared visibility, and unified control. Last year’s Gartner projection that more than half of SD-WAN purchases will be tied to integrated SASE offerings6 by 2026 appears well on track. In fact, the Dell’Oro Group anticipates single-vendor SASE will make up 90% of the market by the end of the decade. Implementation complexity gives way to operational consistency The challenges that once slowed SASE adoption, such as multi-component integration, legacy dependencies, and management fragmentation, are giving way to more standardized deployment models. Enterprises are learning to phase implementation, layering security and access capabilities without disrupting core connectivity. As policy orchestration becomes more automated and AI-assisted, SASE is evolving from a complex project to an achievable operational baseline for hybrid enterprises. Key takeaway SASE has crossed the threshold from early adoption to normalization. Zscaler and Prisma Access continue to lead, but Netskope’s rapid rise shows that innovation still drives competition. The decline in non-adoption rates confirms that SASE is now the de-facto model for secure, distributed access, valued for its operational simplicity and the consistency it delivers across the modern enterprise network. Trend 6: True zero trust remains elusive Zero Trust remains one of the most discussed principles in cybersecurity, yet one of the slowest to fully materialize in practice. The philosophy of “never trust, always verify” continues to guide strategic planning, but this year’s data reveals that operational progress has stalled. Awareness and intent are high, but implementation maturity has plateaued. Most organizations have laid the groundwork, such as segmentation, identity management, and access control, but few have advanced beyond these initial stages to comprehensive, policy-driven Zero Trust frameworks. Adoption steady, but forward motion limited Overall Zero Trust adoption remains consistent at around 55-60%, nearly identical to last year. However, the share of organizations still in the learning phase has increased from 20% to 31%, indicating that while more enterprises are engaging with the concept, fewer are moving to execution. This highlights a widening gap between intent and implementation, where Zero Trust is now universally recognized as the right approach, but practical deployment continues to challenge even mature security teams. What is your current Zero Trust implementation status? Execution gaps widen as awareness grows The data also shows that increased awareness has not translated into faster rollout. Many enterprises are still navigating legacy infrastructure, fragmented identity systems, and policy enforcement across hybrid networks. Even organizations that have implemented partial Zero Trust measures, such as micro-segmentation or network division, often lack unified governance models. The result is a growing class of “permanently pilot” deployments that are “active,” but not yet integrated or automated. This finding is echoed by Gartner, which revealed that in 2026, only 10 % of large enterprises will have a “mature and measurable” Zero Trust programme in place, up from less than 1 % today7. Fragmented approaches slow standardization The variety of adoption paths available further complicates progress. Some organizations are investing in Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) as an entry point, while others prioritize endpoint verification or identity-based access control. This flexibility allows for adaptation but prevents standardization, making it difficult to measure maturity consistently across industries. The absence of a universal framework also leads to uneven tool adoption and inconsistent results, reinforcing the need for clearer guidance and shared benchmarks. Education becomes the critical barrier The rising proportion of organizations still in the learning phase reflects a shortage of accessible best practices and practical guidance. Many teams understand the goal of Zero Trust but struggle to translate it into architectural blueprints or measurable outcomes. Training, governance alignment, and vendor-neutral frameworks are now essential to bridge this gap, ensuring that education accelerates adoption rather than replacing it. Key takeaway Zero Trust remains the strategic north star for enterprise security, but the journey toward full implementation has stalled. Awareness is at an all-time high, yet maturity has barely shifted. This year’s findings highlight an execution gap driven by complexity, fragmented infrastructure, and limited practical guidance. Organizations that focus on education, cross-team alignment, and measurable governance will be best positioned to move Zero Trust from aspiration to operational reality. Trend 7: AI-powered threats and defenses go mainstream Artificial intelligence has become both the newest threat vector and the next frontier of defense. According to McKinsey, phishing attacks have surged by 1200% since generative AI went mainstream in 2022, but at the same time, more than 90% of defensive AI capabilities are being outsourced to third parties – showing that businesses are keen to leverage the technology to defend themselves. That trend will continue in 2026, when the conversation around defensive AI will move beyond theory and into practice. Organizations are no longer asking if AI will change their security posture. Instead they want to know how fast they can adapt. Our findings show that while most enterprises are already taking steps to address AI-powered attacks, only a minority have made the deeper structural and procedural changes needed to counter them effectively. The result is a mixed picture - strong awareness, accelerating experimentation, but uneven readiness. How they are adapting to AI-powered attacks? Most organizations are adapting, but depth of change varies The majority (65%) have already adapted their strategies, with 23.6% making major structural changes and 40.9% implementing moderate adjustments. Surprisingly, only 15.6% reported no action at all. This points to an industry that has accepted the inevitability of AI as both an enabler and an adversary. However, while surface-level adaptations are widespread, the transformation of governance, tooling, and training remains in its early stages. AI investment shifts toward visibility and control This year’s responses mark a sharp contrast to last year. Where last year’s priorities centered on real-time notifications and incident response, this year focus has shifted to AI-powered visibility and risk prioritization (39.1%). Organizations are using AI to map hybrid networks, detect policy drift, and surface anomalies faster. AI-driven compliance and policy enforcement (23.7%) has emerged as the next priority, reflecting growing confidence in machine-led governance for structured, repeatable tasks. In essence, enterprises are applying AI where precision matters more than prediction. Operational hygiene overtakes experimentation While generative AI captured early attention, most organizations are deploying AI to improve operational hygiene rather than innovation. Application-centric security modeling (18.4%) and identification of unused or overly permissive rules (15.8%) rank lower but illustrate a pragmatic trend: using AI to clean up, not reinvent. These controlled, low-risk use cases deliver measurable value while avoiding the unpredictability associated with broader AI automation. The preference for predictability over experimentation signals a cautious but maturing stage of adoption. AI readiness exposes gaps in governance and skills Despite rising adoption, governance and human oversight remain persistent challenges. Many teams lack formal frameworks to validate AI-driven decisions or ensure accountability when automated systems act autonomously. The gap between AI’s technical potential and organizational readiness mirrors the early years of cloud adoption, where enthusiasm outpaced structured implementation. Without parallel investments in training, oversight, and transparent governance, AI-powered defenses risk replicating the same visibility issues they are meant to solve. Which AI cases will have the greatest impact over the next 2 years? Key takeaway AI has become a defining force in network security, driving both threat evolution and defensive transformation. Two-thirds of organizations have already adjusted their strategies, but maturity levels remain uneven. The focus has shifted decisively from detection to visibility, and from experimentation to control. As enterprises refine their governance frameworks and strengthen human oversight, AI will transition from a reactive tool to an operational cornerstone, turning awareness into measurable resilience. Trend 8: Automation maturity continues What began as a gradual shift toward orchestration and policy simplification in previous years has now become a defining operational capability. Our research confirms that automation has matured into a measurable discipline that directly influences efficiency, compliance, and resilience across hybrid networks. Yet while the benefits are increasingly clear, full-scale orchestration across environments remains a work in progress. Automation becomes a measurable benchmark The results show a clear divide: 24% of organizations now operate at a high level of automation, while 30% report moderate automation. Twenty-six percent remain at a low level, and 20% still rely primarily on manual processes. This sprawl validates last year’s prediction that automation would become foundational to network security. It also underscores the persistence of a maturity gap between those leveraging automation strategically and those applying it reactively to reduce workloads. From process acceleration to policy assurance Beyond accelerating workflows, organizations are now using automation to enforce security policy consistently across hybrid environments. This includes automated risk analysis, change verification, and compliance tracking - all areas once dominated by manual oversight. By shifting from speed to assurance, automation has become central to maintaining reliability and reducing configuration drift, particularly in multi-vendor or multi-cloud architectures where consistency is hardest to achieve. How would you describe your organization’s current level of automation in network security management? Operational and cultural barriers persist Despite progress, barriers remain. Many organizations struggle to extend automation across silos, particularly between cloud, network, and application security teams. Legacy approval processes, lack of centralized governance, and limited cross-tool integration continue to restrict scalability. This has resulted in “partial” automation, where specific workflows are automated, but end-to-end orchestration across systems and teams remains difficult to pin down. This mirrors the early adoption curve we saw in cloud migration – progress being built through incremental cultural and procedural change rather than technology alone. A proving ground for AI-enhanced orchestration The intersection between automation and AI is emerging as the next frontier. AI-assisted orchestration tools are beginning to optimize rule management, recommend policy changes, and predict the downstream impact of configuration updates. However, confidence in fully autonomous decision-making remains low. For now, organizations are embracing a human-in-the-loop model, where automation handles execution while humans retain control of validation and governance. This balance is shaping a pragmatic, risk-conscious approach to automation at scale. Key takeaway Automation has evolved from a strategic ambition into an operational benchmark. Nearly half of all organizations now operate with moderate to high levels of automation, validating its role as a core pillar of network security. Yet maturity remains uneven, with cultural inertia and fragmented governance slowing progress. The next leap will come from convergence and uniting automated workflows, AI-assisted orchestration, and unified policy management to deliver the end-to-end agility and assurance enterprises have long aimed for. Trend 9: Consolidation - teams and platforms move toward unified control As hybrid environments expand and the boundaries between cloud, network, and security responsibilities continue to blur, businesses are rethinking not only what they manage but how they manage it. Our findings reveal an industry shifting toward shared accountability, unified visibility, and integrated control. Consolidation is happening at two levels: teams and platforms, and both are accelerating. Team structures shift toward shared ownership The operational model for security is undergoing a quiet but significant transformation. Organizations are moving away from isolated, domain-specific teams and toward structures that promote shared priorities and cross-functional coordination. The findings show that only 19% are currently working in siloed departments, while 36% of respondents report that their cloud, network, and security teams have consolidated around shared tools. A further 25% of respondents have aligned around shared initiatives and 20% have gone further, operating as fully consolidated teams. This represents a substantial step toward unified governance. Instead of managing separate workflows or conflicting priorities, teams are aligning around common frameworks for risk, compliance, and service delivery. As AI and automation become more embedded in operations, this collaborative approach is emerging as the new standard for effective decision-making and consistent policy enforcement. Shared tools become the foundation for cross-team alignment The rise of shared tooling reflects a deliberate move toward standardization. When cloud, network, and security teams use different systems, visibility fractures and operational gaps appear. But when they converge around shared management layers and shared data sources, collaboration becomes frictionless. This year’s results show that shared tools are now the primary mechanism for team alignment, which is the strongest sign yet that consolidation is being built from the ground up through day-to-day operational workflows rather than top-down restructuring. How would you best describe the current alignment of cloud & network security teams? Platform consolidation accelerates as organizations seek While team structures are converging, platform consolidation is accelerating even faster. According to our findings, 75% of organizations have consolidated at least some portion of their security tools or policies under a single platform of management layer. While team structures are converging, platform consolidation is accelerating even faster. According to the 2026 findings, 75% of organizations have consolidated at least some portion of their security tools or policies under a single platform or management layer. Around 30% report partial consolidation, 19% say the majority of their infrastructure now sits under one platform, and 10% have achieved full consolidation. Only a quarter still operate with fragmented tooling. What percentage of your cloud and network security tools are currently consolidated under a single platform or policy engine? This reflects a broader desire for unified visibility and simplified operations. As hybrid and multi-cloud deployments grow in scale, point solutions are becoming operationally burdensome. Organizations increasingly want fewer dashboards, fewer approval workflows, and fewer interfaces to manage, instead preferring integrated platforms that are capable of enforcing policy consistently across environments. Key takeaway Consolidation is redefining how enterprises operate, both structurally and technologically. Teams are aligning around shared tools, shared responsibilities, and, increasingly, shared governance models. At the same time, platforms are consolidating to provide unified visibility and consistent policy enforcement across hybrid environments. Conclusion The state of network security this year is defined by clarity emerging from complexity. After several years of rapid expansion across multi-cloud environments, AI-powered operations, and hybrid architectures, organizations are entering a new phase of consolidation and control. Our survey findings reveal a collective recalibration, with organizations moving away from tool proliferation toward unified management, shared visibility, and measurable automation. Firewalls, SD-WAN, and SASE have all evolved into foundational pillars of a more cohesive network security stack, while Zero Trust and AI continue to mature, bridging the gap between strategy and execution. Compared to last year, we are now seeing a transition from experimentation to optimization. Where last year’s findings reflected a market still expanding in every direction, this year captures a shift toward simplification. The drive for flexibility has given way to the pursuit of consistency, where performance metrics are being replaced by governance and assurance benchmarks. Consolidation of vendors, tools, and even teams, now defines the path forward. Adding layers of protection is not enough – those layers need to operate cohesively. Looking ahead, the next generation of network security will hinge on visibility, automation, and collaboration, not as separate initiatives, but as integrated capabilities that span every layer of the digital ecosystem. For an industry that has long been dominated by complexity and a “more is better” approach, the next year might be quite surprising. As organizations continue to align their cloud, network, and security teams, the most resilient will be those that embrace simplicity rather than complexity, transforming control into confidence. Methodology This report is based on comprehensive research conducted by AlgoSec, gathering insights from security, network, and cloud professionals across a broad range of industries and regions. The data was collected through a global survey carried out in the second half of 2025, designed to capture real-world perspectives on the challenges, priorities, and evolving trends shaping network security in 2026. Survey scope and participants The study reflects responses from 504 professionals representing 28 countries. Participants span a diverse set of roles, including security architects, engineers, and analysts (25%); IT and network managers (21%); CISOs and heads of security (13%); consultants and specialists (9%); CTOs, CIOs, and senior IT leaders (6%); business, program, and product managers (7%); DevOps, cloud, and software professionals (8%); and other or undefined roles (11%). This broad representation ensures a balanced view across enterprise, mid-market, and specialist organizations operating within hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Research objectives The primary goal of this study was to identify key trends and shifts in network security practice, from strategic priorities to operational realities. The research explores: How organizations are consolidating security management across hybrid and multi-cloud architectures The evolving role of automation, orchestration, and AI-driven security in modern frameworks Adoption trends across firewalls, SD-WAN, SASE, and Zero Trust architectures The impact of consolidation on tool selection, team alignment, and visibility How enterprises are adapting to AI-powered threats and increasing operational complexity Data collection and analysis Participants were asked to provide both quantitative and qualitative feedback on their current deployments, planned investments, and primary challenges in managing network security infrastructure. The survey established new baselines in several areas, including AI-powered attack readiness, automation maturity, and consolidation of tools and teams, while tracking multi-year trends from previous editions of the research. Responses were analyzed to identify correlations, emerging patterns, and year-over-year changes in market behavior. By leveraging direct insights from practitioners and decision-makers, this study provides an objective, vendor-neutral snapshot of the global network security landscape. Its findings are intended to help organizations benchmark their progress, assess market maturity, and make informed decisions as they navigate the next stage of digital transformation. About AlgoSec AlgoSec, a global cybersecurity leader, empowers organizations to securely accelerate application delivery up to 10 times faster by automating application connectivity and security policy across the hybrid network environment. With two decades of expertise securing hybrid networks, over 2200 of the world’s most complex organizations trust AlgoSec to help secure their most critical workloads. AlgoSec Horizon platform utilizes advanced AI capabilities, enabling users to automatically discover and identify their business applications across multi-clouds, and remediate risks more effectively. It serves as a single source for visibility into security and compliance issues across the hybrid network environment, to ensure ongoing adherence to internet security standards, industry, and internal regulations. Additionally, organizations can leverage intelligent change automation to streamline security change processes, thus improving security and agility. Learn how AlgoSec enables application owners, information security experts, SecOps and cloud security teams to deploy business applications faster while maintaining security at www.algosec.com . For more information, visit www.algosec.com Get the latest insights from the experts Schedule time with one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... 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AlgoSec extends Cisco ACI’s policy-based automation to security devices in the Data Center AlgoSec’s Network Security Management Solution Now on Cisco’s Global Price List AlgoSec extends Cisco ACI’s policy-based automation to security devices in the Data Center November 26, 2019 Speak to one of our experts Ridgefield Park, NJ, USA (November 26, 2019) – AlgoSec, a leading provider of business-driven network security management solutions, today announced the availability of its integrated solution for Cisco ACI and security devices on Cisco’s Global Price List. This enables Cisco’s direct and channel sales network to offer AlgoSec’s solutions to customers through Cisco’s SolutionsPlus program. Cisco ACI, the industry’s leading software-defined networking solution, facilitates application agility and Data Center automation. ACI enables scalable multi-cloud networks with a consistent policy model and provides the flexibility to move applications seamlessly to any location or any cloud while maintaining security and high availability. AlgoSec integrates with Cisco ACI to extend ACI’s policy-based automation to multi-vendor security devices across the Data Center, on its edges and in the cloud. AlgoSec Security Management Solution for ACI enables customers to better ensure continuous compliance and automates the provisioning of security policies across ACI fabric and multi-vendor security devices connected to the ACI fabric, helping customers build more secure Data Centers. “AlgoSec and Cisco ACI share an application-centric approach to network security management, allowing customers to realize the full potential of intent-based Data Centers. We are delighted to be a part of Cisco’s Solutions Plus program and get listed on Global Price List,” said Avishai Wool, CTO and co-founder at AlgoSec. “Extending Cisco ACI’s policy driven automation to security devices, closely aligns with AlgoSec’s strategies and will deliver powerful benefits to our mutual customers. It enables customers to build truly automated IT environments that are flexible, secure and responsive to their business needs,” added Bruno Weinberger, VP, Strategic Alliances at AlgoSec. “Networking teams are increasingly adopting application-centric, policy-driven approach to meet rapidly changing requirements from IT teams and application owners,” said Ranga Rao, Senior Director of Product Management and Solutions, Cisco Data Center Networking. “AlgoSec security management solution extends ACI’s policy model and automation capabilities to security devices, allowing customers and partners to build agile and more secure data centers.” Cisco and AlgoSec’s channel partners share an equal level of enthusiasm about this initiative. “This collaboration between Cisco and AlgoSec is a great news for Conscia. As a Cisco Gold Partner and AlgoSec’s strategic partner, we hope to enable customers to realize the potential of application driven security automation, help ensure continuous compliance and reduce the attack surface in their Data Centers” said Henrik Skovfoged, System Engineering Director, Conscia A/S. About Cisco DevNet SolutionsPlus Program DevNet Solutions Plus 2.0 places a select set of “Cisco Compatible” products on the Cisco Systems price list, making it faster for customers to order non-Cisco products from Cisco sales teams and channel partners. Products in Cisco DevNet Solutions Plus 2.0 complement and augment Cisco’s advanced technology products. Cisco DevNet Solutions Plus 2.0 vendors are also part of the Cisco® Solution Partner Program. About AlgoSec The leading provider of business-driven network security management solutions, AlgoSec helps the world’s largest organizations align security with their mission-critical business processes. With AlgoSec, users can discover, map and migrate business application connectivity, proactively analyze risk from the business perspective, tie cyber-attacks to business processes and intelligently automate network security changes with zero touch – across their cloud, SDN and on-premise networks. Over 1,800 enterprises , including 20 of the Fortune 50, have utilized AlgoSec’s solutions to make their organizations more agile, more secure and more compliant – all the time. Since 2005, AlgoSec has shown its commitment to customer satisfaction with the industry’s only money-back guarantee .All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners. Media Contacts: Tsippi [email protected] Craig CowardContext Public [email protected] +44 (0)1625 511 966

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Enterprise cybersecurity must constantly evolve to meet the threat posed by new malware variants and increasingly sophisticated hacker... Uncategorized Network Security vs. Application Security: The Complete Guide 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 1/25/24 Published Enterprise cybersecurity must constantly evolve to meet the threat posed by new malware variants and increasingly sophisticated hacker tactics, techniques, and procedures. This need drives the way security professionals categorize different technologies and approaches. The difference between network security and application security is an excellent example. These two components of the enterprise IT environment must be treated separately in any modern cybersecurity framework. This is because they operate on different levels of the network and they are exposed to different types of threats and security issues. To understand why, we need to cover what each category includes and how they contribute to an organization’s overall information security posture. IT leaders and professionals can use this information to their organization’s security posture, boost performance, and improve event outcomes. What is Network Security? Network security focuses on protecting assets located within the network perimeter. These assets include data, devices, systems, and other facilities that enable the organization to pursue its interests — just about anything that has value to the organization can be an asset. This security model worked well in the past, when organizations had a clearly defined network perimeter. Since the attack surface was well understood, security professionals could deploy firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, and secure web gateways directly at the point of connection between the internal network and the public internet. Since most users, devices and applications were located on-site, security leaders had visibility and control over the entire network. This started to change when organizations shifted to cloud computing and remote work, supported by increasingly powerful mobile devices. Now most organizations do not have a clear network perimeter, so the castle-and-moat approach to network security is no longer effective. However, the network security approach isn’t obsolete. It is simply undergoing a process of change, adjusting to smaller, more segmented networks governed by Zero Trust principles and influenced by developments in application security. Key Concepts of Network Security Network security traditionally adopts a castle-and-moat approach, where all security controls exist at the network perimeter. Users who attempt to access the network must authenticate and verify themselves before being allowed to enter. Once they enter, they can freely move between assets, applications, and systems without the need to re-authenticate themselves. In modern, cloud-enabled networks, the approach is less like a castle and more like a university campus. There may be multiple different subnetworks working together, with different security controls based on the value of the assets under protection. In these environments, network security is just one part of a larger, multi-layered security deployment. This approach focuses on protecting IT infrastructure, like routers, firewalls, and network traffic. Each of these components has a unique role to play securing assets inside the network: Firewalls act as filters for network traffic , deciding what traffic is allowed to pass through and denying the rest. Well-configured firewall deployments don’t just protect internal assets from incoming traffic, they also protect against data from leaking outside the network as well. Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) are security tools that continuously monitor the network for malicious activity and take action to block unauthorized processes. They may search for known threat signatures, monitor for abnormal network activity, or enforce custom security policies. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) encrypt traffic between networks and hide users’ IP addresses from the public internet. This is useful for maintaining operational security in a complex network environment because it prevents threat actors from intercepting data in transit. Access control tools allow security leaders to manage who is authorized to access data and resources on the network. Secure access control policies determine which users have permission to access sensitive assets, and the conditions under which that access might be revoked. Why is Network Security Important? Network security tools protect organizations against cyberattacks that target their network infrastructure, and prevent hackers from conducting lateral movement. Many modern network security solutions focus on providing deep visibility into network traffic, so that security teams can identify threat actors who have successfully breached the network perimeter and gained unauthorized access. Network Security Technologies and Strategies Firewalls : These tools guard the perimeters of network infrastructure. Firewalls filter incoming and outgoing traffic to prevent malicious activity. They also play an important role in establishing boundaries between network zones, allowing security teams to carefully monitor users who move between different parts of the network. These devices must be continuously monitored and periodically reconfigured to meet the organization’s changing security needs. VPNs : Secure remote access and IP address confidentiality is an important part of network security. VPNs ensure users do not leak IP data outside the network when connecting to external sources. They also allow remote users to access sensitive assets inside the network even when using unsecured connections, like public Wi-Fi. Zero Trust Models : Access control and network security tools provide validation for network endpoints, including IoT and mobile devices. This allows security teams to re-authenticate network users even when they have already verified their identities and quickly disconnect users who fail these authentication checks. What is Application Security? Application security addresses security threats to public-facing applications, including APIs. These threats may include security misconfigurations, known vulnerabilities, and threat actor exploits. Since these network assets have public-facing connections, they are technically part of the network perimeter — but they do not typically share the same characteristics as traditional network perimeter assets. Unlike network security, application security extends to the development and engineering process that produces individual apps. It governs many of the workflows that developers use when writing code for business contexts. One of the challenges to web application security is the fact that there is no clear and universal definition for what counts as an application. Most user-interactive tools and systems count, especially ones that can process data automatically through API access. However, the broad range of possibilities leads to an enormous number of potential security vulnerabilities and exposures, all of which must be accounted for. Several frameworks and methods exist for achieving this: The OWASP Top Ten is a cybersecurity awareness document that gives developers a broad overview of the most common application vulnerabilities . Organizations that adopt the document give software engineers clear guidance on the kinds of security controls they need to build into the development lifecycle. The Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) is a long list of software weaknesses known to lead to security issues. The CWE list is prioritized by severity, giving organizations a good starting point for improving application security. Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) codes contain extensive information on publicly disclosed security vulnerabilities, including application vulnerabilities. Every vulnerability has its own unique CVE code, which gives developers and security professionals the ability to clearly distinguish them from one another. Key Concepts of Application Security The main focus of application security is maintaining secure environments inside applications and their use cases. It is especially concerned with the security vulnerabilities that arise when web applications are made available for public use. When public internet users can interact with a web application directly, the security risks associated with that application rise significantly. As a result, developers must adopt security best practices into their workflows early in the development process. The core elements of application security include: Source code security, which describes a framework for ensuring the security of the source code that powers web-connected applications. Code reviews and security approvals are a vital part of this process, ensuring that vulnerable code does not get released to the public. Securing the application development lifecycle by creating secure coding guidelines, providing developers with the appropriate resources and training, and creating remediation service-level agreements (SLAs) for application security violations. Web application firewalls, which operate separately from traditional firewalls and exclusively protect public-facing web applications and APIs. Web application firewalls monitor and filter traffic to and from a web source, protecting web applications from security threats wherever they happen to be located. Why is Application Security Important? Application security plays a major role ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data processed by applications. Since public-facing applications often collect and process end-user data, they make easy targets for opportunistic hackers. At the same time, robust application security controls must exist within applications to address security vulnerabilities when they emerge and prevent data breaches. Application Security Technologies Web Application Firewalls. These firewalls provide protection specific to web applications, preventing attackers from conducting SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and denial-of-service attacks, among others. These technical attacks can lead to application instability and leak sensitive information to attackers. Application Security Testing. This important step includes penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and the use of CWE frameworks. Pentesters and application security teams work together to ensure public-facing web applications and APIs hold up against emerging threats and increasingly sophisticated attacks. App Development Security. Organizations need to incorporate security measures into their application development processes. DevOps security best practices include creating modular, containerized applications uniquely secured against threats regardless of future changes to the IT environment or device operating systems. Integrating Network and Application Security Network and application security are not mutually exclusive areas of expertise. They are two distinct parts of your organization’s overall security posture. Identifying areas where they overlap and finding solutions to common problems will help you optimize your organization’s security capabilities through a unified security approach. Overlapping Areas Network and application security solutions protect distinct areas of the enterprise IT environment, but they do overlap in certain areas. Security leaders should be aware of the risk of over-implementation, or deploying redundant security solutions that do not efficiently improve security outcomes. Security Solutions : Both areas use security tools like intrusion prevention systems, authentication, and encryption. Network security solutions may treat web applications as network entry points, but many hosted web applications are located outside the network perimeter. This makes it difficult to integrate the same tools, policies, and controls uniformly across web application toolsets. Cybersecurity Strategy : Your strategy is an integral part of your organization’s security program, guiding your response to different security threats. Security architects must configure network and application security solutions to work together in use case scenarios where one can meaningfully contribute to the other’s operations. Unique Challenges Successful technology implementations of any kind come with challenges, and security implementations are no different. Both application and network security deployments will present issues that security leaders must be prepared to address. Application security challenges include: Maintaining usability. End users will not appreciate security implementations that make apps harder to use. Security teams need to pay close attention to how new features impact user interfaces and workflows. Detecting vulnerabilities in code. Ensuring all code is 100% free of vulnerabilities is rarely feasible. Instead, organizations need to adopt a proactive approach to detecting vulnerabilities in code and maintaining source code security. Managing source code versioning. Implementing DevSecOps processes can make it hard for organizations to keep track of continuously deployed security updates and integrations. This may require investing in additional toolsets and versioning capabilities. Network security challenges include: Addressing network infrastructure misconfigurations. Many network risks stem from misconfigured firewalls and other security tools. One of the main challenges in network security is proactively identifying these misconfigurations and resolving them before they lead to security incidents. Monitoring network traffic efficiently. Monitoring network traffic can make extensive use of limited resources, leading to performance issues or driving up network-related costs. Security leaders must find ways to gain insight into security issues without raising costs beyond what the organization can afford. Managing network-based security risks effectively. Translating network activity insights into incident response playbooks is not always easy. Simply knowing that unauthorized activity might be happening is not enough. Security teams must also be equipped to address those risks and mitigate potential damage. Integrating Network and Application Security for Unified Protection A robust security posture must contain elements of both network and application security. Public-facing applications must be able to filter out malicious traffic and resist technical attacks, and security teams need comprehensive visibility into network activity and detecting insider threats . This is especially important in cloud-enabled hybrid environments. If your organization uses cloud computing through a variety of public and private cloud vendors, you will need to extend network visibility throughout the hybrid network. Maintaining cloud security requires a combination of network and web application security capable of producing results in a cost-effective way. Highly automated security platforms can help organizations implement proactive security measures that reduce the need to hire specialist internal talent for every configuration and policy change. Enterprise-ready cloud security solutions leverage automation and machine learning to reduce operating costs and improve security performance across the board. Unify Network and Application Security with AlgoSec No organization can adequately protect itself from a wide range of cyber threats without investing in both network and application security. Technology continues to evolve and threat actors will adapt their tactics to exploit new vulnerabilities as they are discovered. Integrating network and application security into a single, unified approach gives security teams the ability to create security policies and incident response plans that address real-world threats more effectively. Network visibility and streamlined change management are vital to achieving this goal. AlgoSec is a security policy management and application connectivity platform that provides in-depth information on both aspects of your security posture. Find out how AlgoSec can help you centralize policy and change management in your network. 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

Proactively manage vulnerabilities with application-centric strategies. Prioritize risks, enhance visibility, and secure your applications across complex environments. Application-centric vulnerability management ---- ------- Schedule a Demo Select a size ----- Get the latest insights from the experts Choose a better way to manage your network

Jeremiah Cornelius, Technical Leader for Alliances and Partners at AlgoSec, explores the security capability native to VMware’s approach... Digital Transformation Intrinsic Transformation: VMware NSX-T and AlgoSec Go Beyond Virtualization Jeremiah Cornelius 2 min read Jeremiah Cornelius Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 7/8/21 Published Jeremiah Cornelius, Technical Leader for Alliances and Partners at AlgoSec, explores the security capability native to VMware’s approach for virtual networking with NSX-T. Intrinsic transformation NSX-T culminates VMware’s decade of development of these technologies, that better align than ever before with AlgoSec’s approach for software automation of micro-segmentation and compliant security operations management. It is the latest iteration of VMware’s approach to networking and security, derived from many years as a platform for operating virtual machines, and managing these as hosted “vApp” workloads. If you’re familiar with the main players in Software Defined Networking, then you may remember that NSX-T shares its origin in the same student research at Stanford University, which also gave rise to several other competing SDN offerings. One thing that differentiated VMware from other players was their strong focus on virtualization over traditional network equipment stacks. This meant in some cases, network connections, data-packets, forwarding, and endpoints all existing in software and no “copper wire” existing anywhere! Knowing about this difference is more than a bit of trivia — it explains how the NSX family was designed with security features built into the architecture, having native capability for software security controls such as firewall segmentation and packet inspection. Described by VMware as “Intrinsic Security,” these are NSX capabilities that first drove the widespread acceptance of practical micro-segmentation in the data center. Since that first introduction of NSX micro-segmentation, a transformation occurred in customer demands, which required an expansion of VMware’s universe to horizons beyond their hypervisor and virtual machines. As a key enabler for this expansion, NSX-T has emerged as a networking and security technology that extends from serverless micro-services and container frameworks to VMs hosted on many cloud architectures located in physical data centers or as tenants in public clouds. The current iteration is called the NSX-T Service-Defined Firewall, which controls access to applications and services along with business-focused policies. Leaders in our segments If you’ve followed this far along, then maybe you’ve recognized several common themes between AlgoSec’s Security Management Suite and VMware’s NSX-T. Among these are security operations management as software configuration, modeling connectivity on business uses versus technology conventions, and transforming security into an enabling function. It’s not a surprise then, to know that our companies are technology partners. In fact, we began our alliance with VMware back in 2015 as the uptake in NSX micro-segmentation began to reveal an increased need for visibility, planning, automation, and reporting — along with requirements for extending policy from NSX objects to attached physical security devices from a variety of vendors. The sophistication and flexibility of NSX enforcement capability were excellently matched by the AlgoSec strengths in identifying risk and maintaining compliance while sustaining a change management record of configurations from our combined workflow automation. Strength to strength Up until now, this is a rosy picture painted, with an emphasis on the upsides of the AlgoSec partnership with VMware NSX-T. In the real world, we find that many of our applications are not-so-well understood as to be ready for micro-segmentation. More often, the teams responsible for the availability and security of these applications are detached from the business intent and value, further making it difficult to assess and therefore address risks. The line between traditional-style infrastructure and modern services isn’t always as clearly defined, either — making the advantages possible by migration and transformation difficult to determine and potentially introducing their own risks. It is in these environments, with multiple technologies, different stakeholders, and operation teams with different scopes, that AlgoSec solves hard problems with better automation tools. Taking advantage of NSX-T means first being faced with multiple deployment types, including public and private clouds as well as on-prem infrastructure, multiple security vendors, unclear existing network flows, and missing associations between business applications and their existing controls. These are visibility issues that AlgoSec resolves by automating the discovery and mapping of business applications , including associated policies across different technologies, and producing visual, graphic analysis that includes risk assessment and impact of changes. This capability for full visibility leads directly to addressing the open issues for risk and compliance. After all, if these present challenges in discovering and identifying risk using existing technology solutions, then there’s a big gap to close on the way to transforming these. Since AlgoSec has addressed the visibility across these, identifying risk becomes uniform and manageable. AlgoSec can lower transformation risk with NSX-T while ensuring that risk and compliance management are maintained on an ongoing basis. Workflow for risk mitigation by NSX-T intrinsic security can be driven by AlgoSec policy automation, without recourse to multiple tools when these mitigations need to cross boundaries to third-party firewalls or cloud security controls. With this integrated policy automation, what were once point-in-time configurations can be enabled for discovery-based updates for internal standards and changes to regulatory mandates. The result of AlgoSec pairing with VMWare NSX-T is a simplified overall security architecture — one that more rapidly responds to emerging risk and requests for changes, accelerates the speed of operations while more closely aligning with business, and ensures both compliant configurations and compliant lifecycle operations. VMware NSX? Ask AlgoSec The AlgoSec integration with VMware NSX-T builds on our years of collaboration with earlier versions of the NSX platform, with a track record of solving the more difficult configuration management problems for leaders of principal industries around the globe. If you want to discover more about what AlgoSec does to enable and enrich our alliance solution with VMware , contact us! AlgoSec works directly with VMware and your trusted technology delivery partners, and we’re glad to share more with you. Schedule a personal demo to see how AlgoSec makes your transformation to VMware Intrinsic Security possible now. Schedule a demo Related Articles 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 ZeroTrust network architecture mitigates risk by only providing the minimally required access to your network resources But implementing it is easier said than done Webinars Micro-segmentation – from Strategy to Execution Organizations heavily invest in security solutions to keep their networks safe, but still struggle to close the security gaps. Micro-segmentation helps protect against the lateral movement of malware and minimizes the risk of insider threats. Micro-segmentation has received lots of attention as a possible solution, but many IT security professionals aren’t sure where to begin or what approach to take. In this practical webinar, Prof. Avishai Wool, AlgoSec’s CTO and co-founder will guide you through each stage of a micro-segmentation project – from developing the correct micro-segmentation strategy to effectively implementing it and continually maintaining your micro-segmented network. Register now for this live webinar and get a practical blueprint to creating your micro-segmentation policy: What is micro-segmentation. Common pitfalls in micro-segmentation projects and how to avoid them. The stages of a successful micro-segmentation project. The role of policy change management and automation in micro-segmentation. Don’t forget to also click on the links in the Attachments tab. July 7, 2020 Prof. Avishai Wool CTO & Co Founder AlgoSec Relevant resources Microsegmentation Defining Logical Segments Watch Video Micro-Segmentation based Network Security Strategies Keep Reading Choose a better way to manage your network Choose a better way to manage your network Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Continue

AlgoSec security management solution for Juniper Networks Solution Brief Download PDF Schedule time with one of our experts Schedule time with one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Continue