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Get your application discovery and dependency mapping questions answered. Find clear explanations, best practices, and learn how to improve your understanding of your IT landscape. Application Discovery & Dependency Mapping Explained (FAQs) Introduction A network is the sum of its components, and if you want to ensure its functioning at the highest level, you need to be able to pinpoint every app that exists inside it. However, when the average company has 254 SaaS apps, identifying all the apps and dependencies that exist throughout an on-premise or cloud environment is easier said than done. Organizations cannot afford to rely on manual IP scanning to catalog or inventory each app their employees use every day; they need an AI-powered, automated, and scalable application discovery process. In this post we are going to examine what application discovery is, and how an automated dependency mapping tool can help. Schedule a Demo What is application discovery? Application discovery is the process of identifying and creating an inventory of the apps installed and used throughout an environment. This not only includes apps used within on-premise servers, but also those in the cloud, in containers, and even on employees’ personal devices. Discovering applications is essential for IT administrators because it helps to set out a framework they can use to navigate the network and understand how different elements fit together. It also enables security teams to manage the performance and security of the business apps used by the organization. Schedule a Demo What is a dependency mapping tool? A dependency mapping tool is essentially a tool that automatically maps apps and dependencies. A typical dependency mapping tool automates the discovery of applications within a network and provides a visual map to which an IT administrator can refer. Dependency mapping tools are a popular choice among IT teams because manually identifying and inventorying apps is a time-consuming process. Schedule a Demo Key benefits of application dependency mapping Taking the time to map application dependencies, or investing in a tool that automates the process, pays dividends because it provides administrators with a heightened understanding of their organization’s IT environment. Greater visibility over how apps connect to each other reduces the amount of time it takes to conduct troubleshooting and root cause analysis, which means that disruptions can be resolved faster, limiting the overall operational impact of downtime. Dependency mapping also enhances change management, giving administrators the ability to identify the impact that changing the topology or composition of the network will have on critical services. At the same time, better knowledge of the IT environment makes it easier to spot inefficiencies and redundancies, giving insights into more cost-effective ways of structuring the network and decreasing resource consumption. As an added bonus, having a complete understanding of application topology decreases the risk of vulnerabilities in the network, and reduces the likelihood of data leakage and intrusions from unauthorized third parties. Organizations interested in mapping application dependencies at scale would be well-advised to incorporate an application dependency mapping tool so they do not have to manually poll apps from scratch. Schedule a Demo Application discovery in cloud environments AlgoSec AlgoSec is the industry-leading AI-powered application and connectivity management solution for mapping apps, security policies, and connectivity flows across on-premise, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. As a solution, it is designed to enable network security operations teams to map and understand app and connectivity flows through their organization. This top-down, topological perspective allows users to identify business risks and remediate them ASAP. For example, an administrator can use the platform to identify obsolete traffic that could serve as a potential entry point for malicious traffic. At a high level, application discovery not only helps administrators keep up with topology changes in the network and reduce the risk of downtime, it also provides the visibility needed to simplify the management of firewall and SSL configurations. Features Discovery of applications and connectivity flows Real-time map of app connectivity requirements Impact assessment of topology changes on application connectivity , security and compliance Complete easy-to-use workflows for streamlining migration to a new data center or cloud environment Zero-touch change management and access rule recertification Use cases Create a real-time map of applications and connectivity flows to outline network topology. Use workflows to support users who migrate apps as part of the data center migration process. Before migration, assess and predict the impact of topology changes on application connectivity, performance and security. Automatically configure application security policies post-migration. Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the AWS application discovery service AWS application discovery service is a common choice for migrating apps to an AWS environment. The AWS discovery service can automatically discover on-premise applications, and integrates with AWS Migration Hub to help migrate multiple applications at the same time. While this approach is useful for identifying applications in on-premise environments, unlike AlgoSec, it does not offer deep visibility into connectivity flows. It also offers limited support for cloud migration, lacking automated change management capabilities and migration workflows. Features The AWS application discovery service is designed to enable organizations to identify applications across AWS-powered cloud environments. The service includes the following features: Encrypt data in transit and at rest Create a snapshot of your on-premise application inventory Integrate discovery data with other AWS services, such as AWS Migration Hub and SMS Plan migrations for servers that share applications Connect applications to servers Group servers to migrate Mix agentless and agent-based approaches Use cases The main use case for AWS Application Discovery is discovering and creating an inventory of on-premise Information you can gather includes hostnames, IP addresses, MAC addresses and more. Map connections between applications and servers to create a visual representation of your network environment. Ingest utilization data to plan for your migration to the AWS Migration Hub. Microsoft Azure Migrate: Discovery and assessment tool One of the next biggest alternatives to the AWS application discovery service is the Microsoft Azure Migrate: Discovery and assessment tool. This solution enables users to automatically create an inventory of on-premise databases software, web apps, and SQL or AWS server instances. The Microsoft Azure Migrate: Discovery and assessment tool also integrates with Azure Monitor ’s Application Insight, an application monitoring solution. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Oracle Cloud also offers its own migration tool designed to migrate on-premise applications and virtual machines from on-premise environments to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure using automated migration and provisioning. Oracle Cloud’s migration tool also offers templates, workflow automation and connectors for popular workloads including SQL Server, MySQL, Java, etc. Like Azure, Oracle Cloud also offers Application performance Monitoring integration. Schedule a Demo Other cloud providers and SaaS solutions Besides the top three cloud vendors, there are a number of other cloud security and SaaS-vendors offering application discovery capabilities. Some of these are listed below: Datadog Feature summary: Automated application and dependency mapping in real-time, alerts, latency graphs, and performance anomaly detection. Pros and cons: Rapid app and dependency mapping but beyond that lacks functionality for supporting cloud migrations. ManageEngine applications manager Feature summary: Application Discovery and Dependency Mapping (ADDM) with IP range application discovery, scheduled discoveries, scan summary reports, and a dependency map view. Pros and cons: IP range based discovery offers a broad view of apps and dependencies but does not offer migration workflows and change management capabilities. SolarWinds server & application monitor Feature summary: Polling to create application and dependency maps, tracking the response time of services, creating custom alerts for network latency, packet loss, and uptime monitoring. Pros and cons: Designed for monitoring application performance in on-premise environments, but it too lacks migration support. Schedule a Demo Application discovery in on-premises environments One of the main challenges that organizations face when trying to discover applications in on-premise environments is reliance on outdated legacy monitoring tools. Manually discovering and mapping applications is inefficient, and offers limited visibility over configuration data and metrics across the environment. Application discovery tools such as AlgoSec’s tools enable security teams to discover application dependencies and connections throughout the environment that could easily be overlooked by relying on manual approaches alone. Automation also opens the door for an organization to leverage virtualization technologies from providers like VMware and Hyper-V, which unlock new cloud-native capabilities that cannot necessarily be replicated on-premises. Schedule a Demo FAQs How does AlgoSec help with application discovery and asset management? AlgoSec can help you to discover, identify, and map applications across your on-premise and cloud environments in real-time using AI, so you can keep an up-to-date perspective of your entire network. How does AlgoSec help optimize traffic flows and improve firewall performance? Deploying AlgoSec enables an organization to scan traffic flows and match them to applications within the environment. Once you discovered traffic flows, you can start to automatically optimize application flows and the maximum number of flows per application in order to optimize your firewall throughput and performance for end users. How does AlgoSec help enforce security and compliance across the data center? Increased transparency of application, traffic and firewall flows makes it easier for IT security teams to assess the effectiveness of security policies in the environment, and creates an audit trail that can be used to manage potential compliance violations. Enhanced visibility makes it easier to maintain compliance and to ensure that security controls are effective at protecting your critical data assets from compromise or misuse. For example, administrators can automatically identify compliance gaps and generate compliance reports to document the state of firewalls and surrounding infrastructure to comply with PCI, HIPAA, SOX, and NERC. How does AlgoSec help with business continuity and disaster recovery? AlgoSec helps your organization to maintain business continuity not only through proactive network security policy management, but also by simplifying the process of migrating application connectivity flows and firewall policies to the cloud and ensuring compliance. Migrating your apps and data to a secondary site ensures that if your primary site is affected by a power outage or natural disaster, you will still be able to access critical information. Furthermore, according to an EMA survey, network security policy management also enhances business continuity by helping organizations to enforce more consistent security policies, conduct more proactive disaster recovery testing, and limit the number of change-related outages. How does AlgoSec help with data center migration? AlgoSec can help you to migrate your data center by discovering and mapping applications and connectivity flows, and connecting them to the relevant policies. Once these are discovered, the solution can migrate them to a new on-premise installation or cloud platform, while automatically identifying and removing obsolete and redundant firewall rules. This reduces the amount of overall manual processes associated with the migration. How does AlgoSec help with cloud cost optimization? AlgoSec’s application discovery and mapping capabilities help your organization to optimize costs in the cloud by giving you a reference point to conduct application performance monitoring and ensure that your cloud bandwidth is used efficiently. This ensures that you are getting the maximum throughput from your network infrastructure and are not being held back by outages or other application performance issues. What are ADDM solutions and their advantages? Application Discovery and Dependency Mapping (ADDM) is a category of software solutions that can map applications and dependencies to help human users understand how they connect together and interact. ADDM solutions are a popular choice for IT administrators because they enable users to identify and map dependencies automatically rather than spending a substantial amount of time locating them manually. How does application performance monitoring work? Application performance monitoring is where an organization monitors performance metrics from applications located throughout their environment. Monitoring application performance helps to generate insights into how to optimize system availability, performance and response time. It also helps to ensure that end users enjoy a solid user experience with minimal downtime. What are some common application discovery methods? There are a number of common application discovery methods that organizations can deploy. These include: Sweep and poll – A technique for discovering IT assets whereby a system pings IP addresses and identifies the devices that issue a response. Network monitoring – Monitoring real-time packet information to generate data on application dependencies. This can be done at the packet level by capturing packets or at the flow level with NetFlow. Agent on Server – A process for identifying applications that uses a software agent deployed to a server to conduct real-time monitoring of incoming and outgoing traffic in order to map dependencies. Orchestration-Level Discovery – Where an organization uses an orchestration platform like AlgoSec to discover applications and dependencies automatically without having to deploy agents to servers. What is the role of DevOps in application discovery? Application discovery plays an important role in the DevOps process because it enables development teams to work toward automated app deployment. Automating the discovery of apps and connectivity flows means that users do not need coding knowledge to understand the environment. Increased visibility also supports a DevSecOps strategy, offering security teams greater transparency over application components. For example, a security analyst can view apps and connected dependencies and get a clear perspective of the entire attack surface and potential vulnerabilities a hacker could exploit. What is the role of application discovery in cloud migration? Discovering applications and dependencies helps you to fast-track your cloud migration by identifying what components you need to move and allowing you to phase the deployment in steps. Schedule a Demo Take control of your network Gaining visibility over applications in your environment is a critical step on your journey toward enhancing your business agility and continuity and minimizing downtime. A better understanding of app topology helps administrators find risks and remediate them quickly to ensure ongoing compliance. If you cannot see how effectively your applications are being delivered, or how they perform, then there is no way to consistently optimize performance or enforce security policies. While manually developing an inventory of apps and dependencies is a time-consuming process, the AlgoSec platform can completely eliminate the need for this by discovering apps in real-time so you can see how these components connect to each other on-premise, and across the private or public cloud. Real-time visibility over apps gives you everything you need to manage performance, risk, and compliance challenges at enterprise pace. Schedule a Demo Select a size Introduction What is application discovery? What is a dependency mapping tool? Key benefits of application dependency mapping Application discovery in cloud environments Other cloud providers and SaaS solutions Application discovery in on-premises environments FAQs Take control of your network Get the latest insights from the experts Use these six best practices to simplify compliance and risk mitigation with the AlgoSec platform White paper Learn how AlgoSec can help you pass PCI-DSS Audits and ensure Solution overview Learn how AlgoSec can help you pass PCI-DSS Audits and ensure Solution overview Choose a better way to manage your network

Learn why network security policy management is crucial for insurance companies to safeguard sensitive data, ensure compliance, and mitigate cyber risks effectively. Why Insurance Companies Need Network Security Policy Management ---- ------- Schedule a Demo Select a size ----- Get the latest insights from the experts Choose a better way to manage your network

Learn how firewall rules secure your network from cyber threats. Explore types, best practices, and management strategies to optimize your firewall security. Firewall rules & requirements (inbound vs. outbound) How to secure your network from threats? The cybersecurity landscape is increasingly volatile, with a massive rise in cyberattacks. Malicious cyber actors are relentlessly scouring the internet for vulnerable networks. Any company that wants to keep its network secure must implement a network security solution – a firewall. Cyber attackers keep evolving and finding ways to compromise security systems. As a result, companies need to implement and maintain security best practices. Installing a firewall is not enough; you have to take a step further to ensure the firewall rules are up-to-date and properly managed. If you want to learn how firewall rules work and secure your network from threats, keep reading! This article covers everything you need to know, including types of firewall rules, examples of firewall rules, and firewall rule best practices. Schedule a Demo What are firewall rules? Firewall rules are the major components of firewall policies that determine which types of traffic your firewall allows in and out of your network, and which are blocked. They are access control mechanisms that firewalls use to protect your network from being infiltrated by malicious or unauthorized traffic. Firewall rules examine the control information in individual packets, and either block or allow them based on a set of rules or predetermined criteria. These predetermined criteria or rule components include a source IP address, a destination IP address, ports, protocol type (TCP, UDP, or ICMP), and services. Firewall rules control how the firewalls prevent malicious programs and unauthorized traffic from compromising your network. So properly managing your firewall rules across your infrastructures is instrumental to securing your network from threats. Schedule a Demo How do firewall rules work? A firewall examines each incoming and outgoing data packet and matches it against the firewall rules. A packet is allowed to go through to its destination if it matches one of the rules that allow traffic. If a packet matches none of the rulesor hit a rule with deny, it is rejected. The rejection or mismatch is reported if the firewall is configured to do so. Firewalls are programmed to work with access control lists (ACLs). ACLs contain lists of permissions that determine network traffic that is allowed or blocked. An access control list details the conditions a data packet must meet before the ACL action (allow, deny, or reject) can be executed. To help you understand how firewall rules work, here’s a practical example: if a firewall rule states that traffic to destination N should be allowed only if it is from IP address M, the firewall will check the packet source and destination of incoming packets, and allow packets that meet the M & N rule to go through. If its packet’s destination is N but its source is unidentified or different from M, it is blocked. Packets are checked against firewall rules from top to bottom, and the first rule that matches the packet overrides the other rules below. The last rule is Deny Rest. This means that all packets not expressly permitted by the rules are blocked. You can create a firewall rule in pfSense. pfSense is an open-source firewall and router with unified threat management, load balancing, multi-WAN, a DNS Resolver, and a VPN. It supports a wide range of network technologies, including IPv4 & IPv6 addresses and pfBlockerNG. Other firewalls you can use to create firewall rules include Zenarmor, Windows Defender, and iptables. Schedule a Demo Why are firewall rules important? Firewall rules help network administrators to regulate access to networks. With firewall rules, you can determine what is allowed in and out of your network. For example, they prevent dangerous files like worms and viruses from accessing your network and consuming bandwidth. When it comes to protecting devices that operate within your network, firewall rules establish an essential line of defense. Firewalls (and other security measures like endpoint protection and security certifications) prevent malicious actors from accessing and compromising devices connected to your network or operating inside your network’s environment. Firewall rules help you comply with regulatory standards. Depending on your industry, relevant regulatory agencies expect your company to maintain a certain level of security. For example, if your business is located in the EU region or collects personal data of EU citizens, it is mandated to comply with GDPR. Schedule a Demo What are the main types of firewall rules? There are various types of firewall rules. They are categorized based on the type of security architecture under consideration. That being said, here are some of the major types of firewall rules: 1. Access rule As the name implies, this firewall rule blocks or grants access to inbound and outbound traffic based on certain conditions. The source address, destination address, port number, and protocol are key information that the access rule evaluates to determine whether access should be given or denied. 2. Network address translation (NAT) rule NAT helps you hide the original IP address of a private network – enabling you to protect your network. It makes traffic routing easier and smoothens the inflow & outflow of traffic to and from your network. 3. Application level gateways This type of firewall rule enables network administrators to implement policies that protect your internal network. Application-level gateways function as shields or gatekeepers between your internal network and the public internet. Administrators use them to regulate access to public networks, block some sites, limit access to certain content, and regulate devices allowed to access your network. 4. Stateful packet filtering This rule evaluates data packets and filters them against preset conditions. The traffic is denied access if it fails to meet the requirements outlined by the predetermined security criteria. 5. Circle-level gateways Circle-level gateways do not filter individual packets but rather monitor TCP handshakes to determine whether a session is legitimate and the remote system is considered trusted. Consequently, these gateways provide anonymity to your internal network. Schedule a Demo What is an example of a firewall rule? Firewall rules frequently consist of a source address, source port, destination address, destination port, and an action that determines whether to Allow or Deny the packet. In the following firewall ruleset example, the firewall is never directly accessed from the public network. This is because hackers who can directly access the firewall, can modify or delete rules and allow unwanted travel. Source addressSource portDestination addressDestination portAction AnyAny10.10.10.1AnyDenyAnyAny10.10.10.2AnyDeny10.10.10.1AnyAnyAnyDeny10.10.10.2AnyAnyAnyDeny In the following firewall ruleset example, all traffic from the trusted network is allowed out. This ruleset should be placed below the ruleset above. Since firewall rules are checked from top to bottom, specific rules should be placed before rules that are more general. Source addressSource portDestination addressDestination portAction 10.10.10.0AnyAnyAnyAllow Schedule a Demo What are the best ways to manage firewall rules? Effective management of firewall rules is necessary to avoid conflicting configurations and ensure your security infrastructure is powerful enough to ward off malicious attacks. To manage firewall rules better, do the following: ● Maintain proper documentation Properly document policies, rules, and workflows. It’s difficult for your network administrators to stay organized and manage firewall rules without proper documentation. Implement a strict documentation policy that mandates administrators to document policies and configuration changes. This improves visibility and ensures seamless continuity even if a key network operator leaves the company. ● Assign tasks with caution Ensure that only well-trained network operators have the privilege to assign and alter firewall rules. Allowing everyone on your security team to assign and change firewall rules increases the chances of misconfiguration. Giving such a privilege to a select few does the opposite and makes containing mismanagement easier. ● Use a standardized naming convention It’s easy to get confused about which configuration does what. This is more likely to happen where there is no naming convention. To avoid conflicting configurations, name each rule to clarify its purpose. By clearly defining the rules, conflicts can be easily resolved. ● Flag temporary rules Some rules are created to function just for a while – temporary rules. To keep things simple and ‘neat,’ flag temporary rules so they can be eliminated when they are no longer required. ● Order your rules Order rules in a specific pattern. For example, begin with global rules and narrow down to user-specific rules. ● Use a firewall management solution Many administrators use a firewall management and orchestration solution to streamline the firewall rule management process. The solution integrates with your firewall and uses built-in automation for managing firewall settings and configurations from a single dashboard. A firewall management tool helps you automate activities, gain visibility on all firewall rules, optimize firewall rules, remove rule anomalies, generate reports, etc. Schedule a Demo What are the best practices for firewall rules? To ensure your firewall works properly and offers the best security possible, there are some key best practices you have to follow when configuring and managing firewall rules: Review the firewall rules regularly The cyber threat landscape is always changing. Therefore, you must regularly review the firewall rules to ensure they provide optimal security against threats. Reviewing firewall rules helps you to be several steps ahead of malicious cyber actors, remove rule anomalies, and maintain compliance. Cyber attackers are relentlessly devising new ways to compromise security systems, infiltrate networks & subnets, and wreak havoc. You need to update the firewall rules regularly to counter new attacks. Obsolete rules can be maneuvered and the firewall compromised. You have to keep evolving the rules to stay ahead of malicious actors. Remove ineffective, redundant firewall rules. Are there rules that are no longer needed? Are there overlapping rules that are taking up space and confusing your network administrators? Look out for unnecessary configurations and remove them to free up the system and avoid confusion. In addition to helping you keep your network safe, reviewing firewall rules regularly also allows you to maintain compliance with regulatory standards such as HIPAA and GDPR. Keep tabs on firewall logs Keeping an eye on the firewall log helps administrators to monitor traffic flow, identify suspicious activities, and proactively fix challenges. Monitoring firewall logs gives you visibility into your infrastructure, enabling you to get to know your network users and the nature of their activities. Reduce complexity by categorizing firewall rules Make firewall rule structure simple and easy to manage by grouping rules with similar characteristics. This approach reduces configuration complexity, improves ease of administration, and optimizes firewall performance. Implement least-privileged access Do not grant users more privileges than necessary to perform their tasks. This ensures that only an authorized user can create a new rule, change a security policy, or gain access to specific resources. Block high-risk ports Blocking some ports can significantly decrease the risk of a network breach. The following table outlines the ports you should block as recommended by the SANS Institute . The table features services, TCP port, UDP port, port number, and port range. ServicePortPort number NetBIOS in Windows NTTCP and UDP135NetBIOS in Windows NTUDP137 and 138TFTP daemonUDP69HTTP (except to external web services)TCP80SSL (except to external web servers)TCP443Lockd (Linux DoS vulnerability)TCP & UDP4045Common high-order HTTP portsTCP8000, 8080, 8888LDAPTCP & UDP389IMAPTCP143SOCKSTCP1080SNMPUDP161 & 162SyslogUDP514Cisco AUX port (binary)TCP6001NFSTCP & UDP2049X WindowsTCP & UDP6000 – 6255 Schedule a Demo How can AlgoSec help you manage your firewall rules better? Managing firewall rules manually can be overwhelming and time-consuming – especially when dealing with multiple firewall solutions. With the help of a firewall management solution, you easily configure firewall rules and manage configurations from a single dashboard. This is where AlgoSec comes in! AlgoSec’s powerful firewall management solution integrates with your firewalls to deliver unified firewall policy management from a single location, thus streamlining the entire process. With AlgoSec, you can maintain clear visibility of your firewall ruleset, automate the management process, assess risk & optimize rulesets, streamline audit preparation & ensure compliance, and use APIs to access many features through web services. Schedule a Demo Select a size How to secure your network from threats? What are firewall rules? How do firewall rules work? Why are firewall rules important? What are the main types of firewall rules? What is an example of a firewall rule? What are the best ways to manage firewall rules? What are the best practices for firewall rules? How can AlgoSec help you manage your firewall rules better? Get the latest insights from the experts Use these six best practices to simplify compliance and risk mitigation with the AlgoSec platform White paper Learn how AlgoSec can help you pass PCI-DSS Audits and ensure continuous compliance Solution overview See how this customer improved compliance readiness and risk management with AlgoSec Case study Choose a better way to manage your network

Understand the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). Learn key requirements, best practices, and how to achieve and maintain FISMA compliance. FISMA compliance defined: Requirements & best practices ---- ------- Schedule a Demo Select a size ----- Get the latest insights from the experts Use these six best practices to simplify compliance and risk mitigation with the AlgoSec platform White paper Learn how AlgoSec can help you pass PCI-DSS Audits and ensure continuous compliance Solution overview See how this customer improved compliance readiness and risk management with AlgoSec Case study Choose a better way to manage your network

Learn best practices for effective network firewall security management. Enhance your security posture with proper configuration, monitoring, and maintenance. Network firewall security management What are network firewalls? Network firewalls are the first round of defense against a wide range of external threats. Firewall policies filter incoming traffic to protect the network ecosystem from cyberattacks. Network traffic that doesn’t meet filter criteria gets blocked. Security teams continually optimize their organization’s firewall configuration to address new and emerging threats. Schedule a Demo Network firewall security challenges Network infrastructure is more complex than ever before. In the early days, your network firewall sat at the perimeter of your data center. Today, you may have a variety of firewalls operating on-premises, in public and private clouds, in a software-defined network, or a multi-cloud hybrid environment. Security leaders face four main challenges when implementing, maintaining and improving firewall performance: Complexity – The more individual firewall solutions your network relies on, the harder it is to analyze, configure, and scale firewall-related workflows. Visibility – The traffic flows over your network are complex. Lack of visibility over traffic flows makes managing firewall policies more difficult. Automation – Network firewalls have hundreds of security policies. Spread over multiple devices, manual management is difficult and time-consuming. Automation of network security management is the solution. Compliance – Proper configuration of your network security devices is a common regulatory requirement. Make sure you can demonstrate compliance. 1. Managing firewall configuration in a complex environment Since early networks were mostly on-premises, managing firewall configuration changes in real-time was simple. Once the cybersecurity team identified firewall changes they wanted to make, a single employee could upload those changes to the organization’s Cisco PIX device and call it a day. Today’s networks simply don’t work that way. They are designed to be scalable, supporting a wide range of endpoint devices and cloud-based applications with a much wider attack surface than ever before. Security teams must protect their networks against a more sophisticated set of attacks, including malware that leverages zero-day vulnerabilities and other unknown threats. At the same time, they must accommodate both users and attackers equipped with modern security tools like VPNs. The modern organization must deploy a wide range of firewalls, including hardware devices physically connected to local routers, software firewalls for hybrid cloud environments, and next-generation firewalls equipped with analyzers that can proactively detect unknown threats. Security leaders need to streamline visibility into firewall configuration, orchestration, and management through a single pane of glass. This ensures optimal firewall performance for both on-premises and cloud security solutions, while freeing team members to spend more time on higher impact strategic security goals. 2. Firewall deployments can compromise visibility into security processes Modern organizations with complex network configurations often don’t enjoy deep visibility into their security processes and event outcomes. Many third-party managed security vendors don’t offer in-depth data about their processes at all. Security leaders are often asked to simply trust that vendors provide enough value to justify premium pricing. But losing visibility into security processes makes it extremely challenging to improve those processes. It puts security leaders in the uncomfortable position of defending security outcomes they don’t have adequate data to explain. In the event of a negative outcome, it’s almost impossible to explain exactly what went wrong and why. If a particular firewall policy is ultimately responsible for that outcome, security leaders need to know. Effective firewall security management isn’t possible without deep visibility into firewall policies, and how those rules impact day-to-day business operations in real-time. Obtaining this kind of visibility in a complex network environment is not easy, but it’s vital to long-term success. 3. Manual configuration changes are costly and error-prone Increasing configuration errors are another knock-on consequence of the trend towards bigger and more complex networks. Where early network security professionals only had to update firewall rules for a handful of devices, now they must accommodate an entire stack of solutions made by different manufacturers, with complicated interdependencies between them. Most organizations rely on multiple providers for their full firewall stack. They may use Cisco hardware, Checkpoint next-generation firewalls, Tufin firewall management software, and Firemon asset management all at the same time. Managing and troubleshooting this kind of deployment without comprehensive firewall security management software is difficult and time-consuming. Security misconfigurations as a whole are responsible for more than one-third of all cyberattacks. This demonstrates the urgent need for security leaders to automate the process of configuring, updating, and validating firewall changes on complex networks. AlgoSec provides security leaders with a robust set of tools for automating network security policy updates and firewall changes without requiring organizations to dedicate additional employee-hours to time-consuming manual processes. 4. Don’t forget to document policy changes for compliance Security policy management is an important part of overall security compliance. Adhering to the latest security standards published by reputable organizations allows security leaders to meaningfully reduce cybersecurity risk. Documents like the NIST Cybersecurity Framework provide clear guidance into how organizations should address core functions in their security strategy, which includes deploying and updating firewalls. In particular, NIST Special Publication 800-41 describes the guidelines for firewall policies, requiring that they be based on comprehensive risk assessment for the organization in question. The guidelines also require that organizations with multiple firewalls sharing the same rules (or common subsets of rules) must have those rules synchronized across those firewalls. Importantly, all these changes must be documented. This requirement adds significant risk and complexity to network environments that rely on manual configuration processes. Even if you successfully implement changes the right way, reporting discrepancies can negatively impact your organization’s regulatory position. AlgoSec generates compliance reports for NIST SP 800-53 as a built-in feature, available right out of the box. Organizations that use AlgoSec to automate firewall security management and policy changes can ensure compliance with stringent security standards without having to commit valuable security resources to manually verifying reports. Schedule a Demo Firewall security management FAQs Understanding the network security devices in your network is crucial to maintaining your network’s security. What are some common network security devices? Network security devices include application and network firewalls, which are the most popular network security devices. However, your network may have other devices such as intrusion detection and protection systems, antivirus scanning devices, content filtering devices, as well as pen testing devices, and vulnerability assessment appliances. What is an application firewall? An application firewall controls access from an application or service, monitoring or blocking the system service calls that do not meet the firewall’s configured policy. The application firewall is typically built to control network traffic up to the application layer. What is a firewall device and how do firewalls work? A firewall is a network security device that monitors network traffic and decides whether to allow or deny traffic flows based on a defined set of security rules. Firewalls can be physical hardware devices, software, or both. What is network security management? Network security management lets network administrators manage their network, whether on-premises, in the cloud, or a hybrid network, consisting of physical and virtual single and multi-vendor firewalls. What are some challenges in network security management? Network administrators need to get clear and comprehensive visibility into network behavior, automate single and multi-vendor device configuration, enforce global network security policies, view network traffic, and generate audit-ready compliance reports across their entire network. Network administrators must continuously deploy security policies across the network. Yet, there may be thousands of firewall policies accumulated over the years. Frequently, they are cluttered, duplicated, outdated, or conflict with new rules. This can adversely affect the network’s security and performance. Schedule a Demo Additional firewall security features How AlgoSec Helps with Network Firewall Security: End-to-end network visibility Get visibility of the underlying security policies implemented on firewalls and other security devices across the network. Understand your network’s traffic flows. Gain insights into how they relate to critical business applications so you can associate your security policies to their business context. Find unused firewall rules Enabling unused rules to be included in a policy goes against best practices and may pose a risk to the organization. The AlgoSec platform makes it easy to find and identify unused rules within your firewall policy. Associate policy rules with business applications Firewall rules support applications or processes that require network connectivity to and from specific servers, users, and networks. The AlgoSec AppViz add-on automatically associates the relevant business application that each firewall rule supports, enabling you to review associated firewall rules quickly and easily. Manage multi-vendor devices across your entire hybrid network Each firewall vendor often has its own management console, but your network is made up of multiple devices from an assortment of vendors. Ensure continuous compliance Simplify and reduce audit preparation efforts and costs with out-of-the-box audit reports for major regulations including PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOX, NERC, and GDPR. Schedule a Demo Network firewall security tips Conduct a network security audit Periodically auditing your network security controls are critical. Network security audits help to identify weaknesses in your network security posture so you know where your security policies need to be adapted. Firewall audits also demonstrate that you have been doing your due diligence in reviewing security controls and policy controls. Consider micro-segmentation By building and implementing a micro-segmentation strategy , networks can be broken down into multiple segments and made safer against potential breaches by dangerous cybercriminals and hackers. Conduct periodic compliance checks Your network firewalls are a critical part of many regulatory requirements . Ensuring that your network firewalls comply with critical regulations is a core part of your network security posture. Periodically evaluate your firewall rules Following firewall rules best practices, you should periodically evaluate your firewall rules. Identify and consolidate duplicate rules, remove obsolete or unused firewall rules, and perform periodic firewall rule recertification . Schedule a Demo Select a size What are network firewalls? Network firewall security challenges Firewall security management FAQs Additional firewall security features Network firewall security tips Get the latest insights from the experts Firewall rule recertification - An application-centric approach Watch webinar Firewalls ablaze? Put out network security audit & compliance fires Watch webinar Firewall rule recertification Read document Choose a better way to manage your network

Understand how to achieve and maintain firewall compliance with ISO/IEC 27001. Learn key requirements, best practices, and how to strengthen your overall security posture. Firewall ISO compliance: ISO/IEC 27001 explained Introductory prologue IT organizations and those dealing with digital assets often face many information security challenges. They must protect sensitive data from unauthorized access, as a crack in security can result in unimaginable losses. To keep information security risks minimal and optimize protection for organizations, ISO/IEC 27001 compliance was designed. What is ISO/IEC 27001 compliance? How does it work, and why does it matter? Read on to uncover answers to all your questions and more in this guide. Schedule a Demo What Is ISO/IEC 27001? ISO/IEC 27001 is an internationally accepted standard for data security. It is one of the standards jointly published by the ISO (International Standardization Organization) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) in 2015. ISO/IEC 27001 aims to provide organizations with a framework for information security management, thereby protecting digital assets. Implementing the standard helps organizations minimize and effectively manage information security risks, such as hacks, data leaks or theft, and cyber attacks. Digital assets like intellectual property, software, employee information, and personal data are often a target for malicious actors. And that’s why asset management is crucial to companies and digital service providers. It demonstrates that the certified organization’s information security system is efficient as it follows the best practice. Any ISO/IEC 27001-certified organization can display its certification online (e.g., on its website, social media platforms, etc.) and offline. As a result, they get the trust and respect they deserve from partners, investors, customers, and other organizations. Schedule a Demo Evolution of ISO/IEC 27001 The International Standardization Organization (ISO) is a global federation of national standards bodies established in 1947. It is a leading organization that develops standards for ensuring the security of business systems. Since its emergence, ISO has published several standards, such as: ISO 27000 – Information Security Management Systems ISO 22301 – Business Continuity ISO 14000 – Environmental Management System ISO 45001 – Occupational Health and Safety ISO 9000 – Quality Management System etc. Although ISO/IEC 27001 was officially published in 2005, ISO had been providing measures for protecting digital systems and information before then. The rapid spread of the internet in the 1990s gave rise to the need for data security to prevent sensitive data from getting into the wrong hands. ISO 27001 was the first standard among the ISO 27000 series of standards for cybersecurity. Since its release, the standard has undergone revisions to tackle new and evolving cyber threats in the industry. The first revision took place in October 2013, when new controls were introduced, and the total controls numbered up to 114. This version is referred to as ISO/IEC 27001:2013 version. The second and latest revision of ISO/ICE 27001 was published in 2022 and enumerates 93 controls grouped into four sections. This revision was initially referred to as ISO/IEC 27001:2022 but is now known as ISO 27001. Another notable development in the latest version is the change in title. The new version’s complete title is – ISO 27001 (i.e., ISO/IEC 27001:2022) Information Security, Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection. Schedule a Demo Business Benefits of ISO/IEC 27001 Achieving ISO/IEC 27001 certification offers organizations several business benefits, especially for service providers handling people’s sensitive financial and personal data. Examples of such organizations are insurance companies, banks, health organizations, and financial institutions. Some of the business benefits of ISO 27001 are: 1. It prevents financial penalties and losses from data breaches Organizations that do not comply with the global security standard are at great risk of a data breach. Data breaches often attract financial penalties and cause companies to lose significant amounts. By implementing the best network security practices, organizations can prevent unnecessary financial losses and record more significant revenue in the long run. 2. It protects and enhances a company’s reputation. Partners, investors, and customers often prefer companies with a good reputation for handling data. In fact, the World Economic Forum states that reputation affects a quarter of a company’s market value. ISO/IEC 27001 certification can help businesses with an existing reputation to preserve their image. Companies with a previous record of security challenges can enhance their reputation and earn the trust and respect of others by becoming certified too. 3. Wins new business and sharpens competitive edge Certified companies stand a better chance of winning new businesses and recording more sales and profits than their competitors. That’s because clients want to feel safe knowing their data enjoy maximum protection. Also, certain organizations must attain other certifications like GDPR, HIPAA, NIST, etc., before commencing operation. And having ISO certification makes it easier to achieve such requirements. One major indicator that an organization can be trusted for security management is acquiring a worldwide certification. It sharpens its competitive advantage and propels the brand way ahead of others. 4. Improves structure and focus As businesses expand, new responsibilities arise, and it can be challenging to determine who should be responsible for what. But with ISO 27001 compliance, companies will have a clear structure to mirror. From authentication to network traffic management, the standard has an outlined structure that companies can apply to establish robust operations security. As a result, they can tackle rising needs while staying focused and productive. 5. It reduces the need for frequent audits. Organizations usually spend heavily performing frequent internal and external audits to generate valuable data about the state of their security. The data is deployed to improve cybersecurity so that threat intelligence and other security aspects are optimized. And even though it costs more and wastes more time, it doesn’t guarantee as much protection as implementing ISO 27001 standard. By becoming a certified name, companies can rest assured that the best cybersecurity practices protect them against attacks. Plus, frequent audits won’t be needed, thus saving cost and time. Schedule a Demo ISO/IEC 27001 Compliance Organizations looking to achieve ISO/IEC 27001 compliance must ensure the following: 1. Clearly Outline the Risk Assessment Process Develop your risk assessment process to detect vulnerabilities. State the categories of risks your organization is facing Outline your approach to tackle vulnerabilities. 2. Make Sure Executives Set the Tone Top management must be involved in the information security program. They should show financial support and be available to make strategic decisions that will help build robust security. Senior management should also conduct frequent assessments of the company’s ISMS to ensure it’s in sync with the globally agreed security standard. 3. Design an Information Security Policy (ISP) An ISP essentially functions to ensure that all the users and networks of your organization’s IT structure stick with the standard practices of digital data storage. You must design an effective ISP to achieve compliance as it governs information protection. Your ISP should encompass the A to Z of your organization’s IT security, including cloud security. You need to state who will be responsible for implementing the designed policy. 4. Write Out Your Statement of Applicability (SoA) Your SoA should carry core information about your ISMS. It should state the controls that your organization regards necessary to combat information security risks. It should document the controls that were not applied The SoA should only be shared with the certification body. 5. Create Your Risk Management Strategy Develop an effective risk management plan to address the possible risks of your chosen security controls. Ensure there’s an efficient security operations center (soc) to help detect cyber threats and forward notifications to the right systems. Design an information security incident management strategy to respond during threat detection. State who will implement specific security controls, how, and when they will deploy them. Schedule a Demo FAQs What does ISO/IEC 27001 stand for? ISO stands for International Standardization Organization, while IEC represents International Electrotechnical Commission. ISO/IEC 27001 is an internationally accepted standard for information security management, which ISO and IEC first created. What are the ISO 27001 Requirements? Every organization looking to apply for certification must prepare themselves and ensure to meet the requirements. These requirements are summarized in Clauses 4.1 to 10.2 below: 4.1 Understanding the organization and its context 4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties 4.3 Determining the scope of the ISMS 4.4 Information security management system (ISMS) 5.1 Leadership and commitment 5.2 Information Security Policy 5.3 Organisational roles, responsibilities, and authorities 6.1 Actions to address risks and opportunities 6.2 Information security objectives and planning to achieve them 7.1 Resources 7.2 Competence 7.3 Awareness 7.4 Communication 7.5 Documented information 8.1 Operational planning and control 8.2 Information security risk assessment 8.3 Information security risk treatment 9.1 Monitoring, measurement, analysis, and evaluation 9.2 Internal audit 9.3 Management review 10.1 Nonconformity and corrective action 10.2 Continual improvement What are the ISO/IEC 27001 controls? The latest version of ISO 27001 Annex A enumerates 93 security controls divided into four sections or themes. The ISO 27001 controls are designed to simplify information security management such that digital assets get the best protection against security threats. These 4 sections are labelled A5 to A8 and are as follows: A.5 Organizational controls – containing 37 controls A.6 People controls – containing 8 controls A.7 Physical controls – containing 14 controls A.8 Technological controls – containing 34 controls How Does ISO/IEC 27001 ensure data protection? ISO/IEC 27001 ensures data protection by providing a framework through which companies can store sensitive data and have full access control. This standard can be adapted to suit each organization’s specific needs and structure, thereby offering optimized protection. ISO/IEC 27001 aims to ascertain that three core information security aspects are taken care of, which are: Confidentiality: this guarantees that only authorized individuals can access information. Also, because organizations deal with different categories of data, each employee must only be given the degree of access required to execute their tasks efficiently. Integrity: this ensures that only authorized individuals can change information on the system. So even in the event of a security breach, the risks are minimal. This is due to the change management plan that ensures unauthorized persons can not alter information. Availability: information security becomes a problem if the secured information isn’t accessible when needed. ISO 27001 enables authorized persons to have access to information whenever required to ensure that business operations are uninterrupted. By maintaining these guidelines, companies can put in place an effective information security system and risk management plan to prevent data leaks, theft, or hacks. How does my firewall management help with ISO 27001? Firewalls are the software in your organization’s IT structure managing the connection between different networks. Effective firewall management can help in designing the right Information Security Policy (ISP). In turn, your organization will be able to achieve ISO 27001 compliance. Thus, your firewall policies can help with ISO 27001 by enabling organizations to design an Information Security Policy that agrees with the standard required for compliance. What is the Importance of ISO 27001 Certification, and how can I gain it? ISO 27001 certification offers several advantages to businesses and organizations. It demonstrates to partners, investors, and customers that the certified business has a reliable information security management system, thus winning their trust. Also, it enhances communications security so that third parties do not interfere with your company’s operating system. You also get to reduce the risk of security failure, saving you from financial losses and penalties. Once you’ve met the compliance requirements, you may gain an ISO 27001 certification by registering with an accredited certification body Schedule a Demo How can AlgoSec Help with ISO 27001 Compliance? Organizations must regularly conduct audits and prepare compliance reports to attain and maintain ISO 27001 certification. The data generated from event logs are equally helpful in enhancing threat intelligence and overall operations security. This process is often time-consuming and cost-demanding, and that’s where AlgoSec comes in. Being an ISO 27001-certified vendor, AlgoSec understands the challenges of ISO 27001 compliance and is dedicated to providing affordable and effective solutions. AlgoSec automatically generates pre-populated, audit-ready compliance reports for ISO 27001 and other leading industry regulations like SOX, BASEL II, GLBA, PCI DSS, and FISMA. This technique helps companies reduce audit preparation efforts and costs and uncovers loopholes in their ISMS. As a result, businesses can take proper measures to ensure full ISO 27001 compliance, thus becoming worthy of the certification. Schedule a Demo Select a size Introductory prologue What Is ISO/IEC 27001? Evolution of ISO/IEC 27001 Business Benefits of ISO/IEC 27001 ISO/IEC 27001 Compliance FAQs How can AlgoSec Help with ISO 27001 Compliance? Get the latest insights from the experts Use these six best practices to simplify compliance and risk mitigation with the AlgoSec platform White paper Learn how AlgoSec can help you pass PCI-DSS Audits and ensure continuous compliance Solution overview See how this customer improved compliance readiness and risk management with AlgoSec Case study Choose a better way to manage your network

Learn about firewall rule automation and change management to streamline processes, reduce human error, and enhance network security with effective change controls. Firewall rule automation & change management explained Overview In today’s IT environment, the only constant is change. Not only is change rampant, but it often occurs at breakneck speed. Rapid business growth from mergers and acquisitions, development of new and de-commissioning of old applications, new users, micro-segmentation, cloud migrations and more make for a dynamic environment that poses new security challenges all the time. Schedule a Demo Introduction In today’s IT environment, the only constant is change. Not only is change rampant, but it often occurs at breakneck speed. For a variety of reasons – rapid business growth from mergers and acquisitions, development of new applications, de-commissioning of old applications, new users, evolving networks and evolving cyberthreats – business needs change and, as they do, so must security policies. But change comes with challenges, often leading to major headaches for IT operations and security teams. The headaches sometimes develop into huge business problems: Manual workflows and change management processes are time-consuming and impede IT from keeping up with the necessary business agility Improper management of even minor changes can lead to serious business risks as benign as blockage of legitimate traffic all the way to putting the entire network offline Some organizations have grown so wary of change control and its potential negative impact that they resort to network freezes during peak business times rather than attempt to implement an urgent change in their network security policies. AlgoSec has another point of view. We want to help you embrace change through process improvement, identifying areas where automation and actionable intelligence can simultaneously enhance security and business agility – without the headaches. Herein, you will learn the secrets of how to elevate your firewall change management from manual labor-intensive work to a fully automated change management process. Schedule a Demo Why is it so hard to make changes to network policies? Placing a sticky note on your firewall administrator’s desk and expecting the change request to be performed pronto does not constitute a formal policy. Yet, shockingly, this is common practice. A formal change request process is in order. Such a process dictates clearly defined and documented steps for how a change request is to be handled, by whom, how it is addressed within a specified SLA, and more. Using IT ticketing systems Popular IT ticketing systems, like ServiceNow and Remedy, are a good place to manage your firewall change requests. However, these system are built for tracking general requests and were never designed for handling complex requests such as opening the network flow from server A to server B or revising user groups. Informal change processes Having a policy state “this is what we must do” is a start, but without a formal set of steps for carrying out and enforcing that policy, you still have a long way to go in terms of smoothing out your change processes. In fact, the majority of challenges for managing network security devices include: Time-consuming manual processes Poor change-management processes Error-prone processes Firewall change management requires detailed and concise steps that everyone understands and follows. Exceptions must be approved and documented, continuously improving the process over time. Communication breakdown Network security and operations staff work in separate silos. Their goals, and even their languages, are different. Working in silos is a clear recipe for trouble. It is a major contributor to out-of-band (unexpected) changes which are notorious for resulting in “out-of-service.” In many large companies, routine IT operational and administrative tasks may be handled by a team other than the one that handles security and risk-related tasks. Although both teams work toward the same goal – smooth operation of the digital side of the business – decisions and actions made by one team may lead to problems for the other. Sometimes, these situations are alleviated in a rush with the good intention of dealing with security issues “later.” But this crucial “later” never arrives and the network remains open to breaches. In fact, according to a large-scale survey of our own customers, out-of-process firewall changes resulted in system outages for a majority of them. In addition, our customers pointed out that out-of-process changes have caused them exposure to data breaches and costly audit failures. How will you know if it’s broken? It’s imperative to know what the business is up against from the perspective of threats and vulnerabilities. What’s often overlooked, however, is the no-less-devastating impact of poorly managed firewall changes. Without carefully analyzing how even the most minor firewall changes are going to impact the network environment, businesses can suffer dramatic problems. Without thoughtful analysis, they might not know: What does the change do to vital visibility across the network? Which applications and connections are broken by this change? Which new security vulnerabilities are introduced? How will performance be affected? A lot of money and effort is put into keeping the bad guys out, while forgetting that “we have seen the enemy and he is us.” Network complexity is a security killer Renowned security expert, Bruce Schneier, has stated, “Complexity is the worst enemy of security.” The sheer complexity of any given network can lead to a lot of mistakes, especially when it comes to multiple firewalls with complex rule sets. Simplifying the firewall environment and management processes is necessary for good management. Did you know? Up to 30 percent of implemented rule changes in large firewall infrastructures are unnecessary because the firewalls are already allowing the requested traffic! Under time pressure, firewall administrators often create more rules which turn out to be redundant given already-existing rules. This wastes valuable time and makes the firewalls even harder to manage. Schedule a Demo Mind the gap? Not if you want a good change management process The introduction of new things opens up security gaps. New hires, software patches, upgrades and network updates all increase risk exposure. The situation is further complicated in larger organizations which may have a mixed security estate comprising traditional, next-generation and virtualized firewalls from multiple vendors across clouds and on-premise data centers, all with hundreds of policies and thousands of rules. Who can keep track of it all? What about unexpected, quick-fixes that enable access to certain resources or capabilities? In many cases, a fix is made in a rush (after all, who wants a C-level exec breathing down their neck because he wants to access the network from his new tablet RIGHT NOW?) without sufficient consideration of whether that change is allowable under current security policies, or if it introduces new exposures. Sure, you can’t predict when users will make change requests, but you can certainly prepare the process for handling these requests whenever they arise. Bringing both IT operations and security teams together to prepare game plans for these situations – and for other ‘knowns’ such as network upgrades, change freezes, and audits – helps to minimize the risk of security gaps. What’s more, there are solutions that automate day-to-day firewall management tasks and link these changes and procedures so that they are recorded as part of the change management plan. In fact, automated technologies can help bridge the gap between change management processes and what’s really taking place. They enhance accuracy, by removing people from the equation to a very large degree. For example, a sophisticated firewall and topology-aware workflow system that is able to identify redundant and unneeded change requests can increase the productivity of the IT staff. IT operations and security groups are ultimately responsible for making sure that systems are functioning properly so that business goals are continuously met. However, these teams approach business continuity from different perspectives. The security department’s number one goal is to protect the business and its data whereas the IT operations team is focused on keeping systems up and running. It is natural for these two teams to clash. However, oftentimes, IT operations and security teams align their perspectives because both have a crucial ownership stake. The business has to keep running AND it has to be secure. But this kind of alignment of interests is easier said than done. To achieve the alignment, organizations must re- examine current IT and security processes. Let’s have a look at some examples of what happens when alignment is not performed. Schedule a Demo Real-life examples of good changes gone bad Example 1 A classic lack of communication between the IT operations and security groups put XYZ Corporation at risk. An IT department administrator, who was trying to be helpful, took the initiative to set up (on his own, with no security involvement or documentation) an FTP share for a user who needed to upload files in a hurry. By making this off-the-cuff change, the IT admin quickly addressed the client’s request and the files were uploaded. However, the FTP account lingered unsecured well beyond its effective “use by” date. By the next day, the security team noticed larger spikes of inbound traffic to the server from this very FTP account. Hackers abound. The FTP site had been compromised and was being exploited to host pirated movies. Example 2 A core provider of e-commerce services to businesses in the U.S. suffered a horrible fate due to a simple, but poorly managed, firewall change. One day, all e-commerce transactions in and out of its network ceased and the entire business was taken offline for several hours. The costs were astronomical. What happened? An out-of-band (and untested) change to a core firewall broke the communication between the e-commerce application and the internet. Business activity ground to a halt. Executive management got involved and the responsible IT staff members were reprimanded. Hundreds of thousands of dollars later, the root cause of the outage was uncovered: IT staff, oblivious to the consequences, chose not to test their firewall changes, bypassing their “burdensome” ITIL-based change management procedures. Tips from your own peers Taken from The Big Collection of Firewall Management Tips Document, document, document … And when in doubt, document some more! “It is especially critical for people to document the rules they add or change so that other administrators know the purpose of each rule and whom to contact about it. Good documentation can make troubleshooting easy. It reduces the risk of service disruptions that inadvertently occur when an administrator deletes or changes a rule they do not understand.” – Todd, InfoSec Architect, United States “Keep a historical change log of your firewall policy so you can return to safe harbor in case something goes wrong. A proper change log should include the reason for the change, the requester and approval records.” – Pedro Cunha, Engineer, Oni, Portugal Schedule a Demo Taking the fire drill out of firewall changes Automation is the key. It helps staff disengage from firefighting and bouncing reactively between incidents. It helps them gain control. The right automation solution can help teams track down potential traffic or connectivity issues and highlight areas of risk. Administrators can get a handle on the current status of policy compliance across mixed estates of traditional, next-generation and virtualized firewalls as well as hybrid on-prem and cloud estates. The solution can also automatically pinpoint the devices that may require changes and show how to create and implement those changes in the most secure way. Automation not only makes firewall change management easier and more predictable across large estates and multiple teams, but also frees staff to handle more strategic security and compliance tasks. Let the solution handle the heavy lifting and free up the staff for other things. To ensure a proper balance between business continuity and security, look for a firewall policy management solution that: Measures every step of the change workflow so you can easily demonstrate that SLAs are being met Identifies potential bottlenecks and risks BEFORE changes are made Pinpoints change requests that require special attention Tips from your peers Taken from The Big Collection of Firewall Management Tips “Perform reconciliation between change requests and actual performed changes. Looking at the unaccounted changes will always surprise you. Ensuring every change is accounted for will greatly simplify your next audit and help in day-to-day troubleshooting.” – Ron, Manager, Australia “Have a workflow process for implementing a security rule from the user requesting change, through the approval process and implementation.” – Gordy, Senior Network Engineer, United States Schedule a Demo 10 steps to automating and standardizing the firewall change-management process Here is the secret to getting network security policy change management right. Once a request is made, a change-request process should include the following steps: Clarify the change request and determine the dependencies. Obtain all relevant information in the change request form (i.e., who is requesting the change and why). Get proper authorization for the change, matching it to specific devices and prioritizing it. Make sure you understand the dependencies and the impact on business applications, other devices and systems, etc. This usually involves multiple stakeholders from different teams. Validate that the change is necessary. AlgoSec research has found that up to 30% of changes are unnecessary. Weeding out redundant work can significantly improve IT operations and business agility. Perform a risk assessment. Before approving the change, thoroughly test it and analyze the results so as not to unintentionally open up the proverbial can of worms. Does the proposed change create a new risk in the security policy? You need to know this for certain BEFORE making the change. Plan the change. Assign resources, create and test your back-out plans, and schedule the change. Part of a good change plan involves having a backup plan in case a change goes unexpectedly wrong. This is also a good place in the process to ensure that everything is properly documented for troubleshooting or recertification purposes. Execute the change. Backup existing configurations, prepare target device(s) and notify appropriate workgroups of any planned outage and perform the actual change. Verify correct execution to avoid outages. Test the change, including affected systems and network traffic patterns. Audit and govern the change process. Review the executed change and any lessons learned. Having a non-operations-related group conduct the audit provides the necessary separation of duties and ensures a documented audit trail for every change. Measure SLAs. Establish new performance metrics and obtain a baseline measurement. Recertify policies. While not necessary for every rule change, part of your change management process should include a review and recertification of policies at an interval that you define (e.g., once a year). Oftentimes, rules are temporary – needed only for a certain period of time – but they are left in place beyond their active date. This step forces you to review why policies are in place, enabling you to improve documentation and to remove or tweak rules to align with the business. In some cases (e.g., data breach) a change to a firewall rule set must be made immediately, where, even with all the automation in the world, there is no time to go through the 10 steps. To address this type of situation, an emergency process should be defined and documented. Schedule a Demo Key capabiities to look for in a firewall change management solution Your workflow system must be firewall- and network-aware. This allows the system to gather the proper intelligence by pulling the configuration information from the firewalls to understand the current policies. Ultimately, this reduces the time it takes to complete many of the steps within the change process. In contrast, a general change management system will not have this integration and thus will provide no domain-specific expertise when it comes to making firewall rule changes. Your solution must support all of the firewalls and routers used within your organization. With the evolution of next-generation firewalls and new cloud devices, you should also consider how your plans fit into your firewall change-management decisions. In larger organizations, there are typically many firewalls from different vendors. If your solution cannot support all the devices in the environment (current and future), then this isn’t the solution for you! Your solution must be topology-aware. The solution must:Understand how the network is laid out Comprehend how the devices fit and interact Provide the necessary visibility of how traffic is flowing through the network Your solution must integrate with the existing general change management systems. This is important so that you can maximize the return on previously made investments. You don’t want to undergo a massive retraining on processes and systems simply because you have introduced a new solution. This integration allows users to continue using their familiar systems, but with the added intelligence from having that firewall-aware visibility and understanding that the new solution delivers. Your solution must provide out-of-the-box change workflows to streamline change-management processes as well as be highly customizable since no two organizations’ network and change processes are exactly the same. Key workflow capabilities to look for in a solution:Provide out-of-the-box change workflows to help you quickly tackle common change-request scenarios Offer the ability to tailor the change process to your unique business needs by: Creating request templates that define the information required to start a change process and pre-populate information where possible Enabling parallel approval steps within the workflow — ideal when multiple approvals are required to process a change Influencing the workflow according to dynamic information obtained during ticket processing (e.g., risk level, affected firewalls, urgency, ) Ensuring accountability and increasing corporate governance with logic that routes change requests to specific roles throughout the workflow Identify which firewalls and rules block requested traffic Detect and filter unneeded/redundant requests for traffic that is already permitted Provide “what-if” risk-analysis to ensure compliance with regulations and policies Automatically produce detailed work orders, indicating which new or existing rules to add or edit and which objects to create or reuse Prevent unauthorized changes by automatically matching detected policy changes with request tickets and reporting on mismatches Ensure that change requests have actually been implemented on the network, preventing premature closing of tickets Schedule a Demo Out-of-the-box workflow examples The best solutions allow for: Adding new rules via a wizard-driven request process and flow that includes impact analysis, change validation and audit Changing rules and objects by easily defining the requests for creation, modification and deletion, and identifying rules affected by suggested object modifications for best impact analysis Removing rules by automatically retrieving a list of change requests related to the rule-removal request, notifying all requestors of the impending change, managing the approval process, documenting and validating removal Recertifying rules by automatically presenting all tickets with deadlines to the responsible party for recertification or rejection and maintaining a full audit trail with actionable reporting Quantifying the ROI on firewall change-control automation Schedule a Demo Cut your costs Manual firewall change management is a time-consuming and error-prone process. Consider a typical change order that requires a total of four hours of work by several team members during the change lifecycle, including communication, validation, risk assessment, planning and design, execution, verification, documentation, auditing and measurement. Based on these assumptions, AlgoSec customers have reported significant cost savings (as much as 60%) achieved through: Reduction of 50% in processing time using automation Elimination of 30% of unnecessary changes Elimination of 8% of changes that are reopened due to incorrect implementation Schedule a Demo Summary While change management is complex stuff, the decision for your business is actually simple. You can continue to slowly chug along with manual change management processes that drain your IT resources and impede agility. Or you can accelerate your processes with an automated network change- management workflow solution that aligns the different stakeholders involved in the process (network operations, network security, compliance, business owners, etc.) and helps the business run more smoothly. Think of your change process as a key component of the engine of an expensive car (in this case, your organization). Would you drive your car at high speed if you didn’t have tested, dependable brakes or a steering wheel? Hopefully, the answer is no! The brakes and steering wheel are analogous to change controls and processes. Rather than slowing you down, they actually make you go faster, securely! Power steering and power brakes (in this case, firewall-aware integration and automation) help you zoom to success. Let's start your journey to our business-centric network Schedule a Demo Select a size Overview Introduction Why is it so hard to make changes to network policies? Mind the gap? Not if you want a good change management process Real-life examples of good changes gone bad Taking the fire drill out of firewall changes 10 steps to automating and standardizing the firewall change-management process Key capabiities to look for in a firewall change management solution Out-of-the-box workflow examples Cut your costs Summary Get the latest insights from the experts Choose a better way to manage your network

ROI calculator See how much money you can save with AlgoSec by automating security policy management in just 5 easy steps ROI Calculator AlgoSec Security Management Solution ROI Results Here's how much money you can save every year Here's how the savings break down Start Over Disclaimer The AlgoSec ROI Calculator is intended to provide an example of your potential savings when using the AlgoSec Security Management Solution, the results are based on your input and some assumptions derived from AlgoSec's experience. The ROI Calculator is provided "as is" and AlgoSec does not warrant nor make any representations regarding the use, validity, or accuracy of the results of this tool. AlgoSec undertakes to keep in confidentiality all information provided within the tool. Actual savings may vary and a more accurate result, that will also take into account the investment in purchasing the AlgoSec Security Management Solution, may be obtained by contacting us via the online contact form.

Firewall configuration: What is it? How does it work? Firewalls can greatly increase the security of enterprise networks, and enable organizations to protect their assets and data from malicious actors. But for this, proper firewall configuration is essential. Firewall configuration involves configuring domain names and Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and completing several other actions to keep firewalls secure. Firewall policy configuration is based on network types called “profiles” that can be set up with security rules to prevent cyber attacks. Schedule a demo Watch a video Firewall configuration challenges Configuring firewalls can raise many challenges Finding the right firewall It can be overwhelming to decide between a hardware or software firewall, so make sure you first determine your business needs and network configuration. Software firewalls can protect individual machines against harmful traffic; hardware firewalls are suitable for protecting enterprise networks. Broad firewall policy configurations During firewall setup, broad approvals policies that allow traffic from any source to any destination can expose the network to several security risks. It’s safer to implement narrow permissions from the start by following the Principle of Least Privilege (POLP). These firewall rule configurations can be widened later as required. Non-standard authentication With non-standard authentication methods, your firewall could accept weaker passwords or place less stringent limits on the number of login attempts allowed. This increases the risk of cybersecurity breaches. For safety, use only standard authentication methods. Open ports and risky management services Cybercriminals leverage open firewall ports and dynamic routing protocols to penetrate and exploit enterprise networks. Disable open ports at the time of firewall configuration. Other open ports should be adequately protected. Inadequate firewall monitoring If firewalls are not monitored, you may miss signs of unusual traffic that could indicate the presence of cyber attackers. Always monitor and log outputs from security devices so you will be alerted if you’re under attack. If an attacker does break through, alerts reduce the time to response. Guest or public networks: Use this profile when the system is connected to a public network. It’s best to set restrictive access because the other systems on the network could be potentially harmful. Private networks: Use this profile when connected to a network in workgroup mode. Set access to medium levels since the other systems can be mostly trusted. Domain networks: This profile is used when networks are connected to an Active Directory (AD) domain. A group policy controls the firewall settings. What are the network profiles for firewall configuration? A typical enterprise-level network is segregated into multiple security zones or “rings”: Ring 1: The Internet Edge Ring 2: The Backbone Edge Ring 3: The Asset Network Edge Ring 4: Local Host Security These zones are a logical way to group the firewall’s physical and virtual interfaces, and control traffic. Traffic can flow freely within a zone, but not between different zones until you define and allow it within the firewall policy configuration. In general, more zones means a more secure network What is the role of security zones in firewall settings? Yes, you can create a filter with a list of words, phrases and variations to be blocked. Configure your firewall settings to “sniff” each packet of traffic for an exact match of this text. Can I configure my firewall to block specific words or phrases? For each network profile, a firewall displays status information like: Profile currently in use Firewall state (On or Off) Incoming connections and current policy Active networks Notification state What information does a firewall display for each network profile? You can set firewall filters for all these protocols: Internet Protocol (IP) to deliver information over the Internet Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) to break apart and reconstruct information over the Internet HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) for web pages User Datagram Protocol (UDP) for information that requires no user response File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to upload/download files Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) for sending text-based information via email Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to collect system information from a remote computer Telnet to perform commands on a remote computer What are the protocols you can set firewall filters for? Here’s a 6-step secure firewall setup process: Secure the firewall Update with the latest firmware Replace default passwords with strong, unique passwords Avoid using shared user accounts Disable Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) or configure it securely Restrict incoming/outgoing traffic for TCP Create firewall zones Group assets into zones based on functions and risk levels Set up the IP address structure to assign zones to firewall interfaces Configure Access Control Lists (ACLs) Make them specific to the source and destination port numbers and IP addresses Create a “deny all” rule to filter out unapproved traffic Create an ACL (inbound/outbound) for each interface and sub-interface Disable admin interfaces from public access Disable unencrypted firewall management protocols Configure firewall logging Critical if PCI DSS compliance is a requirement Disable extra/unused services Test the firewall configuration Ensure the correct traffic is being blocked Perform penetration testing and vulnerability scanning Securely back up the configuration After you complete the firewall setup, manage and monitor it continuously to ensure that it functions as intended What are the firewall configuration steps? FAQ Get answers to your firewall configuration and firewall setting questions Want to see it in action? Schedule a demo Resources Learn from the experts. Get the latest industry insights Common network misconfiguration risk & how to avoid them Watch the Webinar Remediating misconfiguration risks in public clouds Read blog Examining the most common firewall misconfigurations Watch the Webinar More firewall features AlgoSec’s range of firewall configuration and management tools enable organizations to identify and block cyber attacks. All our offerings are up-to-date to protect your enterprise even from the latest threats. Get enhanced visibility into on-prem and cloud networks Automate security troubleshooting, application discovery, network auditing, and risk analysis with AlgoSec Firewall Analyzer . Optimize your firewall configuration for ongoing, reliable security and uninterrupted compliance. Network security policy management Manage your network security policy lifecycle across on-premises firewalls and cloud security controls. Reduce risk through effective security configuration and network segmentation, while enhancing productivity, collaboration, and agility. Automatically process security policy changes Zero-touch automation saves time, prevents manual errors, and reduces risk. Design firewall rules to minimize complexity and make changes at the business application level. AlgoSec FireFlow integrates with existing business processes for continuous security and compliance. Simplify firewall audits AlgoSec provides detailed audit reports that flag non-compliant firewall rules so you can remediate problems before audits and improve firewall performance and compliance. Mitigate network issues Integration between firewall configuration and business security policies is the key to effective network security. Firewall management tools secure the IT infrastructure against unauthorized and potentially harmful traffic. Optimize applications and rule sets Review firewall rules quickly and easily with AlgoSec’s Firewall Analyzer with AppViz. Uncover unused, duplicate, overlapping or expired rules, and tighten overly-permissive “ANY” rules to mitigate risk. Learn more Schedule time with one of our experts

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The NIST Cybersecurity Framework as well as other NIST security standards help set clear best practices for organizational cyber and network security NIST standards & cybersecurity framework explained The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) is a US government agency, under the Commerce Department, whose mission is to set several types of standards, including security standards. Some NIST data security standards include NIST 800-53, which offers security controls and privacy controls in the areas of application security, mobile, and cloud computing, and supply chain security, NIST 800-53/FI, which establishes standards to implement FISMA , NIST 800-30, which provides guidelines for conducting risk assessments, NIST 800-171, pertaining to the physical security of data centers, and ISO 27001 . White Paper Solution Overview Understanding the NIST Cybersecurity Framework One of the most widely used NIST security standard is the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). This internationally recognized framework offers voluntary guidance, based on existing standards, guidelines, and practices for organizations to better manage and reduce cybersecurity risk. It provides companies with an easy-to-understand common language for talking about cybersecurity risk, no matter where they are on the org chart – from the server room to the board room. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework identifies five core functions: Identify Protect Detect Respond Recover The framework describes desired outcomes that are understandable by everyone, applies to any kind of risk management, defines the entire breath of cybersecurity, and spans both prevention and reaction. Webinar Infographic FAQ ABOUT NIST CYBERSECURITY STANDARDS Understanding NIST Cybersecurity Standards is a crucial part of your network security compliance posture. There are many international regulations that your organization needs to be compliant with, including HIPPA , PCI DSS , GDPR , NIST , ISO 27001, and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). Do the NIST Cybersecurity Standards provide a checklist of what all organization should do? No. The framework provides guidance that should be customized by different organizations to best suit their unique risks, situations, and needs. Organizations have different risks, threats, vulnerabilities, and risk tolerance. They will also differ in how they implement the practices in the framework. It should not be implemented as an un-customized checklist or take a one-size-fits-all approach How does my firewall management help with NIST Standards and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework? NIST Special Publication 800-41 establishes guidelines for firewalls and firewall policies, which govern standards and best practices for firewall policy management. According to the guidelines, an organization’s firewall policies should be based on a comprehensive risk-assessment. Firewall policies should be based on blocking all inbound and outbound traffic (“Default Deny”), with exceptions made for desired traffic. Policies should consider the source and destination of the traffic, in addition to the content. Many types of IPv4 traffic, such as those with invalid or private addresses, should be blocked by default. Organizations also should have policies for handling incoming and outgoing IPv6 traffic. Organizations should also determine which applications may send traffic into and out of its network and make firewall policies to block traffic for other applications. According to the guidelines (5.2.2), “if multiple firewalls need to have the same rules or a common subset of rules, those rules should be synchronized across the firewalls. This is usually done in a vendor-specific fashion.” AlgoSec provides out-of-the-box regulatory compliance reports for NIST SP 800-41. What about NIST SP 800-53? NIST SP 800-53, Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations, relates to systems, including firewalls, that monitor and control at the external boundaries of the network and systems that connect to parts of the network. It provides extensive standards for firewall management. AlgoSec provides out-of-the-box regulatory compliance reports for NIST SP 800-53. Do NIST standards also relate to FISMA compliance? How AlgoSec Helps with NIST Standards? FISMA sets out guidelines for managing information security that must be followed for all information systems used or operated by a U.S. federal government agency in the executive or legislative branches, or by a contractor or other organization on behalf of a federal agency in those branches. By following NIST Cybersecurity Guidelines and NIST’s guidelines for firewalls and firewall policies, organizations get closer to FISMA compliance. AlgoSec helps identify traffic flows and associate it with the relevant business applications, and design firewall policies that work across your hybrid network, all with zero-touch automation to reduce the chances of manual misconfigurations. AlgoSec also helps manage and synchronize rules across the multi-vendor estate, so there is holistic and unified management across a network made up of multiple vendors. By using AlgoSec, organizations can be sure that their security management practices follow best practices such as NIST standards. AlgoSec automatically generates pre-populated, audit-ready compliance reports for leading industry regulations, including NIST SP 800-53, NIST SP 800-41, SOX, GLBA, PCI DSS, and ISO 27001— which helps reduce audit preparation efforts and costs. AlgoSec also uncovers gaps in organization’s compliance posture and proactively checks every change for compliance violations. AlgoSec also provides daily audit and compliance reporting across the entire heterogeneous network estate. What are some common regulations that customers must be compliance with? RESOURCES See how AlgoSec can help you meet NIST Cybersecurity Standards. Check out these resources. Firewall audit checklist for security policy rules review Read More Regulations and compliance for the data center – A Day in the Life Read Document Choose a better way to manage your network

Learn from Professor Avishai Wool, co-founder of Algosec, as he shares expert insights on network security, policy management, and compliance. Security Policy Management with Professor Wool Network Security for VMware NSX Network Security for VMware NSX with Professor Wool is a whiteboard-style series of lessons that examine the some of the challenges of and provide technical tips for managing security policies across the VMware NSX software-defined data center and traditional data center. Show all 3 Lessons Next Generation Firewalls Next Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) with Professor Wool is a whiteboard-style series of lessons that examine the some of the challenges of and provide technical tips for managing security policies on NGFWs across in evolving enterprise networks and data centers. Show all 4 Lessons Managing Business Application Connectivity Managing Business Application Connectivity is a whiteboard-style series of lessons that examine the challenges of and provide technical tips for provisioning and decommissioning application connectivity across enterprise networks and data centers. Show all 8 Lessons Network Segmentation Course Network Segmentation with Professor Wool is a whiteboard-style series of lessons that examine the challenges of and provide technical tips for segmenting networks for security across in evolving enterprise networks and data centers. Show all 7 Lessons Best Practices for Amazon Web Services Security Best Practices for Amazon Web Services (AWS) Security is a whiteboard-style series of lessons that examine the challenges of and provide technical tips for managing security across hybrid data centers utilizing the AWS IaaS platform. Show all 8 Lessons Firewall Management 201 Firewall Management with Professor Wool is a whiteboard-style series of lessons that examine the challenges of and provide technical tips for managing security policies in evolving enterprise networks and data centers. Show all 18 Lessons Advanced Cyber Threat and Incident Management Advanced Cyber Threat and Incident Management is a whiteboard-style series of lessons that examine some of the challenges and provide technical tips for helping organizations detect and quickly respond to cyber-attacks while minimizing the impact on the business. Show all 2 Lessons Micro-Segmentation Implementing a micro-segmentation strategy in the data center blocks lateral movement and helps protect the organization from cyberthreats. Watch this whiteboard video series on micro-segmentation and learn why and how to segment the data center, how to future-proof your policies and about the ongoing maintenance of a micro-segmented data center. Show all 5 Lessons Best Practices: Incorporating Security into DevOps Best Practices for Incorporating Security into DevOps, is a whiteboard-style series of lessons that examine the challenges of and provide technical tips for how to incorporate security throughout the DevOps process. Show all 4 Lessons Have a Question for Professor Wool? Ask him now