Network Security 101: Automating for Continuous Compliance

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:30:00 EST

Managing access to confidential information and application resources via firewalls is the foundation of network security, and firewall audits are central to any mature network security process. However, relying on security and network experts to review rules across multiple firewall zones and different firewall products is proving to be costly and ineffective. Few will dispute that when it comes to network security, automating best practices to reduce operating costs, complexity, human error, and streamline processes is a good thing. However, in what we call the age of Continuous Compliance – brought on by the reality that point-in-time audits done hastily to meet reporting deadlines rarely – if ever – deliver any security or compliance benefits once that point in time has passed, automation becomes more than just good. It becomes essential. Case in point: a November 2011 survey from Tufin Technologies of 100 firewall managers revealed that only 1.3% of configuration changes that cause network downtime or pose a security breach are identified during the quarterly audit, yet almost a third of the respondents spent 3 to 7 days per quarter of valuable network security team time on firewall audits (Disclosure: I work for Tufin). Organizations receive precious few benefits for the level of resource spent on manual firewall audits – it is proving to be an inefficient approach to maintaining a secure network and if you do the math, an extremely inefficient use of skilled security personnel.

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Network Security 101: Automating for Continuous Compliance