Firewall management is one of the most important aspects of corporate network security. However, manual security policy changes are prone to human errors, bringing along various risks. Network Security Policy Management solutions minimize errors by automating security policy changes, speeding up processes, and elevating network security. In this article, we’ll explore how Tufin’s solutions can help you achieve more secure and effective results in firewall management.
What Are the Challenges in Firewall Management?
Manual firewall management often involves complex and tiring processes. Errors in these processes can compromise corporate security. Here are the main challenges faced in manual management:
- Errors in Creating Security Policy Rules: Small mistakes made when manually creating rules on the firewall can lead to user access requests not being properly met. These errors can become unavoidable, especially for security experts working under high-pressure conditions.
- Effects of Incomplete Analysis and Configuration: Incomplete analyses or configurations when creating security policy rules can lead to unmet access requests or increased security risks. If proper implemented is not performed on the relevant devices, the request may fail to operate as expected.
- Risks of Performing Security and Risk Analyses Manually: Vulnerabilities may be overlooked in manually conducted security and risk analyses. The inability to identify low-security services that could compromise corporate resources poses a significant threat to network security.
Example of a Failure in Firewall Management
The risks created by manual processes in firewall management often go unnoticed but can lead to security breaches. Here’s a fictional scenario demonstrating the challenges of manual firewall management and how Tufin provides solutions.
Kaan, while working under a heavy workload, creates firewall rules to meet users’ access requests. Due to company policies, firewall changes are made in the evening. So, Kaan reviews the rules and uploads the policy to the firewall at the end of the day. Confident he has completed all processes on time, correctly, and thoroughly, he finishes his task.
However, the next morning, Selim, who made the request, sends a complaint email to Kaan and his manager, thinking his request was not met. Sure of his work, Kaan reviews the process again and realizes that the same process needs to be done on another firewall as well. He corrects this oversight and fulfills Selim’s request. Shortly after, he discovers a mistake in the rule ordering and fixes this as well, finally completing Selim’s access request successfully.
Two Months Later…
Two months later, Selim loses access to his server and, thinking a firewall change was made, contacts Kaan again. Kaan sees that all rules were implemented correctly and suggests that Selim check his server. The server team discovers that Selim’s server was compromised, and a vulnerability in a low-security service allowed for the attack.
Selim had requested an exception two months prior for a risky service, which Kaan overlooked or was unable to detect. Due to the lack of continuous monitoring, this risky rule remained unnoticed, and the security vulnerability persisted.
You can watch the visualized version of this story on the Invento YouTube channel.
What Were the Mistakes in the Firewall Management Story?
Errors in manual firewall management can jeopardize corporate network security. Here are the key mistakes encountered in the example scenario:
- Faulty Execution: Incorrect configurations on the firewall can prevent requests from being met correctly, leading to access issues and security gaps.
- Incomplete Execution: To meet requests fully, all firewalls need to be configured completely. An incomplete process can result in the request not achieving the expected outcome and may create security vulnerabilities.
- Incorrect Analysis for Rule Functioning: For a rule to work effectively, detailed and correct analyses need to be carried out. Inadequate analyses can prevent the rule from working as intended or lead to unwanted security issues.
- Lack of Risk Analysis for Requests: Each access request should be subject to risk analysis per the organization’s security policies. Skipping this step lowers security levels and may lead to potential threats being overlooked.
- Failure to Keep a Record of Requests and Process History: Not logging changes in security policies makes it difficult to analyze past actions and identify mistakes.
- Failure to Record Changes for Quick Review in Revisions: All changes on the firewall should be recorded with a revision number, allowing for easy control of past processes and quick identification and resolution of potential problems.
Lessons from the Firewall Management Story
This story highlights the challenges and risks associated with manual firewall management. However, these issues can be overcome with Tufin, an advanced network security policy management solution. Tufin manages firewall rules accurately, quickly, securely, and completely.
- Automated Risk Analysis: Tufin automatically identifies low-security services and prevents their use in security policies, helping to avoid manual analysis errors.
- Vulnerability Prioritization and Mitigation: Tufin’s vulnerability prioritization and mitigation feature continuously monitors assets with vulnerabilities, removing them from security policies if necessary. Thus, firewall management maintains the highest security level and prevents potential threats in advance.
Steps to Prevent Negative Outcomes in Firewall Management
To prevent negative outcomes in firewall management and ensure the proper implementation of security policies, it’s essential to follow these steps thoroughly:
- Perform Detailed and Complete Rule Analysis: Each rule should be analyzed in detail to identify where it needs to be applied. Otherwise, incomplete configurations may prevent requests from working as expected.
- Automated Risk Analysis: Manual control of access requests increases the likelihood of overlooking security risks. Automated risk analyses should be conducted to determine whether the requested service compromises corporate security.
- Implement an Approval Mechanism: Rule changes should be approved by relevant departments or managers. This ensures that the control process is properly executed and prevents unauthorized changes.
- Automated Analysis and Processing Steps: Steps required to fulfill requests should be identified and executed automatically.
By implementing these steps, errors in firewall management can be prevented, security levels can be enhanced, and the manual workload can be reduced. Tufin’s network security policy management solution accelerates the process and maintains the highest level of security by automating these actions.
How to Secure Your Organization with Tufin’s Network Security Policy Management Solution
Tufin’s automation and monitoring capabilities provide great advantages for organizations in firewall management. Reducing the manual workload, Tufin allows security policies to be managed quickly and securely.
Tufin and Invento’s partnership offers a high-efficiency, low-error solution for network security management. This collaboration not only speeds up network management by automating security policies but also minimizes the risks arising from manual processes. Tufin’s advanced network security policy management tools, combined with Invento’s industry expertise, elevate corporate security to new levels.