A firewall audit is a multistep process that gives organizations insight into the status and effectiveness of the firewalls installed throughout their network. These audits provide visibility into potential vulnerabilities and the health of connections going to and from firewalls. They also uncover information about firewall changes since the last audit.
Firewalls are critical elements within a larger network security structure, serving as gatekeepers for incoming, outgoing, and internal network traffic. As traffic flows across the network, firewalls located at each network segment evaluate traffic packets, blocking traffic that does not meet pre-established security parameters. While firewalls are effective network security tools, they must be kept up-to-date and routinely monitored. That’s where the firewall audit process comes in.
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The primary reason to invest time and resources into firewalls audits is the inherent nature of firewalls — they need constant updating to remain effective against rapidly evolving threats.
It’s also an important best security practice to monitor firewall rules to ensure they have been properly configured. Improperly configured rules can weaken firewalls and attract unauthorized access. If firewalls are unable to identify, isolate, and reject malicious traffic packets, an entire enterprise network can be put in significant danger.
Firewall audits are also important for maintaining compliance with various industry regulations focused on network security and data protection. By performing in-house audits, organizations can feel assured they will be ready for an unexpected network audit by a regulatory body.
Firewall audits address the fact that firewall management can be complex and time-consuming. Having a step-by-step process for working through the review process helps to make sense of what can feel like an overwhelming task.
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These 6 steps will help you develop a firewall audit plan. For organizations operating in sectors like finance and banking, healthcare, and other industries where sensitive public data needs to be protected, you may need to seek out additional checkpoints to include in your firewall audit process.
Before you launch your firewall audit, it’s important to ensure you have good visibility into your network, including a good handle on hardware, software, policies, risks, and how users interact with the network. Gather the following information:
At this stage, be sure to centralize this information in a place where other people involved in the firewall audit can access it. This will make it much simpler to keep everyone on the same page and to avoid situations where time is being wasted tracking down redundant information. Establishing a “single source of truth” goes a long way toward conducting a good firewall audit.
A firewall audit is a good opportunity to determine the effectiveness of the organization’s change management processes. Before making firewall changes, it’s a good idea to make sure the process is well-documented and uniform. The goal should always be to have a stable, reliable change management process. When changes are made in haphazard ways, myriad issues can arise. Consider these questions as you evaluate the change management process:
Ultimately, firewall changes should be governed by a formal, documented process that maintains integrity. Every category of firewall changes should be handled in the same way, every time.
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This step relates to the rate of responsiveness an organization has for neutralizing cyber threats. Can your organization quickly isolate and stop attacks before they spread throughout the wider network? A close examination of each firewall’s physical and software security perspectives can help to answer this fundamental network security question. Here are a few ways to perform these evaluations:
One big advantage of performing a firewall audit is the opportunity to clean things up and optimize the rule base that determines which traffic a given firewall will allow or deny. As you examine firewall rules, here are a few questions to consider:
Risk assessment is a major component of any firewall audit. After all, your main goal is to determine whether the organization’s network is sitting vulnerable due to firewall inadequacies. Take your time to determine whether firewall rules truly comply with internal policies and evolving industry regulations and standards.
This step will be unique to each organization, so be sure to apply the industry standards and best practices that apply to you. Every organization also carries its own determination of acceptable risk (a financial services company may have a much lower tolerance for risk versus a small outbound call center, for example, though both rely on up-to-date firewall protection).
As you evaluate the list of rules, consider whether:
It’s also a good idea to review firewall configurations and rules against any regulatory standards that may apply, including:
Keep the momentum going. Once you’ve had success with your first firewall audit, make a goal of continuous compliance. These steps can help:
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By creating a process for conducting ongoing firewall audits, you’ll have a better handle on your organization’s overall security posture. Firewalls are integral to any network security approach, so it is vital they are maintained and monitored as thoroughly as any other network asset.
While this process can feel overwhelming, having a firewall audit checklist like this can help keep things organized and straightforward.
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