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Top 10 cloud security tips and best practices for 2025 Select a size Which network Can AlgoSec be used for continuous compliance monitoring? Yes, AlgoSec supports continuous compliance monitoring. As organizations adapt their security policies to meet emerging threats and address new vulnerabilities, they must constantly verify these changes against the compliance frameworks they subscribe to. AlgoSec can generate risk assessment reports and conduct internal audits on-demand, allowing compliance officers to monitor compliance performance in real-time. Security professionals can also use AlgoSec to preview and simulate proposed changes to the organization’s security policies. This gives compliance officers a valuable degree of lead-time before planned changes impact regulatory guidelines and allows for continuous real-time monitoring. Top 10 cloud security tips & best practices for 2025 This year’s cloud security recommendations look slightly different from previous years. There are two key reasons for this: New technologies like GenAI and agentic apps have emerged. Attackers are using more sophisticated techniques to exploit cloud assets and evade detection. For example, what used to be basic, easy-to-spot phishing has now become extensive vishing and deep-fake campaigns that even technical experts fall for. To stay ahead of 2025’s threats, the following cloud security best practices are essential. Quick review: What is cloud security and why are cloud security best practices important? Cloud security consists of the controls, policies, and technologies implemented for protecting cloud environments from threats. This includes data, services, applications, configurations, and GenAI models in the cloud. As access to technology has democratized how threat actors launch attacks, cloud security has taken on new meaning and is no longer solely about defense. With cutting-edge tools that often rival many organizations’ defenses at attackers’ disposal, proactive prevention is a must. 10 tips for cloud security Implementing the following recommendations will increase the security of your cloud assets and enhance your overall security posture. 1. Understand the shared responsibility model Traditionally, CSPs (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) handle securing your underlying cloud infrastructure and managed services. You, as the customer, need to secure everything running in the cloud (data, applications, configurations, etc.). However, with the arrival of GenAI, companies now also have to worry about safeguarding AI data and AI models. Tips: Understand and embrace your roles as specified by your provider. Establish explicit agreements with providers and supply chain vendors to ensure the integrity of third-party assets. Facilitate shared accountability. 2. Prioritize AI security New technologies come with unknown risks, and adopting them without proper safeguards is an invitation to attack. Tips: Use software composition analysis (SCA) to detect and block vulnerable AI packages to eliminate backdoors that hackers could exploit to attack your cloud environment. Protect your AI training data, model tuning pipelines, and inference endpoints with encryption, strict access controls, and AI-specific guardrails (e.g., model drift detection). Verify provider-enforced tenant isolation to safeguard your AI workloads from multi-tenant risks like data leakage and unauthorized access. Continuously monitor model behavior to spot common AI risks such as model poisoning and compromised AI APIs. Implement input/output validation using dedicated filtering tools (e.g., NVIDIA NeMo Guardrails) to block prompt injection, data exfiltration, and similar attacks. 3. Adopt shift-left security Shift-left security is the practice of securing cloud-native applications and APIs from the development phase. This dramatically reduces your threat footprint and remediation costs. Tips: Embrace secure coding ; integrate automated security and compliance checks (triggered at every pull request or commit) into the CI pipeline; this instantly flags and resolves vulnerable or non-compliant code before it goes live. Use secure container images from trusted sources; scanning for vulnerabilities enhances runtime security and minimizes potential attacker entry points. Store secrets securely (e.g., in HashiCorp Vault) and embed secret detection into developer workflows to uncover hardcoded secrets; this prevents threat actors from gaining a foothold in your cloud environment via exposed secrets. Shield-right as you shift-left, e.g., by enforcing real-time monitoring to detect any blind spots early; this helps deter hackers, who thrive on missed vulnerabilities. 4. Manage identity and access with least privilege and zero trust Embrace centralized identity and access management (IAM), defining policies that govern who can access what. Tips: Implement least privilege (e.g., via RBAC and ABAC), ensuring only essential human and machine identities can access cloud and AI workloads. Adopt a zero trust architecture, segmenting workloads and continuously verifying access rights with MFA, within and outside your network perimeter. Regularly review access rights to revoke unnecessary permissions. 5. Harden configurations Cloud assets, AI workloads, networks, and identities are all pretty easy to misconfigure—making them top causes of breaches. Tips: Validate IaC templates to eliminate security risks before code is shipped. Continuously assess cloud configurations to resolve publicly exposed assets fast. Autonomously enforce security policies with PaC for consistent security and compliance across hybrid and multi-cloud workloads. Enforce timely patching with automated patch management tools to fix vulnerabilities before they become attack vectors. Regularly audit firewall rules to spot misconfigurations that could compromise your cloud resources and networks. 6. Address shadow IT Shadow IT elements (e.g., unsanctioned VMs, data, APIs, and GPUs) are top security risks because they evade centralized governance and monitoring. Tips: Establish policies that balance security with productivity to eliminate the need to bypass centralized security. Automatically block unauthorized deployments from the source, using policies that require resources to be provisioned solely through approved templates. Continuously monitor data flows to discover and resolve shadow IT. 7. Embrace real-time monitoring, detection, and response Continuous monitoring spots threats and anomalies, such as unusual login patterns or configuration changes, before full-blown attacks occur. Tips: Track user behavior in real time to spot lateral movement, model misuse, and other early warning signs of attacks. Predict and prevent potential threats by using AI-powered analytics. Map external exposures to real-world attacker tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) using frameworks like MITRE. 8. Encrypt data Encrypting data and storing encryption keys securely keeps data undecipherable in the event of a breach. However, with the rise of AI and edge computing, you need more than encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES). Tips: Leverage confidential computing techniques like hardware-enforced trusted execution environments (TEEs) for encryption in use (during processing, e.g., for AI model training). Future-proof your data with quantum-resistant cryptography, like hash or code-based cryptography. 9. Automate compliance management Regulatory standards change frequently as technologies and security risks evolve. Companies must stay on top of their compliance posture . Tips: Use automated compliance management tools that keep up with evolving frameworks, including AI-specific standards like the NIST AI RMF and EU AI Act, as well as new policies from PCI DSS, NIST, etc. Maintain regular audit trails to provide audit-ready proof demonstrating your compliance with regulatory bodies and customers. 10. Incident management Having incident management procedures, including prevention and response playbooks, means teams are not left scrambling when incidents happen, i.e., when tensions are usually high and mistakes costly. Tips: Automate incident response with tools that offer autonomous context-based remediation and AI-augmented playbooks; this shortens the compromise-to-containment window. Educate teams on how to secure software development, safeguard third-party component usage, and deal with AI-powered phishing campaigns. Implementing cloud security best practices with AlgoSec Security breaches are costly, with the average figure now standing at $4.44 million , according to IBM’s 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report. This number can go even higher due to outages, lawsuits, fines, and bad press. The cloud security best practices discussed in this post will help you stay ahead of 2025’s threat landscape and avoid unwanted impacts on your bottom line. AlgoSec can help. Designed to simplify robust cloud security in 2025 and beyond, it offers a suite of tools for cloud network security , cloud security and compliance , zero trust implementation , firewall management , incident response , and more. Get started on improving your cloud security. Sign up for a demo of AlgoSec today. Get the latest insights from the experts Schedule time with one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Continue

Learn about the Center for Internet Security (CIS) Controls and how they enhance your cybersecurity posture. Discover how AlgoSec helps achieve and maintain CIS compliance. What is CIS Compliance? (and How to Apply CIS Benchmarks) What are CIS benchmarks? CIS provides best practices to help companies like yours improve their cloud security posture. You’ll protect your systems against various threats by complying with its benchmark standards. This post will walk you through CIS benchmarks, their development, and the kinds of systems they apply to. We will also discuss the significance of CIS compliance and how Prevasio may help you achieve it. CIS stands for Center for Internet Security . It’s a nonprofit organization that aims to improve companies’ cybersecurity readiness and response. Founded in 2000, the CIS comprises cybersecurity experts from diverse backgrounds. They have the common goal of enhancing cybersecurity resilience and reducing security threats. CIS compliance means adhering to the Center for Internet Security (CIS) benchmarks. CIS benchmarks are best practices and guidelines to help you build a robust cloud security strategy. These CIS benchmarks give a detailed road map for protecting a business’s IT infrastructure. They also encompass various platforms, such as web servers or cloud bases. The CIS benchmarks are frequently called industry standards. They are normally in line with other regulatory organizations, such as ISO, NIST, and HIPAA. Many firms adhere to CIS benchmarks to ensure they follow industry standards. They also do this to show their dedication to cybersecurity to clients and stakeholders. The CIS benchmarks and CIS controls are always tested through on-premises analysis by leading security firms. This ensures that CIS releases standards that are effective at mitigating cyber risks. Schedule a Demo How are the CIS benchmarks developed? A community of cybersecurity professionals around the world cooperatively develops CIS benchmarks. They exchange their knowledge, viewpoints, and experiences on a platform provided by CIS. The end result is consensus-based best practices that will protect various IT systems. The CIS benchmark development process typically involves the following steps: 1. Identify the technology: The first step is to identify the system or technology that has to be protected. This encompasses a range of applications. It can be an operating system, database, web server, or cloud environment. 2. Define the scope: The following stage is to specify the benchmark’s parameters. It involves defining what must be implemented for the technology to be successfully protected. They may include precise setups, guidelines, and safeguards. 3. Develop recommendations: Next, a community of cybersecurity experts will identify ideas for safeguarding the technology. These ideas are usually based on current best practices, norms, and guidelines. They may include the minimum security requirements and measures to be taken. 4. Expert consensus review: Thereafter, a broader group of experts and stakeholders assess the ideas. They will offer comments and suggestions for improvement. This level aims to achieve consensus on the appropriate technical safeguards. 5. Pilot testing: The benchmark is then tested in a real-world setting. At this point, CIS aims to determine its efficacy and spot any problems that need fixing. 6.Publication and maintenance: The CIS will publish the benchmark once it has been improved and verified. The benchmark will constantly be evaluated and updated to keep it current and useful for safeguarding IT systems. Schedule a Demo What are the CIS benchmark levels? CIS benchmarks are divided into three levels based on the complexity of an IT system. It’s up to you to choose the level you need based on the complexity of your IT environment. Each level of the benchmarks offers better security recommendations than the previous level. The following are the distinct categories that benchmarks are divided into: Level 1 This is the most basic level of CIS standards. It requires organizations to set basic security measures to reduce cyber threats. Some CIS guidelines at this level include password rules, system hardening, and risk management . The level 1 CIS benchmarks are ideal for small businesses with basic IT systems. Level 2 This is the intermediate level of the CIS benchmarks. It is suitable for small to medium businesses that have complex IT systems. The Level 2 CIS standards offer greater security recommendations to your cloud platform. It has guidelines for network segmentation, authentication, user permissions, logging, and monitoring. At this level, you’ll know where to focus your remediation efforts if you spot a vulnerability in your system. Level 2 also covers data protection topics like disaster recovery plans and encryption. Level 3 Level 3 is the most advanced level of the CIS benchmarks. It offers the highest security recommendations compared to the other two. Level 3 also offers the Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) profiles for companies. STIG are configuration guidelines developed by the Defense Information Systems Agency. These security standards help you meet US government requirements. This level is ideal for large organizations with the most sensitive and vital data. These are companies that must protect their IT systems from complex security threats. It offers guidelines for real-time security analytics, safe cloud environment setups, and enhanced threat detection. Schedule a Demo What types of systems do CIS benchmarks apply to? The CIS benchmarks are applicable to many IT systems used in a cloud environment. The following are examples of systems that CIS benchmarks can apply to: Operating systems: CIS benchmarks offer standard secure configurations for common operating systems, including Amazon Linux, Windows Servers, macOS, and Unix. They address network security, system hardening, and managing users and accounts. Cloud infrastructure: CIS benchmarks can help protect various cloud infrastructures, including public, private, and multi-cloud. They recommend guidelines that safeguard cloud systems by various cloud service providers. For example, network security, access restrictions, and data protection. The benchmarks cover cloud systems such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, IBM, Oracle, and Google Cloud Platform. Server software: CIS benchmarks provide secure configuration baselines for various servers, including databases (SQL), DNS, Web, and authentication servers. The baselines cover system hardening, patch management, and access restrictions. Desktop software: Desktop apps such as music players, productivity programs, and web browsers can be weak points in your IT system. CIS benchmarks offer guidelines to help you protect your desktop software from vulnerabilities. They may include patch management, user and account management, and program setup. Mobile devices: The CIS benchmarks recommend safeguarding endpoints such as tablets and mobile devices. The standards include measures for data protection, account administration, and device configuration. Network devices: CIS benchmarks also involve network hardware, including switches, routers, and firewalls. Some standards for network devices include access restrictions, network segmentation, logging, and monitoring. Print devices: CIS benchmarks also cover print devices like printers and scanners. The CIS benchmark baselines include access restrictions, data protection, and firmware upgrades. Schedule a Demo Why is CIS compliance important? CIS compliance helps you maintain secure IT systems. It does this by helping you adhere to globally recognized cybersecurity standards. CIS benchmarks cover various IT systems and product categories, such as cloud infrastructures. So by ensuring CIS benchmark compliance, you reduce the risk of cyber threats to your IT systems. Achieving CIS compliance has several benefits: Your business will meet internationally accepted cybersecurity standards The CIS standards are developed through a consensus review process. This means they are founded on the most recent threat intelligence and best practices. So you can rely on the standards to build a solid foundation for securing your IT infrastructure. It can help you meet regulatory compliance requirements for other important cybersecurity frameworks CIS standards can help you prove that you comply with other industry regulations. This is especially true for companies that handle sensitive data or work in regulated sectors. CIS compliance is closely related to other regulatory compliances such as NIST, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. By implementing the CIS standards, you’ll conform to the applicable industry regulations. Achieving CIS continuous compliance can help you lower your exposure to cybersecurity risks In the process, safeguard your vital data and systems. This aids in preventing data breaches, malware infections, and other cyberattacks. Such incidents could seriously harm your company’s operations, image, and financial situation. A great example is the Scottish Oil giant, SSE. It had to pay €10M in penalties for failing to comply with a CIS standard in 2013. Abiding by the security measures set by CIS guidelines can help you achieve your goals faster as a business The guidelines cover the most important and frequently attacked areas of IT infrastructure. CIS compliance enhances your general security posture It also decreases the time and resources needed to maintain security. It does this by providing uniform security procedures across various platforms. Schedule a Demo How to achieve CIS compliance? Your organization can achieve CIS compliance by conforming to the guidelines of the CIS benchmarks and CIS controls. Each CIS benchmark usually includes a description of a recommended configuration. It also usually contains a justification for the implementation of the configuration. Finally, it offers step-by-step instructions on how to carry out the recommendation manually. While the standards may seem easy to implement manually, they may consume your time and increase the chances of human errors. That is why most security teams prefer using tools to automate achieving and maintaining CIS compliance. CIS-hardened images are great examples of CIS compliance automation tools. They are pre-configured images that contain all the necessary recommendations from CIS benchmarks. You can be assured of maintaining compliance by using these CIS-hardened images in your cloud environment. You can also use CSPM tools to automate achieving and maintaining CIS compliance. Cloud Security Posture Management tools automatically scan for vulnerabilities in your cloud. They then offer detailed instructions on how to fix those issues effectively. This way, your administrators don’t have to go through the pain of doing manual compliance checks. You save time and effort by working with a CSPM tool. Schedule a Demo Use Prevasio to monitor CIS compliance. Prevasio is a cloud-native application platform (CNAPP) that can help you achieve and maintain CIS compliance in various setups, including Azure, AWS, and GCP. A CNAPP is basically a CSPM tool on steroids. It combines the features of CSPM, CIEM, IAM, and CWPP tools into one solution. This means you’ll get clearer visibility of your cloud environment from one platform. Prevasio constantly assesses your system against the latest version of CIS benchmarks. It then generates reports showing areas that need adjustments to keep your cloud security cyber threat-proof. This saves you time as you won’t have to do the compliance checks manually. Prevasio also has a robust set of features to help you comply with standards from other regulatory bodies. So using this CSPM tool, you’ll automatically comply with HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR. Prevasio offers strong vulnerability evaluation and management capabilities besides CIS compliance monitoring. It uses cutting-edge scanning algorithms to find known flaws, incorrect setups, and other security problems in IT settings. This can help you identify and fix vulnerabilities before fraudsters can exploit them. Schedule a Demo The bottom line on CIS compliance Achieving and maintaining CIS compliance is essential in today’s continually changing threat landscape . However, doing the compliance checks manually takes time. You may not also spot weaknesses in your cloud security in time. This means that you need to automate your CIS compliance. And what better solution than a cloud security posture management tool like Prevasio? Prevasio is the ideal option for observing compliance and preventing malware that attack surfaces in cloud assets. Prevasio offers a robust security platform to help you achieve CIS compliance and maintain a secure IT environment. This platform is agentless, meaning it doesn’t run on the cloud like most of its competitors. So you save a lot in costs every time Prevasio runs a scan. Prevaiso also conducts layer analysis. It helps you spot the exact line of code where the problem is rather than give a general area. In the process, saving you time spent identifying and solving critical threats. Schedule a Demo Select a size What are CIS benchmarks? How are the CIS benchmarks developed? What are the CIS benchmark levels? What types of systems do CIS benchmarks apply to? Why is CIS compliance important? How to achieve CIS compliance? Use Prevasio to monitor CIS compliance. The bottom line on CIS compliance Get the latest insights from the experts Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) Read more Hybrid cloud management: All you need to know Learn more Prevasio CNAPP data-sheet Solution brochure Choose a better way to manage your network

Explore Algosec's customer success stories to see how organizations worldwide improve security, compliance, and efficiency with our solutions. Orange Cyberdefense Furnishes Application Delivery and Network Automation Organization Orange Cyberdefense Industry Retail & Manufacturing Headquarters Multinational Download case study Share Customer
success stories "We cut the time it takes to implement firewall rules by at least 50%" Application owners for global retail chain get faster response times with application visibility and automated deployment. Orange Cyberdefense is the expert cybersecurity business unit of the Orange Group, providing managed security, managed threat detection & response services to organizations around the globe. They embed security into Orange Business Services solutions with more than 250 security researchers and analysts and 16 SOCs distributed around the world supporting customers in over 160 countries. The Challenge Orange Cyberdefense is an on-site consultant for a large retail chain with hundreds of stores and hundreds of thousands of employees spread out across the world.The client has over 2,500 multi-vendor firewalls and Layer 3 devices in their global data centers. They also run hundreds of mission-critical business services. Business services include supply chain management and ERP systems, global eCommerce operations, financial management systems, and much more. As a result, they had to cope with hundreds of change requests daily.Some of the challenges included: Lack of centralized management – Multiple vendors’ firewalls are deployed, which were implemented by multiple third-party vendors. There was no validation that rules were consistently applied across multiple vendor’s management consoles. Commissioning and decommissioning devices – A mix of multi-vendor new and legacy devices run in the data center and maintaining consistency across multiple vendors and multiple versions of devices was difficult. Lack of automation – Firewall communication and traffic flows were described in Excel sheets and needed to be manually updated whenever there was a change. Slow execution of change requests – Implementing firewall changes took over a week. Poorly implemented rules – The rules did not reflect what the requester asked for. They either allowed too much traffic in or were too narrow, not allowing the required traffic and thus needed to be re-implemented. The Solution The client searched for a solution that provided: Faster implementation of firewall changes. Comprehensive firewall support for a globally dispersed multi-vendor, hybrid estate. Automation of security policy change management and documentation of security policy changes. Visibility into their business applications and traffic flows. They implemented the AlgoSec Security Policy Management Solution, made up of AlgoSec Firewall Analyzer, AlgoSec FireFlow, and AlgoSec AppViz and AppChange (formerly AlgoSec BusinessFlow). AlgoSec Firewall Analyzer analyzes complex network security policies across on-premise, cloud, and hybrid networks. It automates and simplifies security operations, including troubleshooting, auditing and risk analysis. Using Firewall Analyzer, the client can optimize the configuration of firewalls, and network infrastructure to ensure security and compliance. AlgoSec FireFlow enables security staff to automate the entire security policy change process from design and submission to proactive risk analysis, implementation, validation, and auditing. Its intelligent, automated workflows save time and improve security by eliminating manual errors and reducing risk. AlgoSec AppViz and AppChange (formerly AlgoSec BusinessFlow) discover, identify, and map business applications, providing critical security information regarding the firewalls and firewall rules supporting each connectivity flow. With AlgoSec AppChange, changes can be made at the business application level, including application migrations, server deployment, and decommissioning projects. The Results Some of the ways the client benefits from using AlgoSec include: Greater transparency by providing a single source of truth that took into consideration the entire network estate. 50% reduction in the time needed to implement firewall rules. More communication between network security/IT staff and business application owners who are now able to submit change requests in business language and easily describe their needs, thus reducing misconfigurations and potential breaches. Better compliance reporting – with both an easy API integration and also audit-ready compliance reports. Automated change management – network changes are now recorded while being made – not managed with Excel. By using AlgoSec, application owners have more visibility into the network and are better able to trace what has changed within their business applications. “Documentation is several hundred percent better this way,” said Hans Broomé, Network and Security Consultant at Orange Cyberdefense. “With many different versions of the services, by using AlgoSec the IT team is confident that they are making changes to the correct version.” There were even unexpected gains, such as improved security management procedures. Change requests became more accurate as they gained visibility into the network and made the change request process more systematic and transparent. Requesters, as well as stakeholders such as their managers, have full visibility of their change request’s status and can verify that the request works as intended. Orange Cyberdefense is also impressed with the dedicated attention they receive from AlgoSec. AlgoSec’s support team is familiar with the global organization and provides dedicated attention tailored to their exact needs. They stay up to date with the AlgoSec solution’s latest capabilities, and the technical team maximizes their use of it thanks to an extensive training library. “The best is yet to come,” concluded Broomé. Schedule time with one of our experts

Review the top 5 alternatives to Tufin Ratings, features, price, pros cons, and top use cases Top 5 Tufin alternatives & competitors (ranked & rated) Select a size Which network Can AlgoSec be used for continuous compliance monitoring? Yes, AlgoSec supports continuous compliance monitoring. As organizations adapt their security policies to meet emerging threats and address new vulnerabilities, they must constantly verify these changes against the compliance frameworks they subscribe to. AlgoSec can generate risk assessment reports and conduct internal audits on-demand, allowing compliance officers to monitor compliance performance in real-time. Security professionals can also use AlgoSec to preview and simulate proposed changes to the organization’s security policies. This gives compliance officers a valuable degree of lead-time before planned changes impact regulatory guidelines and allows for continuous real-time monitoring. Looking for an alternative to Tufin? Is Tufin your best security policy automation option? Top Tufin Competitors at a Glance 5 Top Tufin alternatives & competitors for 2023 1. AlgoSec 2. FireMon 3. Skybox Security Solutions 4. Cisco defence orchestrator 5. RedSeal The bottom line on Tufin competitors Get the latest insights from the experts Schedule time with one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Continue

Explore best practices for security and compliance in financial institutions, ensuring robust protection and adherence to regulations amid digital transformation. Financial Institutions: Best Practices for Security & Compliance in the Era of Digital Transformation ---- ------- Schedule a Demo Select a size ----- Get the latest insights from the experts Choose a better way to manage your network

Automate network management and policy changes to increase efficiency, reduce errors, and ensure security compliance across your network infrastructure. Network management & policy change automation ---- ------- 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

Hey folks, let's be real. Change in the tech world can be a real pain. Especially when it's not on your terms. We've all heard the news... When change forces your hand: Finding solid ground after Skybox Asher Benbenisty 2 min read Asher Benbenisty Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 3/3/25 Published Hey folks, let's be real. Change in the tech world can be a real pain. Especially when it's not on your terms. We've all heard the news about Skybox closing its doors, and if you're like a lot of us, you're probably feeling a mix of frustration and "what now?" It's tough when a private equity decision, like the one impacting Skybox, shakes up your network security strategy. You've invested time and resources in your Skybox implementation, and now you're looking at a forced switch. But here's the thing: sometimes, these moments are opportunities in disguise. Think of it this way: you get a chance to really dig into what you actually need for the future, beyond what you were getting from Skybox. So, what do you need, especially after the Skybox shutdown? We get it. You need a platform that: Handles the mess: Your network isn't simple anymore. It's a mix of cloud and on-premise, and it's only getting more complex. You need a single platform that can handle it all, providing clear visibility and control, something that perhaps you were looking for from Skybox. Saves you time: Let's be honest, security policy changes shouldn't take weeks. You need something that gets it done in hours, not days, a far cry from the potential delays you might have experienced with Skybox. Keeps you safe : You need AI-driven risk mitigation that actually works. Has your back : You need 24/7 support, especially during a transition. Is actually good : You need proof, not just promises. That's where AlgoSec comes in. We're not just another vendor. We've been around for 21 years, consistently growing and focusing on our customers. We're a company built by founders who care, not just a line item on a private equity spreadsheet, unlike the recent change that has impacted Skybox. Here's why we think AlgoSec is the right choice for you: We get the complexity : Our platform is designed to secure applications across those complex, converging environments. We're talking cloud, on-premise, everything. We're fast : We're talking about reducing those policy change times from weeks to hours. Imagine what you could do with that time back. We're proven : Don't just take our word for it. Check out Gartner Peer Insights, G2, and PeerSpot. Our customers consistently rank us at the top. We're stable : We have a clean legal and financial record, and we're in it for the long haul. We stand behind our product : We're the only ones offering a money-back guarantee. That's how confident we are. For our channel partners: We know this transition affects you too. Your clients are looking for answers, and you need a partner you can trust, especially as you navigate the Skybox situation. Give your clients the future : Offer them a platform that's built for the complex networks of tomorrow. Partner with a leade r: We're consistently ranked as a top solution by customers. Join a stable team : We have a proven track record of growth and stability. Strong partnerships : We have a strong partnership with Cisco, and are the only company in our category included on the Cisco Global Pricelist. A proven network : Join our successful partner network, and utilize our case studies to help demonstrate the value of AlgoSec. What you will get : Dedicated partner support. Comprehensive training and enablement. Marketing resources and joint marketing opportunities. Competitive margins and incentives. Access to a growing customer base. Let's talk real talk: Look, we know switching platforms isn't fun. But it's a chance to get it right. To choose a solution that's built for the future, not just the next quarter. We're here to help you through this transition. We're committed to providing the support and stability you need. We're not just selling software; we're building partnerships. So, if you're looking for a down-to-earth, customer-focused company that's got your back, let's talk. We're ready to show you what AlgoSec can do. What are your biggest concerns about switching network security platforms? Let us know in the comments! Schedule a demo Related Articles 2025 in review: What innovations and milestones defined AlgoSec’s transformative year in 2025? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Navigating Compliance in the Cloud AlgoSec Cloud Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read 5 Multi-Cloud Environments Cloud Security Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Speak to one of our experts Speak to one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Schedule a call

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

With the rapid proliferation of cloud computing, lean deployment methods, such as containers, have become common practice. According to... Cloud Security Intro to Kubernetes Security Best Practices Rony Moshkovich 2 min read Rony Moshkovich Short bio about author here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Vitae donec tincidunt elementum quam laoreet duis sit enim. Duis mattis velit sit leo diam. Tags Share this article 11/27/20 Published With the rapid proliferation of cloud computing, lean deployment methods, such as containers, have become common practice. According to CIO.com, 70% of global companies are expected to be running multiple apps simultaneously using a containerized framework, like Kubernetes in the next few years. But as Kubernetes’ use becomes more widespread, so do the vulnerabilities inherent to containerization. According to a 2019 Forbes article , Kubernetes had at least 7,000 identified vulnerabilities at the beginning of 2019 alone. Couple that with the fact that cyber-attacks involving containerization have increased a whopping 240% since 2018, and you’ll understand the value of security should your company use a solution like Kubernetes to handle its container orchestration. What Causes Kubernetes Security Blindspots? To understand how to best optimize your Kubernetes experience, it’s worthwhile to understand the basic ways security issues arise in a containerized framework. Images are the core building blocks of containerization; they are the executable process at the centre of your container. As a result, anything that exposes an image to a broader audience puts the container at risk of being hijacked. One of the primary ways this occurs is by using out-of-date software. Using old software gives malicious actors a small incongruence that they can exploit within the code. Another problem is poorly defined user access roles. If sensible changes aren’t made to an orchestration tool’s default settings, inappropriate parties may have access to alter the container’s core executable. Containerization gives you a way to manage a large number of processes easily and with increased adaptability. As a result, automation makes it impossible to keep your eyes on everything at once. Here are some best practices that can help you counter the wide range of vulnerabilities inherent to containerization and Kubernetes in general. Kubernetes Security Best Practices Given the architecture of the Kubernetes framework, security risks are a constant and evolving threat. Luckily, Google made Kubernetes an open-source application under the auspices of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation where solutions to new security issues are actively crowdsourced by the community. Regardless, there are a number of things that you can do during the build, deployment, and runtime phases to make your Kubernetes implementation more secure. Take care of your images Images are the heart of every container. Executable functions are essential, so images must be well-maintained and in good working order. Only use up-to-date images, scanning them regularly for security issues. As a rule of thumb, you should also avoid including unnecessary tools and functions in your image coding as they can inadvertently give hackers an access route. Ensure that your secrets remain secret The term “secrets” refers to any private information such as login credentials, tokens, or other sensitive data. While it’s not customary to keep sensitive data stored adjacent to the container’s image, the scenario has come up before. Keep secret data as far from the image as possible in order to increase security. Keep up-to-date with scans and security patches The community does a good job of patching Kubernetes when issues arise. If you don’t take the time to update both your OS and Kubernetes’ security, you give malware additional avenues of attack. Updates should be performed at least every nine months, if not more often. Due to the nature of how Kubernetes works, if you are using an outdated version, you could actively be spreading issues when the container is deployed elsewhere. Take advantage of customization to define user roles and access A container orchestration tool like Kubernetes is a complex web running thousands of processes across numerous machines. That means hundreds of end-users involved with the application. Take advantage of Kubernetes administrative functions to clearly define user roles, limiting full access for those who don’t need it. As they say, too many cooks spoil the broth. Keeping Kubernetes Simple and Safe Containers are an agile, lightweight framework for cloud computing, but manually deploying the correct containers to their destinations can quickly become overwhelming. An orchestration tool like Kubernetes is the perfect solution to managing your containerization, but the security risks inherent to this model can be restrictive. By keeping a few key practices in mind when implementing Kubernetes into your workflow, you can help to promote safety while streamlining your processes. To Sum It All Up Kubernetes has become the centrepiece of the cloud Native landscape and a notable advantage for organizations to rapidly manage and deploy their containerized business logic. But certain security best practices must be followed such as working with reliable docker images, properly defined resource quotas, network policies, work with namespaces for access control and authentication\authorization, and more. To learn more about Prevasio integration and security for K8s containers, contact us today. Schedule a demo Related Articles 2025 in review: What innovations and milestones defined AlgoSec’s transformative year in 2025? AlgoSec Reviews Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Navigating Compliance in the Cloud AlgoSec Cloud Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read 5 Multi-Cloud Environments Cloud Security Mar 19, 2023 · 2 min read Speak to one of our experts Speak to one of our experts Work email* First name* Last name* Company* country* Select country... Short answer* By submitting this form, I accept AlgoSec's privacy policy Schedule a call

Protect and manage hybrid network environments with effective security strategies, ensuring seamless integration, visibility, and compliance across diverse infrastructures. Securing & managing hybrid network security ---- ------- Schedule a Demo Select a size ----- Get the latest insights from the experts Choose a better way to manage your network

Modernize your network with Cisco Nexus and ACI solutions for enhanced performance, scalability, and security in your data center and cloud environments. Modernize your network with Cisco Nexus & ACI Introduction If you still have Cisco Nexus 7000 devices in your environment, surely you have been inundated with end-of-life warnings and next-gen messaging touting the benefits of upgrading to Nexus 9000. Cisco Nexus 9000 offers cloud-scale technology, open and extensible programming with robust APIs, real-time analytics and telemetry, advanced centralized management, and full-stack automation and security with Cisco ACI and AlgoSec. There are clear benefits to modernizing your network, embracing digital transformation, and taking advantage of the full power of Cisco Nexus and Cisco ACI, and now you could add a whole new dimension to these and realize a higher ROI by also managing your network security. Cisco has partnered with AlgoSec to help companies modernize their network and take advantage of the full capabilities of Cisco Nexus and Cisco ACI, so customers can realize their ROI by addressing their applications network security needs when migrating from Nexus 7000 to Nexus 9000. Schedule a Demo Cover security while modernizing your network Modernizing your network using Nexus 9000 and the AlgoSec Security Management Suite empowers a secure digital transformation so you can cover your entire networking needs. The solution unlocks Cisco ACI’s potential by providing full visibility, automation, compliance, and microsegmentation capabilities from AlgoSec. With the joint solution, companies gain software-defined security for their software-defined network and entire multi-vendor hybrid network. Schedule a Demo Application-centric security With AlgoSec your application’s secure networking configurations can be migrated from Nexus to Cisco ACI in application centric mode — providing improved agility and manageability, along with new capabilities for risk and compliance. The integration of Cisco ACI with the AlgoSec Security Management Suite is a complete solution, enabling your organization with full visibility, visualization, and automation for the connected security of your entire network — including advanced change management, and detailed reporting capabilities. Schedule a Demo Enterprise-wide visibility & automation AlgoSec complements and expands Nexus 9000’s capabilities, offering full visibility into your entire hybrid multi-vendor network, network security policy automation, compliance, and security policy enforcement. Security policy changes can be implemented automatically on your network with zero-touch automation. The intelligent automation workflow automatically pushes security policy changes to your entire network and enables automated deployment of contracts, EPGs, and filters on Cisco ACI. Connectivity can also be deployed at the business application level. This allows companies to use a single process to deploy security policies across their entire data center. Gain native visibility into your Cisco ACI network topology while tying the ACI fabric into the rest of the data center. AlgoSec provides a complete network topology map for your entire network. Users can search across multi-site Cisco ACI estates for tenants, endpoints, contracts, EPGs, and more. Schedule a Demo Proactive & continuous compliance Get a complete picture of your compliance posture so that you can be confident in your network’s compliance. AlgoSec generates automatic audit-ready compliance reports on your entire hybrid network, including Cisco ACI tenants, for major regulations, flags issues upon changes, uncovers gaps, and even remediates problems, ensuring continuous compliance over your entire network. Schedule a Demo Enforce micro-segmentation policies over your entire network Enforce Cisco Secure Workload-enforced micro-segmentation policies beyond the native software and hardware sensors, extending segmentation policies to all supported on-premises, cloud, and SDN technologies. In cases where Cisco Secure Workload alone cannot enforce micro-segmentation policies on workloads, AlgoSec can orchestrate the micro-segmentation policies as firewall rules. Therefore, you can maintain unified security policies across your entire network environment. Schedule a Demo See it in action Convinced that it is time to harness the full power of migrating to Nexus 9000? Schedule a personal demo to see how AlgoSec makes the transition flawless. Schedule a Demo Select a size Introduction Cover security while modernizing your network Application-centric security Enterprise-wide visibility & automation Proactive & continuous compliance Enforce micro-segmentation policies over your entire network See it in action Get the latest insights from the experts Choose a better way to manage your network