Network Security Management Survey 2011

• Firewalls act as the first line of defense for an organization.

• However the network environment is complex, with numerous devices, hundreds, if not thousands of rules within just one firewall, and multiple firewalls from different vendors geographically dispersed.

• This survey examines network security management challenges and looks to provide key insight into opportunities to optimize IT resources and budget.

Introduction

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• This survey was conducted at RSA 2011.

• 108 respondents are deeply involved in their organization’s IT function and have at least a moderate involvement in network operations.

• 95 percent are Information Security professionals.

• 5 percent are Network Operations professionals.

• No AlgoSec employees, customers or partners are counted in the results.

Methodology

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• All security gateways cause network outages.

• Human error is the most common reason for network outages.

• Security change management is a huge challenge.

Key Findings

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• Every network device is represented with firewalls causing the most outages.

• IDS/IPS caused the least amount, however it is only deployed by 41% of respondents.

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Which devices have caused the most network disruption in the last 12 months?

• Human error is the most common cause.

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What is the most common cause of network outages?

A key recommendation is to shift investment from buying additional capacity into automating security management.

• Firewalls require the most time to audit, configure and update.

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What technologies require the largest time investment?

• There is a high volume of change at the gateway.

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What is the reason for the large investment?

Manually testing, applying and documenting changes requires significant time and money.

• Firewall configuration errors occur frequently and change management is often a weak link in the security and operations chain.

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Summary

Key Recommendations include: • Ensure network security and operations personnel

understand the impact of changes and that policies are clearly defined, documented and followed.

• Automate previously manual tasks to reduce errors and

improve operational efficiency.

• Here are additional resources to help you further research automating network security policy optimization and change management:

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Educational Resources

• Firewall Management: 5 Challenges Every Company Must Address

• The Big Collection of Firewall Management Tips • T-Mobile Video Testimonial • Verizon Business Video Testimonial • Free 30 Day Trial of AlgoSec Security Management Suite

Security Management. Made Smarter.

www.AlgoSec.com

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