Most people are familiar with basic firewall terminology, but fewer are up to speed on the importance of network firewall security audits. Considering the shifting dangers of cyber security threats, audits are more important than they’ve ever been.
The short version is that audits are essentially assessments of existing and potential vulnerabilities. It can get a lot more technical than that, but it’s all about identifying the weak points and ensuring the right defenses are in place. For this article, you’re getting a step-by-step guide to perform necessary firewall security audits for your network.
The Scope of Network Firewall Security Audits
There isn’t a single approach to network security audits, but there are a few important best practices you shouldn’t skip out on. Aspects like traffic analysis, configuration review, and updates for compliance purposes are all common focus areas.
Although there’s plenty that can be included in a network security audit, you’re going to get a five-step breakdown. This gives you actionable steps you can utilize with every audit while avoiding potential trial and error along the way.
Auditing Your Firewall Solutions and Network Security
Feel free to get as meticulous as you’d like with your audit. You can never go wrong by being thorough with your network security and firewall solutions. For those who aren’t really sure where to get started, the steps below are the only guidance you need to handle this effectively.
1. Planning Your Audit
This is where you identify the most important areas of your network that need an assessment. A few examples of this would be your existing access control policies and current traffic. Something that shouldn’t be missed here is the state of your data and security compliance.
For a comprehensive start on your audit, information that spans from policy to configuration should be collected. You want to have a visible overview of the situation so you can approach any necessary changes from a bird’s eye view.
2. Reviewing Configuration and Access Control
Once you have the ball rolling on auditing your firewall appliance(s) and network, it’s helpful to start with configuration and access control. These play a significant role in your network security. You can take this even further by looking into network segmentation. If you isolate specific data or internal systems, you can have a better chance of preventing later cyber attacks across your network.
3. Traffic Log Analysis
A common part of network security maintenance is traffic log analysis, which should be a part of your audits as well. This is crucial for anomaly detection as well as being proactive in identifying potential and existing threats.
Other important aspects of analyzing your firewall device traffic logs include:
- Review of traffic filtering is aligned with current security policies
- Making sure that logging mechanisms are capturing every traffic source
- Maintaining compliance with security and data laws and regulations
Keeping a close eye on your traffic logs should be a fairly consistent practice. Regardless of this, it’s still an essential to any network security audit.
4. Vulnerability and Threat Assessment
From misconfigurations to internal security flaws and singling out weak points, audits always include vulnerability and threat assessment. Some of these practices overlap with other steps, but this step should also get its own focus.
Nowadays, you can use the help of automation to scan your network for these kinds of issues. This coincides with penetration testing as well. It doesn’t hurt to simulate real cyber threats to see how your firewall hardware will respond. The same goes for your network as a whole, and this section is equally important for overall risk mitigation, including compliance.
5. Reporting and Remediation Tactics
Before your audit comes to a close, it’s vital that you have a record of everything that was found. No matter how large or small, every vulnerability or misconfiguration should have a record behind it that you can reference.
Historical data like this helps to plan for the future, avoiding the same mistakes and being better protected for what’s to come. When it comes down to the necessary fixes, this is where the remediation plan comes in. Once you’ve concluded a thorough audit, it’s time to start diving into the fixes.
Best Practices for Your Network Firewall Security Audits
Moving forward, you want to have actionable steps in place that include regular monitoring and as well as full audits. This actively works to prevent unauthorized access to your network, whether it’s an internal threat or coming from the outside.
Consider integrating these best practices into your audits in the future:
- Make use of real-time monitoring features to keep a watchful eye on the network
- Schedule several audits throughout the year for consistent results
- Always remain compliant with regulatory requirements
- Look for areas of improvement and fill the gaps where you find weak points
Next generation firewall tech might be heavily secured, but that doesn’t come without supervision. The technology itself can do wonders for your network security, but it still requires ongoing maintenance from several angles.
The Bottom Line
Network security as a whole can be a fairly technical topic, but that doesn’t make the fine print any less important. Even with some firewalls selling themselves as a “set it and forget it” benefit, this is never 100% true. Nor is it a safe approach from a network security perspective.
While many firewall models can be low maintenance, that doesn’t mean you don’t need to monitor your network consistently. Come chat with our team members at Firewalls to learn more about network security audits, along with the firewall tech that’s right for you.
