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Tufin Survey Reveals the Number One Use Case for Firewall Management is to Ensure Secure Application Connectivity
93.6 Percent of All Firewall Change Requests are Application-related; 70% of Respondents Report Application Service Disruptions up to 20 Times Per Year Due to Configuration Changes
RSA CONFERENCE 2013, RAMAT GAN, Israel and SAN FRANCISCO, February 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Tufin Technologies, the market-leading provider of Security Policy Management
solutions [http://www.tufin.com ], today announced the results of its annual Firewall
Management Survey [https://www.tufin.com/firewall_survey_report_2012.pdf ]. 200 network
security professionals reported that 93.6 percent of all firewall change requests are
application-related, validating that the function of firewalls has evolved to include
secure application connectivity, in addition to their traditional role of perimeter
security. Tufin has addressed this shift with the 2012 launch of SecureApp
[https://www.tufin.com/media/98801/Tufin SecureApp Data Sheet_en.pdf ] to the Tufin
Security Suite (TSS), its award winning Security Policy Management solution. In a separate
announcement, also issued today, Tufin announced a new release of TSS, version R13-1
[https://www.tufin.com/about-us/news-and-media/press-releases/2013/ february-25,-2013 ].
"Shortly after launching SecureApp, we were approached by IT leaders interested in
learning how SecureApp could help improve application uptime and availability," said Ruvi
Kitov, CEO of Tufin. "This year's survey results validate what our customers have been
saying: that firewall management plays an increasingly significant role in maintaining
availability and uptime, but the basics need to be in place. Regular audits and efficient
change management processes are the cornerstone of effective firewall management. The fact
that many organizations audit their firewalls only once a year and some never audit their
firewalls needs to change."
According to the respondents (200 IT experts from around the globe), there is still
plenty of room for improvement when it comes to firewall management fundamentals:
- Almost half of respondents audit their firewalls only once a year and 15%
never audit their firewalls; 50% spend up to a week or more per quarter on firewall
audits.
- Almost 1/5 reported they knew of someone who cheated on an audit because they
either felt the audit was a waste of time (39.3%) or they did not have enough
time/resources (35.6%).
- Almost 1/5 of the sample has no idea how current their firewall policy is.
- 40% have no way to know when a rule needs to be expired or recertified.
- 30% never test configuration changes before they are implemented.
- Half of the sample has to redo more than 25% of all network security changes
because they do not meet design requirements.
While survey data indicates firewalls are becoming increasingly relevant outside of
their established function in security operations, their role has expanded - not shifted.
Clearly, firewall management processes can have a significant impact on an organization's
risk posture:
- 62.4% either believe or are not sure if their change management processes
puts them at risk to be breached.
- 54.7% state their application connectivity management processes could or might
create unnecessary IT risk; about 1/3 make 100 or more application related firewall
changes per month.
- 41.5% of those sampled track application connectivity changes via comments in
the firewall rule base, almost 1/6 don't track these changes at all.
- 46.9% report they might have or did have a breach due to an application
related rule change.
- 70% of respondents report application service disruptions up to 20 times per
year due to configuration changes.
- 60% or respondents were asked to make a change against their better judgment.
- 1/3 of respondents report that much of their security budgets are spent on
items that don't improve security; 1/3 had no idea how well their security budgets
were spent.
"The role firewalls play in managing application connectivity is both a cause and
effect of sweeping trends in enterprise IT; understanding this enabled us to automate the
right set of organizational processes between the right set of stakeholders," said Mr.
Kitov. "SecureApp customers, such as SIX Group, have already reported dramatic
improvements in application connectivity-related change management processes. TSS R13-1
features additional automation that reduces the time spent by organizations on firewall
audits to a few hours per quarter. We will continue to conduct this survey every year to
ensure our roadmap is aligned with our customers' shifting business requirements."
A PDF version of the report can be found here
[https://www.tufin.com/firewall_survey_report_2012.pdf ].
About Tufin Technologies
Tufin(TM) is the leading provider of Security Policy Management solutions that enable
companies to cost-effectively manage their firewall, switch and router policies, reduce
security and business continuity risks, and ensure Continuous Compliance with regulatory
standards. The award-winning Tufin Security Suite provides security teams with powerful
automation that slashes the time and costs spent managing change and successfully passing
audits. Founded in 2005, Tufin serves more than 1,100 customers in industries from telecom
and financial services to energy, transportation and pharmaceuticals. Tufin partners with
leading vendors including Check Point, Cisco, Juniper Networks, Palo Alto Networks,
Fortinet, F5, Blue Coat, McAfee and BMC Software, and is known for technological
innovation and dedicated customer service.
For more information visit http://www.tufin.com, or follow Tufin on:
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/TufinTech
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Tufintech
- Google+: https://plus.google.com/s/tufin
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/companies/tufin-technologies
- YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Tufintech
- The Tufin Blog: http://www.tufin.com/blog
Media Contacts:
Elizabeth Safran
e.liz@lookingglasspr.com
+1-212-740-1037/408-348-1214
Kate Shopper
Director of Corporate Communications
kate@tufin.com
+972-52-400-8568
Tufin Technologies
Tufin Survey Reveals the Number One Use Case for Firewall Management is to Ensure Secure Application Connectivity
93.6 Percent of All Firewall Change Requests are Application-related; 70% of Respondents Report Application Service Disruptions up to 20 Times Per Year Due to Configuration Changes
RSA CONFERENCE 2013, RAMAT GAN, Israel and SAN FRANCISCO, February 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Tufin Technologies, the market-leading provider of Security Policy Management
solutions [http://www.tufin.com ], today announced the results of its annual Firewall
Management Survey [https://www.tufin.com/firewall_survey_report_2012.pdf ]. 200 network
security professionals reported that 93.6 percent of all firewall change requests are
application-related, validating that the function of firewalls has evolved to include
secure application connectivity, in addition to their traditional role of perimeter
security. Tufin has addressed this shift with the 2012 launch of SecureApp
[https://www.tufin.com/media/98801/Tufin SecureApp Data Sheet_en.pdf ] to the Tufin
Security Suite (TSS), its award winning Security Policy Management solution. In a separate
announcement, also issued today, Tufin announced a new release of TSS, version R13-1
[https://www.tufin.com/about-us/news-and-media/press-releases/2013/ february-25,-2013 ].
"Shortly after launching SecureApp, we were approached by IT leaders interested in
learning how SecureApp could help improve application uptime and availability," said Ruvi
Kitov, CEO of Tufin. "This year's survey results validate what our customers have been
saying: that firewall management plays an increasingly significant role in maintaining
availability and uptime, but the basics need to be in place. Regular audits and efficient
change management processes are the cornerstone of effective firewall management. The fact
that many organizations audit their firewalls only once a year and some never audit their
firewalls needs to change."
According to the respondents (200 IT experts from around the globe), there is still
plenty of room for improvement when it comes to firewall management fundamentals:
- Almost half of respondents audit their firewalls only once a year and 15%
never audit their firewalls; 50% spend up to a week or more per quarter on firewall
audits.
- Almost 1/5 reported they knew of someone who cheated on an audit because they
either felt the audit was a waste of time (39.3%) or they did not have enough
time/resources (35.6%).
- Almost 1/5 of the sample has no idea how current their firewall policy is.
- 40% have no way to know when a rule needs to be expired or recertified.
- 30% never test configuration changes before they are implemented.
- Half of the sample has to redo more than 25% of all network security changes
because they do not meet design requirements.
While survey data indicates firewalls are becoming increasingly relevant outside of
their established function in security operations, their role has expanded - not shifted.
Clearly, firewall management processes can have a significant impact on an organization's
risk posture:
- 62.4% either believe or are not sure if their change management processes
puts them at risk to be breached.
- 54.7% state their application connectivity management processes could or might
create unnecessary IT risk; about 1/3 make 100 or more application related firewall
changes per month.
- 41.5% of those sampled track application connectivity changes via comments in
the firewall rule base, almost 1/6 don't track these changes at all.
- 46.9% report they might have or did have a breach due to an application
related rule change.
- 70% of respondents report application service disruptions up to 20 times per
year due to configuration changes.
- 60% or respondents were asked to make a change against their better judgment.
- 1/3 of respondents report that much of their security budgets are spent on
items that don't improve security; 1/3 had no idea how well their security budgets
were spent.
"The role firewalls play in managing application connectivity is both a cause and
effect of sweeping trends in enterprise IT; understanding this enabled us to automate the
right set of organizational processes between the right set of stakeholders," said Mr.
Kitov. "SecureApp customers, such as SIX Group, have already reported dramatic
improvements in application connectivity-related change management processes. TSS R13-1
features additional automation that reduces the time spent by organizations on firewall
audits to a few hours per quarter. We will continue to conduct this survey every year to
ensure our roadmap is aligned with our customers' shifting business requirements."
A PDF version of the report can be found here
[https://www.tufin.com/firewall_survey_report_2012.pdf ].
About Tufin Technologies
Tufin(TM) is the leading provider of Security Policy Management solutions that enable
companies to cost-effectively manage their firewall, switch and router policies, reduce
security and business continuity risks, and ensure Continuous Compliance with regulatory
standards. The award-winning Tufin Security Suite provides security teams with powerful
automation that slashes the time and costs spent managing change and successfully passing
audits. Founded in 2005, Tufin serves more than 1,100 customers in industries from telecom
and financial services to energy, transportation and pharmaceuticals. Tufin partners with
leading vendors including Check Point, Cisco, Juniper Networks, Palo Alto Networks,
Fortinet, F5, Blue Coat, McAfee and BMC Software, and is known for technological
innovation and dedicated customer service.
For more information visit http://www.tufin.com, or follow Tufin on:
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/TufinTech
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Tufintech
- Google+: https://plus.google.com/s/tufin
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/companies/tufin-technologies
- YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Tufintech
- The Tufin Blog: http://www.tufin.com/blog
Media Contacts:
Elizabeth Safran
e.liz@lookingglasspr.com
+1-212-740-1037/408-348-1214
Kate Shopper
Director of Corporate Communications
kate@tufin.com
+972-52-400-8568
Tufin Technologies