EXECUTIVE BRIEF
The Challenges of Network Security Management
Examining the hurdles to managing risk, operations and resources
Abstract
The rapid deployment of firewall and other security services
across hyper-distributed networks, and the need for mobility
in the “new normal” underscores the need for unified security
management in companies of all sizes. This brief explores
emerging trends, and examines network security challenges
in the areas of risk management, security operations and
resource allocation.
Introduction
Working-from-home, distributed networks, migration to the
cloud, and a proliferation of apps and devices have resulted in
an explosion of exposure points. Whether for a small business,
distributed enterprise, or managed security service provider,
the need to protect an ‘anytime, anywhere business’ is the
new normal.
At the same time, threats are increasingly evasive. With
undetected threats increasing 145 percent year-over-
year1, organizations can have no idea of what threats are
being missed.
Moreover, IT organizations face rising costs, shrinking budgets,
and a tighter pool of qualified staff.
Combined, these forces create significant network security
challenges for IT to contain risk, manage operations and
allocate resources.
Different Needs
All organizations need to understand and identify evolving
threats. They all need insight into network activities, usage and
risk. They also all need to monitor, troubleshoot and resolve
security and operational challenges. And they all must comply
with strict internal security guidelines.
Small businesses, however, can have limited in-house technical
resources. Managing security and optimizing performance
can be overwhelming. While larger enterprises and service
providers may have in-house SecOps staff, they can face
even broader and more challenging concerns. They may need
to scale deployment and management of security across
complex distributed networks. They have concerns about
security automation and change management, audit reporting
and policy continuity.
Risk management
Organizations today understand things can go from normal
one day to complete chaos in just a matter of seconds. Risk of
being victim to targeted attacks persist for many organizations
as news of network breaches and massive data exposure
continue making headlines.
How do you know the extent to which your organization is at
risk? Are there security gaps in your internal operations? What
about your network users and the assets, websites and SaaS
applications they use? And how do you decide to prioritize and
address these risks?
Application and data traffic traverses the internet, remote
campuses, branch offices, and perhaps even third-party
vendors. Organizations can have insufficient visibility and
control over unsafe network activities, traffic irregularities,
unusual data access and movement, unpatched firmware,
security events and system health.
The Challenges of Network Security Management
Examining the hurdles to managing risk, operations and resources
Abstract
The rapid deployment of firewall and other security services
across hyper-distributed networks, and the need for mobility
in the “new normal” underscores the need for unified security
management in companies of all sizes. This brief explores
emerging trends, and examines network security challenges
in the areas of risk management, security operations and
resource allocation.
Introduction
Working-from-home, distributed networks, migration to the
cloud, and a proliferation of apps and devices have resulted in
an explosion of exposure points. Whether for a small business,
distributed enterprise, or managed security service provider,
the need to protect an ‘anytime, anywhere business’ is the
new normal.
At the same time, threats are increasingly evasive. With
undetected threats increasing 145 percent year-over-
year1, organizations can have no idea of what threats are
being missed.
Moreover, IT organizations face rising costs, shrinking budgets,
and a tighter pool of qualified staff.
Combined, these forces create significant network security
challenges for IT to contain risk, manage operations and
allocate resources.
Different Needs
All organizations need to understand and identify evolving
threats. They all need insight into network activities, usage and
risk. They also all need to monitor, troubleshoot and resolve
security and operational challenges. And they all must comply
with strict internal security guidelines.
Small businesses, however, can have limited in-house technical
resources. Managing security and optimizing performance
can be overwhelming. While larger enterprises and service
providers may have in-house SecOps staff, they can face
even broader and more challenging concerns. They may need
to scale deployment and management of security across
complex distributed networks. They have concerns about
security automation and change management, audit reporting
and policy continuity.
Risk management
Organizations today understand things can go from normal
one day to complete chaos in just a matter of seconds. Risk of
being victim to targeted attacks persist for many organizations
as news of network breaches and massive data exposure
continue making headlines.
How do you know the extent to which your organization is at
risk? Are there security gaps in your internal operations? What
about your network users and the assets, websites and SaaS
applications they use? And how do you decide to prioritize and
address these risks?
Application and data traffic traverses the internet, remote
campuses, branch offices, and perhaps even third-party
vendors. Organizations can have insufficient visibility and
control over unsafe network activities, traffic irregularities,
unusual data access and movement, unpatched firmware,
security events and system health.
© 2020 SonicWall Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
SonicWall is a trademark or registered trademark of SonicWall Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S.A. and/or other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their
respective owners. The information in this document is provided in connection with SonicWall Inc. and/or its affiliates’ products. No license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any
intellectual property right is granted by this document or in connection with the sale of SonicWall products. EXCEPT AS SET FORTH IN THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS SPECIFIED IN THE LICENSE
AGREEMENT FOR THIS PRODUCT, SONICWALL AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES ASSUME NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER AND DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTY RELATING
TO ITS PRODUCTS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON- INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
SONICWALL AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR
LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR LOSS OF INFORMATION) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS DOCUMENT, EVEN IF SONICWALL AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES HAVE
BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SonicWall and/or its affiliates make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this
document and reserves the right to make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time without notice. SonicWall Inc. and/or its affiliates do not make any commitment to update the
information contained in this document.SonicWall, Inc.
1033 McCarthy Boulevard | Milpitas, CA 95035
Refer to our website for additional information.
www.sonicwall.com
Risks that go unmanaged can start something worse. A breach
will slow a company’s momentum and growth. Operations are
disrupted as key personnel divert their focus away from key
business priorities. Executives are compelled to put all their
time towards damage control and public relations. The inability
to recognize security risks inhibits security planning, policy
decisions, and decisive actions.
Security operations
Firewalls themselves are also exposure points. Research
from Gartner2 suggests that 99 percent of firewall breaches
are caused by firewall misconfigurations. As firewall rules
are created, copied and amended, they can work against
one another causing unwanted security and performance
consequences. Misconfigurations and conflicting rules
can make the network vulnerable to sophisticated threats,
unauthorized access or intrusion.
Instead of tracking down security gaps and vulnerabilities, time
might be better spent making sure that firewall configurations
are not overly permissive and open backdoors to their
infrastructures. Organizations need to validate and audit
policies and configurations prior to rolling them out, and
reverse them quickly if needed.
The movement toward larger, more complex multi-cloud
networks supporting more applications and users forms a
new digital workplace. As networks grow, managing security
operations, optimizing performance, solving operational issues
and ensuring security measures and control access for users,
devices and applications continue to be complex challenges.
Organizations struggle to establish adequate internal security
operations to comply with internal service level policies. These
policies are designed protect businesses and their employees,
reduce security risks, limit financial and legal liabilities.
In managing disparate firewall devices individually and
manually, organizations often experience inconsistent policies
and procedures. There is often little to no analysis, testing,
auditing and approval process in place to ensure the company
is executing the right firewall rules, at the right time, and in
conformance to internal compliance requirements.
Resource allocation
A shortage of trained talent in the security industry has made
staffing a serious concern. Many organizations, specifically
SMBs, do not have adequate security talents and skill sets to
proficiently maintain firewalls and solve serious security issues
as they arise.
Even a single firewall requires regular planned maintenance,
daily monitoring, policy reviews and administrations, and
firmware upgrades. As networks scale and grow across
distributed enterprises and multi-tenant provider networks, the
burden on security staff multiplies exponentially.
Making matters worse, security operations staff can be
burdened with managing and operating complex and
fragmented firewall silos. Administrations are often complex,
cumbersome and labor-intensive. Tasks and processes are
generally unchecked, uncorroborated and non-compliant. This
leads to a situation where small networks might accumulate
dozens of firewall rules over many years while larger networks
may have thousands.
Conclusion
A better way forward is needed. Smarter management tools
are required for security teams to do their job effectively.
SonicWall Network Security Manager (NSM) gives you
everything you need for comprehensive firewall management. It
provides comprehensive visibility, granular control and capacity
to govern the entire SonicWall network security operations with
greater clarity, precision and speed. And it does it all from a
single function-packed interface that can be accessed from any
location using any web browser-enable device.
Learn more. Contact your SonicWall representative, or visit
www.sonicwall.com/nsm.
About SonicWall
SonicWall delivers Boundless Cybersecurity for the hyper-
distributed era and a work reality where everyone is remote,
mobile and unsecure. By knowing the unknown, providing
real-time visibility and enabling breakthrough economics,
SonicWall closes the cybersecurity business gap for
enterprises, governments and SMBs worldwide. For more
information, visit www.sonicwall.com.
1 2020 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report
2 Info Security
ExecutiveBrief-TheChallengeOfNSM-US-VG-1965
SonicWall is a trademark or registered trademark of SonicWall Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S.A. and/or other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their
respective owners. The information in this document is provided in connection with SonicWall Inc. and/or its affiliates’ products. No license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any
intellectual property right is granted by this document or in connection with the sale of SonicWall products. EXCEPT AS SET FORTH IN THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS SPECIFIED IN THE LICENSE
AGREEMENT FOR THIS PRODUCT, SONICWALL AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES ASSUME NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER AND DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTY RELATING
TO ITS PRODUCTS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON- INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
SONICWALL AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR
LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR LOSS OF INFORMATION) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS DOCUMENT, EVEN IF SONICWALL AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES HAVE
BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SonicWall and/or its affiliates make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this
document and reserves the right to make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time without notice. SonicWall Inc. and/or its affiliates do not make any commitment to update the
information contained in this document.SonicWall, Inc.
1033 McCarthy Boulevard | Milpitas, CA 95035
Refer to our website for additional information.
www.sonicwall.com
Risks that go unmanaged can start something worse. A breach
will slow a company’s momentum and growth. Operations are
disrupted as key personnel divert their focus away from key
business priorities. Executives are compelled to put all their
time towards damage control and public relations. The inability
to recognize security risks inhibits security planning, policy
decisions, and decisive actions.
Security operations
Firewalls themselves are also exposure points. Research
from Gartner2 suggests that 99 percent of firewall breaches
are caused by firewall misconfigurations. As firewall rules
are created, copied and amended, they can work against
one another causing unwanted security and performance
consequences. Misconfigurations and conflicting rules
can make the network vulnerable to sophisticated threats,
unauthorized access or intrusion.
Instead of tracking down security gaps and vulnerabilities, time
might be better spent making sure that firewall configurations
are not overly permissive and open backdoors to their
infrastructures. Organizations need to validate and audit
policies and configurations prior to rolling them out, and
reverse them quickly if needed.
The movement toward larger, more complex multi-cloud
networks supporting more applications and users forms a
new digital workplace. As networks grow, managing security
operations, optimizing performance, solving operational issues
and ensuring security measures and control access for users,
devices and applications continue to be complex challenges.
Organizations struggle to establish adequate internal security
operations to comply with internal service level policies. These
policies are designed protect businesses and their employees,
reduce security risks, limit financial and legal liabilities.
In managing disparate firewall devices individually and
manually, organizations often experience inconsistent policies
and procedures. There is often little to no analysis, testing,
auditing and approval process in place to ensure the company
is executing the right firewall rules, at the right time, and in
conformance to internal compliance requirements.
Resource allocation
A shortage of trained talent in the security industry has made
staffing a serious concern. Many organizations, specifically
SMBs, do not have adequate security talents and skill sets to
proficiently maintain firewalls and solve serious security issues
as they arise.
Even a single firewall requires regular planned maintenance,
daily monitoring, policy reviews and administrations, and
firmware upgrades. As networks scale and grow across
distributed enterprises and multi-tenant provider networks, the
burden on security staff multiplies exponentially.
Making matters worse, security operations staff can be
burdened with managing and operating complex and
fragmented firewall silos. Administrations are often complex,
cumbersome and labor-intensive. Tasks and processes are
generally unchecked, uncorroborated and non-compliant. This
leads to a situation where small networks might accumulate
dozens of firewall rules over many years while larger networks
may have thousands.
Conclusion
A better way forward is needed. Smarter management tools
are required for security teams to do their job effectively.
SonicWall Network Security Manager (NSM) gives you
everything you need for comprehensive firewall management. It
provides comprehensive visibility, granular control and capacity
to govern the entire SonicWall network security operations with
greater clarity, precision and speed. And it does it all from a
single function-packed interface that can be accessed from any
location using any web browser-enable device.
Learn more. Contact your SonicWall representative, or visit
www.sonicwall.com/nsm.
About SonicWall
SonicWall delivers Boundless Cybersecurity for the hyper-
distributed era and a work reality where everyone is remote,
mobile and unsecure. By knowing the unknown, providing
real-time visibility and enabling breakthrough economics,
SonicWall closes the cybersecurity business gap for
enterprises, governments and SMBs worldwide. For more
information, visit www.sonicwall.com.
1 2020 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report
2 Info Security
ExecutiveBrief-TheChallengeOfNSM-US-VG-1965
