When you get right down to it, firewall monitoring is just the process of looking at and then rating how well an organization’s firewall security policy works. Firewall monitoring is necessary to find and fix holes in the system quickly. Firewall auditing is needed to make sure that settings are correct and follow best practices in the industry.
By doing this kind of audit, security experts can find problems with the way their firewall is set up so they can fix them later.
For the most part, firewall monitoring can give security experts the information they need to make the firewall safer. All kinds of cyber threats can’t get into your IT system if you do firewall audits.
Best Firewall Audit Tools
#1) Tufin
Best for making sure that both on-premise and mixed cloud networks follow security rules.
Tufin is firewall audit software that makes getting ready for an audit much easier and faster by automating tasks well and keeping detailed records and audit trails.
When you use Tufin, you get a centralized firewall control console that makes it easier to handle audit requests right away. The centre also has pre-built and editable reports that make sure it meets the requirements of government agencies like NIST, NERC CIP, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and more.
These reports can also be made automatically based on things like times, locations, business areas, firewall suppliers, and more.
Features:
- Keep track of all changes to network rules.
- Automated reviews of policies
- Built-in checks for compliance
- Strategic policy automation can help your firewall work better.
Pros:
- Customized audit reports for firewalls
- Make sure that rules are always followed with policy-based automation
- Alerts in real-time
- Connecting to CI/CD tools you already use
Cons:
- Nothing important
Verdict: Tufin is one of the best firewall audit and network security policy control tools that you can use to keep your company’s network infrastructure safe 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That’s why I give it my top suggestion.
Price: Contact for a quote.
Website: Tufin
#2) Intruder Network Vulnerability Scanner
The best way to make it harder to hit.
Intruder is a powerful vulnerability checker that runs in the cloud and can be used to check firewalls. The software will let you know right away if there are any errors or strange behaviour that could make your firewall less secure.
You can use Intruder to find common mistakes, like not turning on security settings, or to find problems with setups. However, it is also good at finding missing patches or bugs in applications and fixing them right away.
Features:
- Continuous control of vulnerabilities
- Reporting based on compliance
- Watching the attack surface
- Scanning the internal network
Pros:
- Alerts in real-time
- Scan and go
- Find vulnerabilities
Cons:
- Reports could be more specific.
Verdict: The bottom line is that Intruder is both an excellent vulnerability scanner and a great internal network scanner. It can help you keep your network’s switches, routers, and firewalls safe at all times.
Price:
- Essential: $101/month
- Pro: $120/month
- Custom enterprise plans are also available
Website: Intruder
#3) SolarWinds Network Firewall Security Management Software
The best for making your network defence system filters.
SolarWinds lets you see everything that’s going on in your firewall network. You can use this software to keep an eye on your firewall system all the time and fix any problems it finds right away. The tool makes it easier to set up firewall rules and even easier to keep an eye on them over time to see if they change.
If something changes, you are notified right away. There are also permission rules that you can use to decide who can change the security settings on your firewall. The best thing about SolarWinds is that you can make filters that will only show certain firewall events based on your own or the program’s basic settings.
Features:
- Effective identification of intrusions
- See what’s going on with the filter in real-time.
- Alerts are sent in real-time when policy changes
- Set up your security system settings for the firewall
Pros:
- Monitoring in real-time
- Actively looking for threats
- A quick study of data
Cons:
- It can be hard to use custom reports.
Verdict: SolarWinds is great security management software that improves the performance of your firewall by giving you real-time access, automatically finding threats, and creating analytical reports. You should definitely check this one out.
Price: Contact for a quote
Website: SolarWinds
#4) AWS Firewall Manager
Best for cross-account safety.
You can keep an eye on the traffic coming into and going out of your network with AWS Firewall Manager, which lets you set up firewall rules across different AWS accounts. Any changes you make to the policies that are set up centrally will be applied immediately to your VPCs and accounts.
It has a beautiful dashboard that lets you see all the gadgets on your network at once. This dashboard will show you which AWS services are protected and which ones aren’t so you can take the proper steps at the right time.
Features:
- Resource Policies for Multiple Accounts
- Policies for cross-account safety
- Hierarchical implementation of the rules
- Group with multiple accounts
Pros:
- Reporting the truth
- Dashboard for visuals
- Management of security from one place
Cons:
- It needs more teaching materials.
Verdict: After careful consideration, we have decided that AWS Firewall Manager is the best software for managing various resource groups. This is an excellent tool because it lets you manage everything from one place and protects network firewalls automatically.
Price: $100 for each insurance in each area
Website: AWS Firewall Manager
#5) Cisco Firepower Management Tool
Best for making firewall jobs easier.
Cisco gives you a tool that can handle hundreds of routers on all of your company’s networks. Cisco is great at blocking efforts to break in and stop the spread of malware, as well as auditing and managing security.
With this software, it is straightforward to set security rules and follow them across multiple channels on your network. You can easily set up the software on your private, public, or cloud-based system.
Features:
- Finding threats and fighting them
- Blocking attempts at intrusion
- Take care of the filters on the whole company network.
- Write and scale rules for enforcement.
Pros:
- Flexibility in deployment
- Managing barriers from one place
- Available in a number of different forms
Cons:
- Documentation needs to be better.
Verdict: Cisco Firepower Management lets you see everything about your global networks, which are constantly changing. The programme does a great job of centralizing and making firewall administration easier.
Price: Contact for a quote
Website: Cisco Firepower Management Tools
#6) AlgoSec
Best for making unique reports that are ready for auditing.
The firewall monitoring features of AlgoSec are just as good as those of other platforms. Through a much easier firewall auditing process, you get all the tools you need to ensure ongoing compliance.
As soon as AlgoSec is set up, it will instantly find compliance gaps when you tell it to. That way, you’ll have plenty of time to fix the problem before it makes your network even less secure. One of the best things about AlgoSec is that it can quickly make reports that are ready for auditing.
You can also change the records that are made to fit your needs.
Features:
- Instantly making a custom report
- Make sure that all significant rules, such as HIPAA, SOX, PCI, and others, are followed.
- Check changes ahead of time for safety issues
- Get a complete record of all the changes that were made.
Pros:
- Make your reports
- Very good at maintaining a steady level of compliance
- Automatic record keeping of the process for approving changes
Cons:
- Traffic simulations need to be better.
Verdict: AlgoSec is a tool that does a great job of making custom reports that are ready for auditing so that ongoing compliance is maintained. This tool works well to help you find security holes ahead of time and fix issues before they become a report for the company.
Price: Contact for a quote
Website: AlgoSec
#7) Skybox
The best for managing firewall vulnerabilities.
You can handle virtual, next-gen, and traditional firewalls from different vendors in one place with Skybox software. You can use the program to set up and automate firewall reporting. This software does a great job of finding rule conflicts, wrong settings, and policy violations to make sure that everyone follows the rules.
The Skybox tool is good at finding weak spots on firewalls. It is easy for the tool to look for threats in cloud, physical, and virtual firewalls. You can improve Firewall speed by quickly finding rules that aren’t being used or are too permissive.
Features:
- Find vulnerabilities
- Getting rid of risks
- Optimization based on rules
- Clean-up and automation of firewalls
Pros:
- Recertification of rules made easier
- Track changes to the firewall easily
- Before the entry, test changes to policies.
Cons:
- The price might be too high for some.
Verdict: Skybox is an excellent firewall audit tool for keeping track of policy changes, ensuring compliance, and improving the performance of your organization’s firewall solution. It can find policy violations and all kinds of compliance problems.
Price: Contact sales for a free quote
Website: Skybox
#8) FireMon
It is best for being able to grow and work with other systems.
You can use FireMon, which is excellent security control software, to check the rules of your firewall. In fact, the software gives people the tools they need to make, handle, and keep track of security policies. The software also checks the rules automatically to make sure they don’t pose any risks before they are put into action.
One of the main reasons FireMon should be on this list is that it is straightforward to expand. It was made to fit. Some reports are pre-built and can be modified to meet the requirements of virtually any business.
The fact that FireMon can work with any vulnerability management tool makes it perfect for checking the risk of a firewall as well.
Features:
- Workflows that are driven by intelligent rule suggestions
- Automatic Evaluation of Rules
- Recertification of the rule
- Optimizing the policy
- Combined reporting on compliance
Pros:
- Single dashboard
- Connect to tools like Tenable, Qualys, and more.
- Make reports that can be changed.
Cons:
Some people have said that problems happen every time an update is made.
Verdict: There are a lot of things going on with FireMon. It is easy to use, creates and manages policies automatically, and works with other vulnerability management tools to make sure that risk assessment is perfect. So, FireMon is something you should look into.
Price: Contact for a quote
Website: FireMon
#9) ManageEngine Firewall Analyzer
The best for managing configurations.
The Firewall Analyzer from ManageEngine is an excellent setup management and NSPM tool that you can use to make your firewall systems more secure. The software will collect data from firewalls and use it to make change management reports once it is set up.
You can use these papers to learn who made the changes, what those changes were, and why they were made. You are told right away when something changes. Every time you change a policy on your routers, it is added up and saved in a safe database for future use.
Features:
- Management of firewall security and compliance
- Looking at Firewall Logs
- Management of configurations
- Management of Policies
Pros:
- Get complete visibility into rules
- Find and write down strange things
- Alerts in real-time
Cons:
- The tool might be complex for some admins to use at first.
Verdict: Overall, ManageEngine Firewall Analyzer is excellent software for improving firewall speed, keeping track of policy changes, and making sure that continuous compliance is consistently met.
Price: Starting at $395.
Website: ManageEngine Firewall Analyzer
#10) Titania Nipper
The best for finding and fixing setup errors quickly and correctly.
When Titania Nipper checks firewalls, routers, and switches, she does it with perfect style. It does this with creative proof that ensures compliance with well-known risk management systems. If it finds any setup mistakes, it also tells you how to fix them correctly.
It is truly unique in that it can constantly check for mistakes in setups. In fact, finding any strange things in firewall settings is a completely automated process. The results are given out based on how dangerous they are.
Features:
- Fixing a Critical Risk
- Guaranteed by RMF
- Auditing with “air gaps”
- Evaluation of the configuration
Pros:
- Compliance and security checks on demand
- Great automation of processes
- Threat identification based on risk
Cons:
- What security standards were used during the audit needs to be made clear.
Verdict: Titania Nipper is a great tool for finding weak spots in network devices. These can be switches, routers, or firewalls. The software really helps you keep your network safe and in line with the rules.
Price: Contact for a quote
Website: Titania Nipper
Conclusion
Firewalls are an essential part of protecting and improving the security of your IT network system. A firewall is like an extra layer of security that keeps your systems safe from possible threats. You can control the data going into and out of your network with it, and it can even defend you against DDoS attacks.
Because of this, it is essential to make sure that your router works perfectly. This is done with security audit software. The list above shows the best ones.
Once this kind of software is set up, it can make the auditing process more accessible to make sure your network is always safe and meets all the legal standards. It would be best if you went with Tufin because it has excellent firewall control and NSPM features.
