CNETS · Melbourne & Australia
Firewall Rule & Configuration Review
A firewall audit reviews rules, configuration and administration against the intended network security policy. It identifies excessive access, obsolete rules and hardening gaps. CNETS helps businesses understand exposure, prioritise remediation and document review evidence for their security program.
The business case
Why firewall audit matters
Firewall rules accumulate as applications, suppliers and networks change. A rule that once had a clear purpose can later become an unnecessary path into sensitive services. An audit tests whether the current configuration still matches the access the business actually needs.
A configuration review complements vulnerability assessment and penetration testing. It provides detail about permitted traffic and administrative settings; it does not prove that every application behind the firewall is secure or that all attack paths have been tested.
Built for your organisation
Businesses with on-premise or cloud firewalls needing configuration assurance.
- Understand permitted access
- Identify risky or obsolete rules
- Prioritise safe remediation
- Document review evidence
Scope & requirements
What does Firewall Audit cover?
Scope comes first. The work should reflect your operations, risks and assurance requirements.
Rule purpose and exposure
Review source, destination, service, action, NAT policies and object definitions. Identify broad permissions, internet exposure and rules whose business purpose or owner is unclear.
Redundancy and rule hygiene
Look for duplicate, shadowed, disabled or obsolete rules and unused objects. Validate suspected unused access with owners and available traffic data before removing it.
Segmentation and boundaries
Compare rules to intended trust zones, sensitive systems and management networks. Assess whether unnecessary lateral access is permitted.
Administration and hardening
Review management access, authentication, firmware, logging and backup settings where included in scope, using relevant vendor guidance.
Change governance
Check approvals, ownership, expiry and periodic reviews. Technical fixes should be supported by a process that prevents the same issues returning.
Practical outputs
What we work on with you
The proposal confirms the deliverables and responsibilities for your engagement.
- Agreed device, environment and configuration-review scope
- Risk-ranked rule and hardening findings
- Affected rule identifiers and supporting evidence
- Recommended remediation and validation considerations
- Management summary and technical action list
- Review or verification evidence where included in scope
Before we begin
What helps us scope the work
You do not need everything ready to start a conversation. Existing material helps us avoid duplicating work.
- Firewall vendors, devices and network diagrams
- Read-only configuration exports and rule sets
- Intended segmentation and authorised service flows
- Rule owners, change records and available logs
Choose with clarity
Firewall audit or penetration test?
- Method
- Firewall audit
Reviews configuration, rules and management practices.
- Penetration testing
Tests exploitable weaknesses in an authorised scope.
- Findings
- Firewall audit
Excessive permissions, hygiene and hardening issues.
- Penetration testing
Attack paths, vulnerabilities and demonstrated impact.
- Best use
- Firewall audit
Understand and improve control configuration.
- Penetration testing
Validate exposure from an attacker's perspective.
From assessment to action
How CNETS approaches Firewall Audit
- 01
Agree scope
Confirm devices, security zones and intended access policy.
- 02
Collect safely
Obtain agreed read-only exports and supporting information.
- 03
Review and validate
Analyse rules and configuration, clarifying exceptions with system owners.
- 04
Prioritise changes
Report risks, practical recommendations and potential service dependencies.
- 05
Verify remediation
Agree validation of changes and evidence for future reviews.
Keep the work effective after delivery
Schedule reviews based on risk and repeat them after significant architecture changes. Each rule should have an owner and business purpose. Test approved changes carefully: removing apparently redundant access without checking dependencies can interrupt services.
Our proprietary platform
Checkmate
Connect the work. Keep the evidence.
Firewall findings and review records can support the wider ISMS evidence trail. Checkmate helps connect the responsible owner, remediation action and control evidence so a technical review does not end with an untracked report.
Checkmate.
One connected view. From implementation to your next audit.
Policies & evidence
A single source of truth.
People & ownership
Clear responsibilities.
Risks & controls
A connected management system.
Straight answers
Firewall Audit: your questions answered
- Which firewall vendors can be reviewed?
CNETS' firewall-audit offering includes Cisco, Palo Alto, Fortinet, Check Point and Juniper. Confirm your device models, versions and export options during scoping so the review can use appropriate vendor-specific guidance.
- Will a firewall audit disrupt our network?
A read-only configuration review usually does not require changes to live traffic. Any active validation or remediation must be agreed separately with appropriate permissions, change controls and service windows.
- How often should firewall rules be reviewed?
Set a risk-based schedule and review after significant changes or incidents. The frequency should reflect your environment, policies and customer requirements; ISO 27001 does not impose one universal annual firewall-audit rule.
- Can cloud firewall rules be reviewed?
Yes, where included in the agreed scope. Security groups, network access controls and other cloud boundaries need provider-specific context and an understanding of the intended architecture.
- Does a firewall audit satisfy ISO 27001?
It can provide evidence supporting relevant network security controls. It does not satisfy the entire ISMS, and its relevance depends on your scope, risk treatment and selected controls.
- Do you automatically remove risky rules?
Changes should be approved by the responsible owner and implemented under change control. Findings need validation against business dependencies; a review is not permission to modify production systems.
- What is needed to scope the review?
Share device types, the number and size of rule sets, network diagrams, security zones and the objective of the audit. Access and sensitive configuration data should be handled through an agreed secure process.
Connected expertise
VAPT
Assess exploitable weaknesses in applications, APIs, networks and cloud.
ISO 27001
Protect sensitive information with a risk-based security management system.
SMB1001
Build practical cyber security foundations through a tiered standard.
Standards & further reading
General guidance, not legal advice. Requirements depend on your scope and the applicable standard edition. Confirm certification and assessment arrangements for your organisation.
Next step
Your next step starts
with a conversation.
Tell us where you want to go. We’ll help you understand what it takes to get there.