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PeerSpot user
Security Architect at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
We like the ability to review and understand your firewall topology, run reports and have the ability for practitioners and auditors to review our security posture.

What is most valuable?

The firewall analyzer allows for a quick and consistent method of reviewing your firewalls ruleset for security, compliance, and peace of mind. The ability to review and understand your firewall topology, run reports and have the ability for practitioners and auditors to review our security posture, gives us a sense of calm within this area of security.

How has it helped my organization?

Adding AlgoSec as a process into our network, compliance, security, and audit teams allowed for quick turnaround on any issues that arise regarding security rulesets. We often find these issues before they are pointed out to us, which leads to a quicker turnaround from compliance, but more importantly from a security mindset. This tool is used as part of the M&A process to analyze any new companies looking to incorporate our network. It's become one of the indispensable products we can't live without.

What needs improvement?

I would say cloud is an area for improvement, but AlgoSec in is that market now, too. I do want to see, however, the ability to set up an instance within the cloud instead of having to use physical appliances.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

I've had no issues with deployment.

Buyer's Guide
AlgoSec
November 2024
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's been stable for me.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's able to hit all the devices that I've put it up against and it was able to find rules that put our organization at risk.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is standard. They do a good job and understand the product.

What other advice do I have?

It's head and shoulders above all the competitors in the field. They're the ones pushing the boundaries of the market.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
R. Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Top 20
It helps us audit complex environments to ensure firewalls are in compliance
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of AlgoSec is integration because it needs the be integrated with vendors' firewalls and other security products. AlgoSec has intelligent policy tuners."
  • "The documentation could be better."

What is our primary use case?

AlgoSec provides a secure connection between applications and helps customers maintain regulatory compliance.

How has it helped my organization?

The benefit depends on the type of client. Our banking customers are impressed with the compliance features, automatic policy installation, and FireFlow. They also realize performance improvements of approximately 20 percent. 

AlgoSec has simplified the work of security engineers. If I had to give that a grade, I would give it a nine out of ten. We used the solution to implement and manage micro-segmentation initiatives. Still, it has been limited since this is a private cloud version, and many of our customers use regular firewalls. 

We deal with customers with a mixture of environments, including private cloud, public cloud, and on-premises. Many of them have on-premises and private cloud environments. AlgoSec provides a single pane of glass for managing these mixed environments, making management more effortless. 

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of AlgoSec is integration because it needs the be integrated with vendors' firewalls and other security products. AlgoSec has intelligent policy tuners. 

It's easy to integrate AlgoSec with solutions from other vendors. It's currently integrated with the products of three or four vendors. We integrate AlgoSec with AppViz and other products to get complete visibility into our network policies, and FireFlow helps us manage risks from firewall change requests. It has reduced the time it takes to implement firewall rules by about 20%, according to the ROI calculator on the AlgoSec website. It varies, depending on the structure of the customer's environment. 

AlgoSec also helps us audit complex environments to ensure firewalls are in compliance. The benefit is marginal if there is only one firewall and a few policies, but it's significant when you have three firewall clusters and 60 devices. 

What needs improvement?

The documentation could be better. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using AlgoSec for six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

AlgoSec is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable solution but there is room for improvement in that area. It has a high-availability structure, but some features need to be distributed using a collector, for example.

How are customer service and support?

I rate AlgoSec's support eight out of ten. I don't use it much, but it has improved greatly in the last two years. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

Setting up AlgoSec isn't complicated. You can install it in half an hour, but the configuration time depends on the environment. Sometimes, it takes a day, but it could take up to a week to analyze the files, etc. We have a two-person team responsible for deployment and maintenance, but we also have partners. In all, we have about 10 technicians supporting our customers.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don't know about pricing because I'm a technical guy. I can say the licensing model is straightforward and should be in the future. It isn't an issue for our customers. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate AlgoSec an eight out of ten. I would recommend AlgoSec, depending on the client's structure and requirements. It's a good solution for regulatory compliance and analytics. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Distributor
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
AlgoSec
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about AlgoSec. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Security Analyst at Ethnos IT Solutions LTD
Real User
Analyzes existing policies that you have set up on your devices, gauging the risk
Pros and Cons
  • "ActiveChange integrates with your change workflow and ticketing system. For example, a change request is made to open port 8080. Then, if the guy who was supposed to implement that change mistakenly opened port 80, then ActiveChange will say, "What was approved was 8080, but what you actually opened was 80." That actually helps to fix human errors. It helps to check everything that is being done. You can go through the analysis and see changes that were made, and AlgoSec is able to alert you immediately. Whenever there is a change, notifications are sent to the administrators because it gives you that real-time alerting and change."
  • "Since COVID-19, a number of the technical support team members have been working from home or remotely. So, we haven't gotten support people right when we need them. Sometimes, it takes a couple of hours or even days for us to get that instant support that we used to get."

What is our primary use case?

We help deploy solutions to customers around Africa and Nigeria. We deploy it, then we also provide local support to our customers. We do PoCs, deploy solutions, and provide support whenever we have the opportunity to provide solutions which solve problems of one or two customers.

Most of our clients just want to stick with AFA. Most times, we just work around AFA and do a lot of things with it. We are quite conversant with AFA's portfolio.

How has it helped my organization?

AlgoSec provides our customers with full visibility into the risk involved in firewall change requests. Most of our customers are in the financial industry. AlgoSec can analyze existing policies that you have set up on your devices, gauging the risk. For example, with PCI requirements, there needs to be a description for each firewall rule change as to why it was made. Therefore, if a change was made by one of our clients, who was unable to put a description or comment against that rule, then automatically I would need to flag that.

ActiveChange integrates with your change workflow and ticketing system. For example, a change request is made to open port 8080. Then, if the guy who was supposed to implement that change mistakenly opened port 80, then ActiveChange will say, "What was approved was 8080, but what you actually opened was 80." That actually helps to fix human errors. It helps to check everything that is being done. You can go through the analysis and see changes that were made, and AlgoSec is able to alert you immediately. Whenever there is a change, notifications are sent to the administrators because it gives you that real-time alerting and change. 

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are:

  • Compliance reporting
  • Their immediate support team
  • Maps: You can trace the traffic and what firewall is blocking what connections, services, and websites.

You don't need to be tech-oriented to work with AlgoSec.

One of the beautiful things about AlgoSec is that it gives you templates. There are quite a number of compliance templates, depending on the industry that you are in. For example:

  • The ISO number system
  • The information security - ISMS management system
  • PCI DSS
  • FISMA Compliance. 

For our clients, they especially have to maintain ISMS and PCI DSS, as these are the two compliance regulations that they have to maintain. You can run analysis or reporting based on the templates. Within minutes, you get into the report, can see your compliance status, and what exactly you need to fix. You can clearly see what parts of the requirements you are not meeting and where you are falling short within standards. It is very clear and visible. We can customize all of this with the reporting, however the client wants it. This is one of the critical parts for most of our clients.

What needs improvement?

In late December or early January, we were trying to add another solution, but it wasn't working because there was no support for the version that we were running at that point. After they released the hotfix, that took care of this issue. That particular device was then supported. So, it has been very stable and working fine since then.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it for about three years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is excellent.

There have been some recent updates and hotfixes that have been released. These have taken care of a number of things, which include support for some particular firewalls.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good. We have had to scale for some of our clients who have about 10 firewalls or 10 network devices, and they wanted to have more. All we had to do was acquire more licenses, then we just scaled. It is quite seamless.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have worked with AlgoSec for about three years. Before COVID-19 struck, the technical support used to be 10 of 10. You would make a support call, someone would join you on a session, and you would get help almost instantly. Since COVID-19, a number of the technical support team members have been working from home or remotely. So, we haven't gotten to support people right when we need them. Sometimes, it takes a couple of hours or even days for us to get that instant support that we used to get. I think they are working on it. The last time that I had a support session with them, which was about two months back, I saw some relative improvements.

How was the initial setup?

We have been using the OVA file on a virtual box. Once we slam it on the VM, it is quite straightforward. Once you are done with that, then you define the IPs.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We have had quite a number of our prospective clients have come to us, and say, "Hey guys, we want AlgoSec," but one of their turn-offs has been the pricing. I would like it if AlgoSec would review their pricing and come down on it. The solution is quite amazing and versatile, so we would really appreciate it if the pricing could be reviewed for Nigeria because we definitely would get more sales if that happened. 

In Nigeria, quite a number of industries have been hit hard by COVID-19 and we are not a high income generating country, so a lot of people want to cut costs. When it comes to the security, companies would rather settle for less and take a step back because of the cost. They might even put infrastructures off. However, if the pricing is reasonable and affordable for people in this part of the world, then our company will definitely see more sales.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

AlgoSec is 10 out of 10 compared to FireMon. Compared to any other solution that does firewall analysis and policy management, AlgoSec deserves 10 out 10 because of:

  • Its simplicity: Virtually everything about AlgoSec is straightforward.
  • Versatility, as far as the reporting and alerting.
  • Support, which is quite amazing.

What other advice do I have?

If you are looking for a tool that will provide you clear visibility into all the changes in your network and help people prepare well with compliance, then AlgoSec is the tool for you. Don't think twice - AlgoSec is the tool for any company that wants clear analysis into their network and policy management.

Anybody can use AlgoSec once they take all the training.

Compared with other tools on the market, the solution is 10 out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor. The reviewer's company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Lead - Security Infrastructure Consultant at TSYS
Real User
Greatly improved the time and resources spent on creating and deploying our firewall rules

What is our primary use case?

We use AlgoSec to manage our firewalls and to manage our firewall ACL change workflow. We also use AlgoSec to get better visibility into our traffic flows, to optimize our firewalls rules, and to analyze risks.

How has it helped my organization?

AlgoSec has greatly improved the time and resources spent on creating and deploying our firewall rules. Our network and security teams can now smartly research our ACLs and implement them with confidence.

What is most valuable?

We found the traffic simulation query, active change, policy optimization, FireFlow, and map features to be especially helpful. All the other application features are valuable as well. We have yet to fully unleash its full potential.

What needs improvement?

The tech support and ticketing system could use some improvement and need more of a personal touch.

For how long have I used the solution?

Less than one year.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
David Ord - PeerSpot reviewer
Works at Enbridge Gas
User
Currently, the primary use is log analysis as we are migrating from Check Point to Palo Alto and need to purge the unused rules during migration.

What is our primary use case?

I have a North American wide multi-site network with a large amount, 100+ primary firewalls and hundreds of remote firewalls. We have loaded into AlgoSec most of these via CheckPoint CMA and Palo Alto Panorama. Currently, the primary use is log analysis as we are migrating from CP to PA and need to purge the unused rules during migration. 

How has it helped my organization?

It is helping with the migration as we don’t carry over empty rules and allows consolidation of rules. 

What is most valuable?

AFA analyze reports are the biggest use case to review the rules before migration and removing the unused rules for cleanup.

What needs improvement?

The Network Map is a feature that could use work, it is a big piece but is always a moving target with large routing tables in use and speed of use becomes an issue doing queries. 

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to five years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In 2018.1 release the VIP always up is a great feature and a 3-way cluster is a good idea. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were a Tufin user but moved due to a POC with another asset we acquired which had AlgoSec and at the end we preferred AlgoSec. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer0175982 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network & Cloud Security Team Leader at Soitron Siber Güvenlik Servisleri
User
Points out redundancies, increases visibility, and helps manage firewall rules
Pros and Cons
  • "Thanks to this visibility, I was able to do my rule optimization."
  • "The simulation can be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We needed to review unused rules and delete them. However, I also wanted to view my unused objects and NAT rules. Algosec met my needs. 

How has it helped my organization?


What is most valuable?

The product was able to present how many rules were redundant and how many shadow rules were in a gateway. Thanks to this visibility, I was able to do my rule optimization. Thus, my firewall rules were fewer, and fewer rules were checked when traffic passed through the firewall. In this way, it was possible for traffic to pass through the firewall faster.

What needs improvement?

The simulation can be improved. Networks and interfaces to which the firewall is connected are kept in a visual simulation. The rules could also show us the traffic on these networks in red and green. When we add a rule, we should be able to see what kind of traffic obstruction we can cause and what can be improved. In the next release, it would be fun to visually present the dashboard with animations.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Digital Security Specialist at Derivco
Real User
Improves firewall performance, saves engineers time in optimization, and the technical support is responsive
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the Firewall Analyser, which has a number of fantastic features."
  • "I would like to see enhanced dashboards or build meaningful reports for executive consumption."

What is our primary use case?

The purpose of using the product was to attack and Analyse rule bases from a holistic perspective. The Firewall Analyzer has a rule base consolidator as well as a feature to make the rule base more permissive. It also helps to reduce rule base clutter, as well as legacy rules.

Traffic query helps us to quickly find rules that allow outbound access.

FireFlow is a useful ticketing system that integrates with many products.

We would like to use FireFlow's API to automate certain tickets that come through to leverage automation in our environment. 

How has it helped my organization?

An example is that we have a policy with 900 rules, which we were able to reduce to 500 rules. That's close to a 50 percent savings on the rule base.

We used the Unused rules function in Firewall Analyser to examine our rule base. This has drastic performance increases in our production firewalls.

Objects not used within rules can save even more when it comes to cleaning up rule bases. Where this is a very manual process without AlgoSec, engineers can have a level of automation by building useful reports to assist with clean up.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the Firewall Analyser, which has a number of fantastic features.

From a risk perspective, you can apply compliance Frameworks like ISO 27001 and PCI DSS against firewall rule bases to see if your rule base is compliant. If you are not then AlgoSec provides descriptive ways on how to adjust rules to make your rule base more compliant. 

Definitely, the policy-cleanup features are the main draw. Shadowed rules, rule duplication, rule consolidation, rules permitting too much access, and rule usage are very useful and help to clean up rule bases.

What needs improvement?

There are areas where auditing rule changes are not accurate. It is important to be accurate when using rule changes, as users need to be accountable for their changes; however, I cannot trust AlgoSec when rule changes come through on reports as they reflect incorrectly. I have taken this up with support and have never really had a resolution for this. 

I would like to see enhanced dashboards or build meaningful reports for executive consumption. 

AlgoSec is a fantastic product, and I would like to see more "granular" breakdowns of traffic on IPT traffic analysis for source and destination, as the way it does it currently does not allow me to self problems for rules with ANY in the destination.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using AlgoSec for one and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability-wise, this product is good.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is always responsive and always willing to understand the issues. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Our previous solution was not useful and did not have an intuitive interface. Support was also terrible.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. If you understand your infrastructure, it will be easy to deploy in a central location.

What about the implementation team?

Our deployment was done through a vendor team and it took one week.

What was our ROI?

We haven't saved any money yet but we have improved the performance of certain devices.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I would suggest that you start with a VM, get a PoC with a temp license, and try it out. You will love it.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I would not like to disclose which other products, but I have used two other products that didn't even come close to AlgoSec's power.

What other advice do I have?

Its a good production and good support, definitely worth it.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1433391 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and Security Engineer at Inmarsat
Real User
End-to-end visibility and analysis of the rule base facilitates securing and streamlining of our environment
Pros and Cons
  • "The complete and end-to-end visibility and analysis it provides of the policy rule base is invaluable and saves countless time and effort."
  • "In terms of additional features in the next release, more integration with SD-WAN would be valuable."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use AlgoSec for Firewall Security Management, Firewall Policy Automation, and Auditing. Our firewall estate environment is complex, multi-vendor, and across many sites, so we needed a product that would integrate seamlessly, encompassing all sites and platforms.

It's an ongoing process and we are constantly learning about new features of the product that would be beneficial in terms of helping secure, consolidate, and streamline our environment.

We are well on the road to achieving this with the help of their Professional Services team.

How has it helped my organization?

It has saved us much time, helping us work smarter and more efficiently with regards to policy/ruleset management, automation, and consolidation. This product has saved us numerous person-hours in terms of automation and consolidation.

The various elements of the product have allowed us to cover all aspects of Firewall Security Management, Firewall Policy Automation, and Auditing, which all help to leverage the product's full potential.

Having learned more about the product, going forward we believe it will allow us to benefit in additional areas of Firewall security management. 

What is most valuable?

We have found the Firewall analyzer to be most valuable in terms of policy ruleset management. However, policy ruleset management, automation, and auditing are all good features.

The complete and end-to-end visibility and analysis it provides of the policy rule base is invaluable and saves countless time and effort.

The automation possibilities the FireFlow product provides will also be very useful going forward in terms of time and effort saved, as well as reliability and efficiency.

Overall, the Firewall Analyzer is hugely beneficial in terms of policy ruleset management.

What needs improvement?

Nothing comes to mind in terms of things that need to be improved.

In terms of additional features in the next release, more integration with SD-WAN would be valuable.

I would also like to see more integration with Cloud security products and services but overall, the product compatibility and integration with multi-vendor and differing platforms/environments is pretty comprehensive. That said, with the fast-moving nature of SD-wan and Cloud Security, product features and enhancements will need to keep pace because clearly, Cloud Security is where the industry will be focusing. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using AlgoSec for nearly a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

AlgoSec is as stable as can be expected.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is highly scalable and more than meets the requirements for our environment.

How are customer service and technical support?

They were very good, responsive, knowledgeable, and usually resolved issues quickly.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not use another product prior to AlgoSec for the same purpose.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was fairly straightforward; however, with the usual initial setup niggles and teething issues.

What about the implementation team?

The Professional Services team assisted us and had a very good level of expertise.

What was our ROI?

ROI is very well leveraged.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Setup cost and pricing were reasonable and the licensing was straightforward.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We didn't evaluate other products as we had a previous, much smaller deployment of AlgoSec that we were happy with.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I am happy with the product; it meets and even exceeds our expectations and ticks all the boxes in terms of reasons for purchasing it.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free AlgoSec Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free AlgoSec Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.