AlgoSec Reviews

Our primary use of AlgoSec is to ensure the smooth operation of our network infrastructure. 

We are responsible for device onboarding and offboarding, managing access, and overseeing information security. While AlgoSec offers robust security features, we primarily utilize it for network and firewall management. 

It integrates seamlessly with major vendors like Palo Alto, Check Point, and Cisco, although there may be some limitations with other brands. We employ AlgoSec Firewall Analyzer, FireFlow, and AppViz, all of which are deployed on-premises. On average, we have around 15 daily users, including requesters and direct users from various teams.

AlgoSec has significantly enhanced our troubleshooting capabilities. We can quickly pinpoint the causes of routing issues and conduct traffic simulations to identify potential problems. This has streamlined our analysis processes, which is a major advantage.

Moreover, AlgoSec simplifies the work of our security engineers in two key ways. First, it streamlines the approval process for flow requests, with the security team assessing risk and granting approvals. Second, it facilitates audits by providing effortless access to firewall configurations and permitted traffic data, making compliance checks much smoother.

FireFlow, a component of AlgoSec, has been particularly valuable for us. It serves as a centralized platform for managing firewall rule requests, making it easy to understand and implement these requests efficiently. Additionally, Firewall Analyzer helps us identify missing routing information and check firewall status without the need to access individual devices.

AlgoSec has significantly reduced human errors and misconfigurations, especially during firewall implementation. It provides comprehensive information, minimizing the chances of oversight or omission. While it's not flawless, it typically alerts us when something cannot be implemented, ensuring transparency.

The standout features of AlgoSec include FireFlow, which simplifies firewall rule management, and Firewall Analyzer, which enhances visibility by identifying missing routing and firewall data. AlgoSec's flexibility in defining custom risk metrics and generating reports based on them has been highly beneficial.

AlgoSec's scalability has been excellent for our needs. We've made architectural changes, including incorporating remote agents, and scaling up has been straightforward. The integration with Cisco ACI has been somewhat seamless, although it hasn't added significant functionality to AlgoSec's security features.

We've also found AlgoSec invaluable during cloud migrations. It aids in extracting information from old servers to guide migration technicians on what needs to be opened for new servers.

While AlgoSec offers many advantages, there are some areas for improvement. Certain features, like comments in FireFlow, could be made more customizable. Additionally, some features require a learning curve and may necessitate support from AlgoSec, which can be challenging at times.

While AlgoSec offers many advantages, there are some areas for improvement. Certain features, like comments in FireFlow, could be made more customizable. Additionally, some features require a learning curve and may necessitate support from AlgoSec, which can be challenging at times.

I've used the solution for one year.

We didn't use a different solution.

We did not evaluate other options. 

The most common use cases include:

• Performing audits on an annual basis with the help of information security
• Remediating risky rules by trusting them or remediating them at the firewall level
• Unused rules and disabled rules are addressed on a regular basis
• All firewall changes are monitored through AlgoSec with the help of change notifications
• Improving compliance and risk management and connections revolving around the network Layer 3
• Locating objects and addressing any issues on a much quicker basis

We were able to improve the security ratings of our firewalls. It helped us with annual audits, change notifications, rule assessments, and visibility in general.

It improved compliance and risk management and connections revolving around the network Layer 3.

We can get all the firewall-related data with a single click and effectively work on synchronizing with all the firewall gateways including the management server.

It helps us with firewall audits on an annual basis with the help of information security.

We remediate risky rules by trusting them or remediating them at the firewall level.

We address the unused rules and disabled rules on a regular basis.

All firewall changes are monitored through AlgoSec with the help of change notifications.

It improved compliance and risk management and connections revolving around the network Layer 3.

It helps locate objects and address any issues on a much quicker basis.

RFEs are kept open for too long. We had requested a couple of features, including the ability to trust implicit rules, and IPT doesn't run on IPSEC-enabled firewalls (Cisco to be specific). We had reported these issues for over four years now and still we do not see any resolution.

There is no visibility for the changes made to the NAT rule policies.

Adding objects or object groups on the firewall also do not generate a change notification.

There is no visibility for changes made to the secondary standby firewall if the firewalls are added as a cluster.

I've used the solution for more than five years.

We did not previously use a different solution.

We did not evaluate other options. 

We use AlgoSec AFA (AlgoSec Firewall Analyzer). We use the solution to configure the firewall rules automatically. 

We have two data centers where we use Check Point and Palo Alto and about 30 percent of our operation is on AWS and about another 30 percent is on Azure.

Before AlgoSec, an analyst had to configure the rules one by one but now, when rules are needed, they are configured automatically.

Another benefit is that it has reduced the time it takes to implement firewall rules. That's why we bought it. We used to have two or three people just configuring rules and now we only have one. It has saved us two FTEs. I'm also completing requests faster. Before, I used to take three, four, or even five days to do one request, but now it's half a day or less.

It helps us maintain compliance very well because everything is automated, meaning that everything should be right. When there are humans doing things, there can be mistakes.

Another reason we chose AlgoSec was that it integrates well with multiple solutions. We have Check Point and Palo Alto, and it's better using AlgoSec to automate things.

Rule configuration is the most valuable feature.

It also provides very good visibility into the risk involved in firewall change requests and that is very important to us.

I've been using AlsoSec for about a year or a little bit more.

The stability of the solution is good. I never have problems with it.

Their tech support is okay.

Positive

This is our first automation solution. We went with AlgoSec after asking partners and other companies and everybody said, "Use AlgoSec."

Deploying it is easy. We spent some time on it because, in the beginning, we didn't have a lot of guys to work on AlgoSec. But when we designated one guy to do it, it took him about two weeks or three weeks.

It's worth the cost. But it's not just the cost. I'm faster than I was and that's what matters to me.

The pricing could be better.

We resell AlgoSec, and I provide professional service for AlgoSec. Our customers get good value from it. Our clients are usually large businesses, between 25,000 to 40,000 employees.

The primary use cases are for:

• the optimization of firewalls,
• getting reports, 
• compliance for ISO 27001 and PCI DSS.

It helps us to see what changes users make on a firewall by the users. AlgoSec identifies in real-time any changes on the firewalls. It also optimizes the firewall policies, rules, and objects. 

There is a compliance that is required where we need to provide a report for the optimization of firewalls that is part of PCI DSS and ISO 27001. So now many organizations use AlgoSec to monitor and optimize their firewalls. 

In addition to compliance, they also use AlgoSec to ensure that their environment is well-secured. They can see what changes are being made to the firewalls and by who, which is part of the compliance. They use AlgoSec to achieve that and also to track real-time changes. 

One of the problems that I've used AlgoSec to solve is to identify what's blocking a particular rule, object, or network traffic with the AlgoSec network simulator. It has a traffic simulator and a query simulator, where you can input the destination, the source, and the service, and then you can do a simulation of that traffic and see what firewall, object, or rule is blocking that traffic from going through. 

AlgoSec is easy to use and very easy to implement. Within three hours after downloading AlgoSec, you can start to see value immediately. Within that same time, you can generate reports almost immediately. 

Another valuable feature is the way it produces reports. It checks to see if you pass a particular policy. It also shows you recommendations to fix it. That's a very good feature. 

I like the traffic simulation too and queries. I'm not sure other solutions provide that. You can also use it to get a network topology and network map of your environment and see what's happening. 

These are some of the good features that make AlgoSec stand out.

AlgoSec support is exceptionally good. They have very good support. I use several solutions because I'm a security engineer. I implement security solutions for my customers and AlgoSec stands out in support. You can always rely on their support.

The customization and fine-tuning of the policies could use improvement. There's a place where you can modify the network maps and network. It is not so straightforward unless you have experience with it. It would make it more flexible and everyone can use it effectively if they improve that.

I have been using AlgoSec since 2018.

They have updates at least twice a year, so, it is very stable. I'd rate the stability a nine out of ten.

I have a new client that is using it on the cloud, and it's as effective as the on-prem version. The scalability is very good. I would rate it eight out of ten.

The support is very responsive and knowledgeable. You can rely on support for speed and to have the ability to resolve a problem. 

Positive

The initial setup is very straightforward.

After downloading the software it takes around one hour or so. It is fast.

There are usually updates and fixes. Support is always available to assist whenever there's a need for it.

I think the pricing is fair because when I speak to our partner manager, we can always get reasonable discounts but it can be better. Many people do not want to spend a lot of money on security. If the price was a little lower it would make it more affordable for smaller businesses.

I would always recommend AlgoSec to other users. 

I would rate AlgoSec overall an eight out of ten. 

AlgoSec is an exceptionally good solution. I didn't give it a perfect ten because the UI of the platform could be improved and the pricing could be lower. That would make it more interesting. Also, the modification or fine-tuning of policies could be easier. 

My primary use case to use this solution was to get visibility into my multi-vendor network environment into a single pane of glass making it easy to have compliance and audits done seamlessly. 

Also, it is letting me know if any changes are required over different network devices if I bring a certain new application in the environment (discovering its dependencies) and then push the changes from the single console. Also, it needed to verify if there are any unnecessary rules with the attribute "any" over all the firewalls that the solution was able to cover.

It helped me in managing the multi-vendor network devices with also mapping the required network level prerequisites for my application to be able to handle their network needs in an automated and seamless manner. It also removed the need for multiple approvals with Fireflow. 

It also made compliance and audits very easy for my organization. It was able to give visibility of the changes on the firewall with a who-when-what scenario. It helped me to document all the risks related to any change request that I made.

The way the solution helps in managing, reporting and seamless security policy change automation for the connectivity between the network devices and the applications is great. 

The visibility provided by the single pane of glass for managing multi-vendor firewalls is excellent and then pinpointing network connectivity issues is certainly on a very good level. 

The majority of the value comes with automating of the entire security - i.e., the policy change process from design and submission to proactive risk analysis, implementation and auditing.

They need to improve the web interface to be a little more interactive and friendly. It's still not bad, yet it could improve. 

They could improve AlgoSec academy, as there are some bugs when it comes to advancing resources. When trying to do the certification, I got stuck in one module, which prevented me from completing the certification. 

The only downside of AlgoSec is that it seems to need some updates as it relates to UX and potentially some more outlined integrations. Specifically with cloud platforms and tools.

I have been using the solution from the last six months and have been quite happy with it.

This was my first solution and I have been continuing with this solution only for future needs until it satisfies all of my use cases.

I evaluated other options as well, however, where their capability ended, i.e. firewall analyzing capability, AlgoSec provides much better capabilities.

AlgoSec was used as a firewall setting, but we had issues with change management, approvals, and the workflow to deploy firewall rules. The tool covers the technology and intelligence, but we had a lot of manual work to convince sponsors and correlated areas that used AlgoSec or needed to open a firewall rule.

AlgoSec has a feature that provides intelligence on which rules are correct. It was crucial in helping us understand which rules were important and which ones could be turned off or removed, simplifying the structure. It helps prioritize actions and performance needs. The performance boost we had was huge. We were considering buying new firewall structures, but with AlgoSec, we just organized the rules and avoided spending more money on the environment. 

We faced internal challenges with our services and the process. If we had a closer approach from AlgoSec with instructions on how to build or change the management process, how to improve our environment, it would have been better. The big problem was more about the approval and request roles, and bureaucratic side of things.

I left the company a couple of years ago. I bought AlgoSec in 2022, and after a few months, I left the company and joined a different one that already had AlgoSec infrastructure in place.

The technical support was really technical and had a more technological view of the problem. Here in Brazil, we have a lot of discussions, conversations, and meetings, so the technology didn't resolve the problem we had like that. 

Positive

I wouldn't recommend AlgoSec for environments with fewer than 500 rules or without multiple offices, as the solution is quite complex to deploy and engage teams. It's more suitable for larger enterprises with complex environments. If you have a complex environment, AlgoSec is a good choice, but for smaller or medium-sized companies with fewer firewalls, it's easier to manage with the console provided by the vendor. If your site has complexities and you deal with multiple firewall vendors, AlgoSec simplifies management. However, if you only have one vendor, it's better to avoid adding more consoles. For environments with multiple vendors and many rules, AlgoSec or any firewall management tool would help.

Overall, I would rate AlgoSec ten out of ten, considering the complexities of the companies I've worked with. The tool needs to be managed by expert teams who understand both the technology and the change process.

We use app flow, Firewall Analyzer, and FireFlow. We use AlgoSec to gain visibility on firewall rules and for gap-cleaning projects to clean up the firewalls. We also use the solution as a firewall assurance tool to stay clean, have an optimized set of firewalls, and then automate firewall rules deployed from start to finish.

We have on-prem data centers and 180 sites all over the world.

Additionally, we use cloud services, infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, and software as a service. The majority of it is standardized on Cisco networking with Fortinet security solutions, except for the data centers, which are Check Point.

The purpose is to gain visibility into firewall rules. We used it to go through a gap-cleaning project to clean up the firewalls. We also use the solution as a firewall assurance tool to stay clean and to have optimized firewall rules. In addition, we use the solution to automate firewall rule deployment from start to finish, so we have a complete change process in FireFlow and can automatically deploy the firewalls on appliances. For that, we also built a connection with BMC Remedy because that's the main tool used for change management.

AlgoSec has improved our organization through a safer firewall rule base and better time-to-market IT services provided to the rest of the organization. Those are the two main improvements. In general, AlgoSec has provided a better security posture.

Customizability is AlgoSec's best feature. You can customize everything and build anything you like, and that's a feature we missed in competitors' solutions.

AlgoSec is not a tool where people with little knowledge of security or IT can find their way around. AlgoSec has a less user-friendly interface compared to competitors, but it is comparatively more customizable. As such, the interface is more on the complex side.

I have been using AlgoSec for four years.

AlgoSec is a stable solution. There are bugs, but those do not affect the system's stability. We have not had any unplanned downtime since we started.

We use the solution 24x7 to record cyber rules, with about 50 changes per week.

The solution is scalable and we have approximately 50 users.

The initial deployment was complex because we were integrating with ITIL systems since we had integrated with BMC Remedy. The integration with Check Point was complex because we were on the wrong version. We had to go through various administrative processes to update Check Point. If AlgoSec was more flexible in the ways one could integrate and the versions one could integrate it with, that would help.

A team of ten people handled the deployment, including testers, and they took approximately three months. The end-to-end deployment took just over two years. We did not migrate from a previous solution.

We have seen a return on investment only with efficiency gains and improved security posture. That might transfer to a monetary value, but we haven't assessed that.

I find the price too expensive. It looks a bit like SAP, so it does have standard functionality out of the box, but you will spend a lot of money if you want to customize it. However, the price is not as extreme as SAP or Oracle, but the actual implementation does turn out to be expensive. 

We finally chose AlgoSec over Skybox for its customizability, the options for integration, and the workflows. Though Skybox was much more user-friendly, it was weaker when it came to integration options and customizability.

In our organization, we work with multiple security vendors, and integrating with leading vendors for the most part is easy, but there are some exceptions. The solution made integration with the majority of devices really easy, but it was really cumbersome with some devices.

The solution has massively reduced human error through automation by about 95%.

As far as multiple environments are concerned, we have a private cloud, which is just a data center hosted by an external party. We have a public cloud, multiple vendors, and multiple regions. We also have decentralized data centers throughout the world.

We're investigating combining the solution with Cisco ACI.

The cost versus the achieved business goals is in balance.

I recommend that new users do a proof-of-concept before choosing AlgoSec. I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We have implemented the AlgoSec ASMS solution with the AFA Firewalls analyzer, AFF Fireflow, and AppViz application security,

We are using all these modules to have a more tightened and secure environment. The AFA we are using is it to optimize and clean the firewalls' rules and to comply with the cybersecurity policies and standards. 

The Fireflow is integrated with the ticketing system to simplify and facilitate the opening of tickets process and document it for later reference.

The AppViz module is used to secure and optimize access to the applications in a secure way.

The solution has allowed us to:
• Easily prove compliance during internal or external audits
• Has reduced resources needed to manage firewall changes

With the AlgoSec firewall analyzer, it now takes us half the time to deploy firewall changes and policy optimization.

The AFA also provided us with the flexibility and intelligence that reduces human error and risk.

It allows the security compliance team to focus more on providing a better level of security and compliant devices than on the process and changes.

AlgoSec Firewall Analyzer offers great security policy visibility and the analysis has changed the firewalls management and operation, including firewall rulesets cleaning, optimization, tuning, and ensuring compliance with the company and PCI-DSS requirements.

Also, the fact that this firewall management solution will reduce the resources needed to manage the firewall changes the management processes and audits.

It leads to a quick response to any type of audit whether it's an internal audit or an external audit.

Releasing hot fixes or patches is late compared to other security products.

Also, the integration with the Cisco FTD security group tagging is still not supported, so we cannot get the rules with SGT-ACL, and still there is no clear roadmap to support such a feature.

The user interface can be more friendly. They could work on enhancing it by adding step-by-step guides in the GUI of the AlgoSec AFA.

It's better to give some priority to the integration with other security systems and enhance this capability.

I've used the solution for about two years.

I did not use another solution previously.

I did not evaluate other options.