Network Microsegmentation with Tufin: A Comprehensive Approach to Network Security

In today’s digital world, where cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated and the network security landscape is becoming more complex, traditional perimeter security methods can no longer provide reliable protection against internal and external attacks. Imagine a scenario: an attacker has penetrated your network. They can move around it, gaining access to sensitive data and critical systems. Although modern firewalls support internal segmentation and traffic inspection, managing this in large networks can be complex. This is where network microsegmentation comes to the rescue. And with Tufin, a powerful platform for automating and orchestrating security policies, this process becomes more efficient, manageable, and scalable.

What is Network Microsegmentation and Why is it Needed?

Microsegmentation is a network security strategy that involves dividing a network into small, isolated segments, defined based on applications, workloads, or other logical criteria, to limit the movement of attackers and the spread of malware. It’s like creating many small fortresses inside a large fortress. Each segment has its own security rules that determine which traffic is allowed and which is blocked. Unlike traditional segmentation, which divides the network into large zones (e.g., a production network and a guest network), microsegmentation creates granular segments at the workload and application level. Segmentation at the individual transaction level is a niche solution requiring complex implementation.

Benefits of Microsegmentation

• Reduced attack surface: By limiting the spread of threats, network microsegmentation significantly reduces the potential damage from cyberattacks.
• Improved protection of critical data: By isolating critical systems and data, microsegmentation prevents unauthorized access and data breaches.
• Simplified compliance: Microsegmentation helps organizations comply with regulatory requirements such as PCI DSS, GDPR, and HIPAA by providing proper access controls to sensitive data.
• Increased network visibility: Microsegmentation provides deeper insight into network traffic and identifies anomalies that may indicate cyberattacks.
• Optimized network performance: By limiting unnecessary lateral traffic, microsegmentation can improve network performance and reduce latency.

Tufin: Automating Microsegmentation for Increased Efficiency

Tufin (current version at the time of writing – R24-1) is a security automation platform that allows organizations to effectively manage and orchestrate security policies in hybrid networks spanning firewalls, routers, switches, and cloud platforms. With Tufin, you can significantly simplify and automate the microsegmentation process, reduce the risk of errors, and increase the speed of response to threats.

As an alternative to Tufin for microsegmentation, you can consider solutions based on SDN (Software-Defined Networking), such as VMware NSX or Cisco ACI. However, Tufin has the advantage of supporting a wide range of security devices and integrating with existing infrastructure.

Key Components of Tufin for Microsegmentation

• SecureTrack: Provides centralized network visibility and security monitoring, allowing you to track network flows, identify network vulnerabilities, and optimize security rules. SecureTrack collects information from various network security devices and presents it in an easy-to-analyze format. In addition to collecting information, SecureTrack analyzes risks and offers recommendations for policy optimization. See SecureTrack documentation for more information.
• SecureChange: Automates the process of making changes to security policies, ensuring compliance and reducing the risk of errors. SecureChange allows you to create automated security workflows for requesting, approving, and implementing changes to security policies. SecureChange can integrate with ITSM systems (e.g., ServiceNow) to automate the change request process. See SecureChange documentation for more information.
• SecureApp: Provides continuous network visibility at the application level, allowing you to define application segmentation and databases based on business requirements. SecureApp automatically discovers dependencies between applications, uses this data to create security policies and automatically adapts security policies to dynamic changes in applications (e.g., changing the number of servers, adding new services), ensuring proper protection. See SecureApp documentation for more information.

How Tufin Implements Network Microsegmentation: A Step-by-Step Guide

Let’s look at how Tufin can be used to implement network microsegmentation. The process consists of several key steps:

1. Discovery and Traffic Visualization

The first step is to gain full network visibility and understand network flows. SecureTrack uses various methods to collect traffic data, including NetFlow/sFlow, port mirroring, and SNMP. SecureTrack collects traffic data from various network security devices, such as firewalls, routers, and switches, as well as from cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP). This data is then presented as interactive network flow maps that allow you to see how applications interact with each other and what network vulnerabilities exist.

2. Defining Network Security Zones

Based on network traffic information and business requirements, it is necessary to define network security zones. For example, you can create separate segments for web servers, database servers, application servers, and user workstations. You can also isolate database segmentation, for example, containing sensitive information such as credit card data or personal information.

3. Developing Security Policies

For each security zone, it is necessary to develop security policies that define which traffic is allowed and which is blocked. Tufin supports both “allow-listing” and “block-listing”. The choice depends on the specific security requirements. Tufin allows you to create security rules based on various criteria, such as IP addresses, ports, protocols, and applications. It is important to remember that security policies should be based on the principle of least privilege, that is, to allow only the traffic that is necessary for the operation of applications.

4. Automated Implementation of Security Policies

After developing security policies, they need to be implemented on network security devices. SecureChange automates this process, deploying security rules on firewalls, routers, and switches, taking into account existing policies, preventing conflicts, and ensuring compliance with security requirements. This significantly reduces the risk of errors and speeds up the microsegmentation implementation process. It is important to note that Tufin allows you to test the developed policies before implementing them in production, which avoids failures and unforeseen consequences.

5. Security Monitoring and Security Audit

After implementing microsegmentation, it is necessary to constantly monitor network traffic and conduct security auditssecurity policiesSecureTracksecurity monitoringanomaly detectionnetwork securityTufinTufinsecurity auditsBenefits of Using Tufin for Microsegmentation: An In-Depth Analysis

Improved Security Automation

Tufin provides extensive security automation capabilities, which significantly simplifies and speeds up the microsegmentation process. With SecureChange, you can automate security workflowssecurity policiesTufin Security Policy Automation allows you to focus on strategic tasks rather than routine operations.

Centralized Security Policies Management

Tufin provides a centralized platform for managing security policiessecurity rulesfirewallsroutersswitchescloud platformssecurity policiessecurity configurationsIntegration with Various Security Devices and Cloud Platforms
TufinfirewallsroutersswitchesTufincloud platformsAWSAzureGCPcompatibility page on the Tufin website. Thanks to API integrationTufinnetwork securityImproved Compliance
Microsegmentation, implemented with TufinTufinPCI DSSGDPRHIPAAMicrosegmentation for GDPR Compliance with Tufin allows organizations to protect personal data and avoid penalties for violating regulatory requirements.

Risk AnalysisPolicy Optimization
Tufinrisk analysisnetwork vulnerabilitiesSecureTrackpolicy optimizationsecurity rulesOptimizing Security Rules with Tufin SecureTrack allows you to improve network performance and reduce the risk of errors.

Examples of Using Tufin for Microsegmentation

Protecting Critical Applications

Imagine that your organization uses a critical application that contains sensitive data, such as customer data or financial information. With TufinSecurity policiesMicrosegmentation of Critical Applications with TufinProtecting Cloud Environments
Microsegmentation is especially important in cloud environmentsnetwork trafficTufinsecurity policiescloud environmentsvirtual machine segmentationvirtual machine segmentationProtecting Data in the Cloud using Tufin ensures the confidentiality and integrity of your data in the cloud.

Protection against lateral movement inside the data center

In the event of the compromise of one of the servers in the data center, an attacker may attempt to move around the network in search of other valuable resources. Microsegmentation with Tufin makes it possible to limit this “lateral movement” by isolating each server or application in its own segment. For example, you can configure policies that allow only certain traffic between servers, such as database traffic from application servers.

Isolating Guest Networks

If your organization provides guest access to the Wi-Fi network, it is important to isolate this network from your internal network to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data. With Tufinsecurity policiesTufinTufinsecurity policiesaccesscomplianceRBAC in Tufin Microsegmentation allows you to grant users only the accessImplementing Network Microsegmentation with Tufin: Best Practices

• Start Small: Don’t try to implement microsegmentation across your entire network at once. Start with a small pilot project and gradually expand the scope.
• Define Clear Goals: Before you begin implementing microsegmentation, define clear goals and objectives. What do you want to protect? What threats do you want to prevent?
• Automate Everything Possible: Use security automationTufin
• Constantly Monitor and Optimize: After implementing microsegmentation, it is necessary to constantly monitor network trafficsecurity auditssecurity policies
• Staff Training: Make sure your staff is trained to work with Tufin and understands the principles of microsegmentation.
• Documentation: It is important to document all changes and policies to facilitate further management and auditing.

Conclusion

Network Microsegmentationnetwork securitycomplianceTufinsecurity automationsecurity policiesnetwork microsegmentationNetwork Microsegmentation using Tufin provides organizations with a level of protection that cannot be achieved with traditional network securitynetwork securitynetwork microsegmentationTufinAutomate your security workflow with Tufin and see the effectiveness of the solution. Contact us today to request a personalized consultation, demonstration or commercial proposal.