Tufin survey reveals the truth about fudging audits, IT cost cutting and buying equipment online

Ramat Gan, Israel – May 27, 2009 – Tufin Technologies today announced the results of its “Reality Bytes” security survey. The survey participants -- mainly IT security managers and technical staff, held no punches when it came to being honest, with 20% admitting that they or a colleague have cheated so that they get their audits passed. In fact the survey discovered that 63% of companies only check and audit their firewalls from anything between 3 months to a year, with a staggering 9% never bothering to check their firewalls at all. 51% admitted that their firewall rules are “a mess.”

The survey, which was conducted at the InfoSecurity Europe 2009 Conference in April, sampled 151 IT security professionals, many of whom come from multinational organizations and government departments employing 1000 to 5000+ employees. The survey was designed to understand the larger social, economic and cultural context in which Tufin’s customers and potential customers operate.

Survey Says….. Firewall Audits: Bad, Shopping on eBay: Good

The survey also found that 22% of firewall audits take anything from a few weeks to a few months, with 70% saying that their audits take a few days. However, from a security perspective with audits not being undertaken frequently and with many taking time to conduct, it can mean that many companies have firewalls that at best are running under par, and at worst, contain shadowed or obsolete rules that introduce unnecessary risk to the organization.

On the lighter side, Tufin Technologies asked interviewees if they had to choose between fixing an IT problem and watching the last 5 minutes of the FA (Football Association) cup final, 39% would watch the game instead! On the flip side that does leave an incredible loyal 61% who would put their companies IT problems first.

Buying IT equipment over eBay proving to be more popular than ever

Tufin also found that more companies than ever before are buying IT hardware off eBay, a trend Tufin was aware of anecdotally via its customers. The Tufin survey found that almost a quarter of companies (24%) would buy from eBay if it meant that they would save money.

Is the cup half empty or half full?

In the current climate cost savings are of a huge priority to most companies, however in the area of IT security and compliance, 52% of companies have revealed that their organisations have not made them focus on cost cuttings at the cost of security and compliance, which are still priorities that money will be spent on. 48% report cost cuts have impacted their compliance efforts.

“With more than 315 customers, we have somewhat of a read on the state of firewall management, so while we did ask some requisite questions, we were really looking to get a more subtle read on peoples attitudes and behaviors,” said Ruvi Kitov , CEO, Tufin Technologies. “Having a clear sense of what’s going on in the trenches is an important indicator of what and where to innovate, and we are more committed than ever to making security operations less painful.”

Tufin Technologies is the leading provider of Security Lifecycle Management solutions that enable large organizations to enhance security, ensure business continuity and increase operational efficiency. Tufin's products SecureTrack and SecureChange Workflow help security operations teams to manage change, minimize risks and dramatically reduce manual, repetitive tasks through automation. With a combination of accuracy and simplicity, Tufin empowers security officers to perform reliable audits and demonstrate compliance with corporate and government standards. Founded in 2005 by leading firewall and business systems experts, Tufin now serves more than 315 customers around the world, including leading financial, telecom, transportation, energy and pharmaceutical companies. For more information visit http://www.tufin.com or follow Tufin on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/TufinTech.

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