Do you have a documented policy for firewall change requests?
Explanation
Example Responses
Example Response 1
Yes, our organization maintains a comprehensive Firewall Change Management Policy as part of our overall IT Change Management framework The policy documents the entire lifecycle of firewall changes, including request submission via our ticketing system, required approvals from both network and security teams, pre-implementation risk assessment, testing procedures in our lab environment, implementation windows, post-change verification, and documentation requirements The policy also includes an expedited process for emergency changes with appropriate compensating controls All firewall changes are logged, and the policy itself undergoes annual review and is accessible to all IT staff through our internal documentation portal.
Example Response 2
Yes, we have implemented a formal Firewall Change Request Policy that governs all modifications to our network security infrastructure Our policy requires all change requests to be submitted through our ServiceNow platform with detailed justification, business impact, and technical specifications Each request undergoes a multi-tier approval process involving the requester's manager, network operations, and the security team Changes are categorized by risk level, with higher-risk changes requiring additional scrutiny and testing All changes are implemented during scheduled maintenance windows unless classified as emergency changes, which follow a separate but equally rigorous expedited process Our policy is reviewed quarterly and was last updated six months ago to incorporate cloud firewall management procedures.
Example Response 3
No, we currently do not have a formally documented policy specifically for firewall change requests Our firewall changes are handled through verbal requests to our network administrator, who implements changes based on business needs While we do maintain a log of changes in our firewall management console, we recognize this is a gap in our security processes We are in the process of developing a comprehensive change management policy that will include specific procedures for firewall changes, with expected completion within the next quarter In the interim, we've implemented compensating controls including weekly firewall rule reviews and quarterly security assessments of our network configurations.
Context
- Tab
- Infrastructure
- Category
- Firewalls, IDS, IPS, and Networking

