Firewall Change Approval Authority

This question asks if you have clear, written rules about who can approve changes to your firewall settings, and wants you to name those specific people or roles. Firewalls are like the locks on your doors - you need to control who can change them. Enterprise customers want proof that firewall changes aren't made randomly by anyone with access, but require proper authorization from designated security personnel.

Undocumented firewall change authority is a red flag that suggests chaotic security management. Without clear approval processes, developers might open ports for convenience, creating security holes that attackers exploit. Having documented authority with named approvers shows enterprise customers you have mature change management, reduces the risk of unauthorized access, and meets compliance requirements like SOC 2 and ISO 27001. This documentation can prevent a single misconfiguration from becoming a million-dollar breach.

Companies often claim they have approval processes but can't produce documentation or name specific approvers when asked. Another mistake is listing approvers who lack security expertise or making everyone an approver, which is as bad as having no process. The approval authority should be limited to qualified personnel who understand security implications.