How Often Should Firewall Rules Be Reviewed?
Firewalls are often treated as a set-and-forget purchase: install it once, and assume the job is done. In reality, rule sets accumulate clutter over time in ways that quietly weaken security.
Most small businesses should have their firewall rules reviewed at least twice a year, with a lighter check quarterly if the environment changes often. A review checks for stale or unused rules, unnecessarily open ports, old VPN accounts, outdated firmware, and whether logging is actually working.
Why firewall rules go stale
Every time a new vendor, contractor, or piece of software needs access, a new rule tends to get added. Rarely does anyone go back and remove the rule once that access is no longer needed. Over a few years this builds into a rule set nobody fully understands, and each forgotten rule is a potential opening.
How often to review
- Twice a year at minimum for a stable small business network.
- Quarterly if the business regularly adds vendors, contractors, or new systems.
- Immediately after any staff departure with VPN or remote access privileges.
- Immediately after any security incident, even a minor one.
What a proper review checks
Stale and unused rules
Rules that reference systems no longer in use, old vendor connections, or temporary access that was never removed.
Open ports
Any port forwarded from the internet directly to an internal system should be justified and, where possible, replaced with a VPN connection instead.
VPN accounts
Former employees or contractors with active VPN credentials are one of the most common findings in a review. Every account should map to a current, active user.
Firmware and patch status
Firewalls run on their own firmware, and vendors regularly release security patches. A firewall running outdated firmware can have known, publicly documented vulnerabilities.
Logging and alerting
Logs are only useful if someone is actually looking at them. A review confirms logging is enabled, retained for a reasonable period, and that alerts are configured for anything urgent.
When was your firewall last reviewed?
If you cannot answer that with confidence, it is worth booking a review before it becomes a bigger problem.
Schedule a Firewall ReviewHow this connects to the rest of the network
A rule review is most effective when the underlying network is already segmented sensibly, separating guest Wi-Fi, staff devices, and sensitive systems as described in our article on network segmentation for small businesses. Reviewing rules on a flat, unsegmented network still helps, but the security gain is smaller.
If the business has never had a plain-language explanation of what its firewall does day to day, our guide on what a business firewall actually does is a useful starting point.
What happens if reviews are skipped
The most common outcome we see is not a dramatic breach, but a slow accumulation of risk: a former contractor's VPN account still active two years later, a port opened for a project that ended, firmware several versions behind. None of these alone guarantees a problem, but together they widen the attack surface significantly.
Frequently asked questions
Who should perform a firewall rule review?
Ideally someone independent of whoever configured the rules originally, or your managed IT provider as part of a regular cybersecurity check-in.
Does a rule review require downtime?
No. A review is typically done by examining the configuration and logs, and any changes are scheduled for a low-impact window.
What is the biggest risk found in most reviews?
Old VPN or remote access accounts belonging to former staff or contractors are consistently the most common and most serious finding.
Joshua Arimoro
Joshua Arimoro is the Principal Consultant at Nickel City Tech Solutions, a managed IT and cybersecurity provider based in Lively, Ontario, serving businesses across Greater Sudbury and Northern Ontario. He works hands-on with Microsoft 365, server and network infrastructure, endpoint management, and backup and recovery for small and mid-sized organisations.
More about our teamBook a firewall rule review
We will go through your rule set, VPN accounts, and firmware status and give you a plain list of what to fix.
Related services, locations, and resources
Related services
- Managed IT Services
Proactive monitoring, patching, and predictable monthly support.
- Cybersecurity Services
Endpoint protection, MFA, email filtering, and M365 hardening.
- Network & Wi-Fi Support
Business networks, firewalls, switches, and wireless.
- Business IT Support
Remote and on-site help desk for day-to-day issues.
Related service areas
Related resources
- What Does a Sophos Firewall Actually Do for a Small Business?
A business-grade firewall does far more than block traffic at the edge. Here is what a device like a Sophos…
- Business Firewall vs Consumer Router: Why the ISP Box Isn't Enough
The all-in-one box your internet provider gave you was built for a home, not a business. Here is what a rea…
- Designing Business Wi-Fi That Actually Works
Good business Wi-Fi is a design problem, not a shopping problem. Here is how coverage, capacity, placement,…
- UniFi vs Meraki for Small Business Networks
Two of the most common network platforms for small business look similar on paper but differ a lot in licen…