Your firewall was set up when your business first got serious about IT. Maybe a contractor installed it. Maybe it came with your internet service. Either way, it's been running quietly in the background ever since — and nobody has looked at it in years.
That's one of the most common situations we see. And it's also one of the most common sources of real, fixable security risk for small and mid-sized businesses.
A firewall audit changes that. Here's what it actually is, what it looks at, and how to know if your business needs one.
What a Firewall Actually Does
Think of your firewall as the front door to your business network. Every piece of data trying to come in or go out has to pass through it first. The firewall checks each request against a set of rules — and decides whether to allow it, block it, or flag it.
When it's configured correctly, your firewall keeps unauthorized traffic out, lets your team work freely, and stops potential attacks before they reach your systems. When it's not configured correctly — or when it hasn't been touched since it was first installed — it can leave doors open that nobody realizes are there.
"The most dangerous firewall rule isn't the one someone added on purpose. It's the one that was added years ago for a reason nobody remembers — and never removed."
So What Is a Firewall Audit?
A firewall audit is a review of every rule your firewall is using to make its decisions. It's not just checking whether the firewall is on — it's looking at the actual instructions it's following and asking: are these still correct? Are there rules here that should have been removed years ago? Are there gaps that leave the business exposed?
In practice, a firewall audit typically covers:
- Rule review — every allow and block rule is examined to confirm it's intentional, current, and not creating unintended access
- Unused and outdated rules — old rules added for vendors, old employees, or systems that no longer exist are identified and removed
- Remote access review — any VPN or remote access configuration is checked to make sure it requires proper authentication and isn't open to the internet unnecessarily
- Default settings — factory defaults are notorious security weaknesses; an audit confirms these have been changed
- Firmware and software version — outdated firewall software contains known vulnerabilities that attackers actively exploit
The output is a plain-English summary of what was found, what risk each issue carries, and a prioritized list of what to fix first.
Why Firewall Rules Pile Up Over Time
Firewall rule lists grow the same way junk drawers do — one item at a time, always for a good reason in the moment, never cleaned out afterward.
A vendor needs temporary access to fix a problem. A remote employee needs to connect from a new location. A piece of software requires a specific port to be open. Each time, someone adds a rule. Rarely does anyone go back and remove it when the situation changes.
Over a few years, it's common to see firewall rule sets full of entries for vendors who no longer have contracts, employees who left the company, and systems that were decommissioned long ago. Each one of those is a potential opening — and most businesses have no idea they're there.
Does Your Business Actually Need One?
Ask yourself a few honest questions:
- Has anyone reviewed your firewall rules in the past 12 months?
- Do you know every vendor or contractor who has remote access to your systems right now?
- Has your firewall's firmware been updated recently?
- Has your team or your technology changed significantly since the firewall was configured?
If any of those give you pause, a firewall audit is worth doing. For most small businesses we work with, the answer to at least one of those is "no" or "I'm not sure" — and that uncertainty is exactly the problem a firewall audit is designed to resolve.
It's also worth noting that a firewall audit isn't just a security exercise. For businesses in regulated industries — healthcare, finance, legal — a documented, current firewall review may be a compliance requirement, not just a best practice.
What Happens After the Audit
The goal isn't to hand you a technical report full of jargon and leave you to figure out what to do with it. A good audit ends with a clear, prioritized action plan — the three or four things that matter most, explained in plain terms, with a straightforward path to fixing them.
Some findings are quick wins: removing outdated rules, updating firmware, closing a forgotten remote access entry. Others might involve more significant configuration changes. Either way, you should walk away knowing exactly where you stand and what it will take to get to a better place.
Brewed Security Consulting
Want to know what's actually in your firewall?
We'll sit down with you, walk through your firewall configuration, and give you an honest picture of what we find — in plain English, no jargon, quoted upfront. The first call is always free.
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