WAF

FSTEC Publishes 35-Point Network Perimeter Recommendations, Most Require No Spending

Russia's FSTEC released non-binding recommendations on protecting network perimeters on March 10, 2026, analyzing real-world intrusion vectors from external networks. The 35-point checklist spans eight sections covering device administration, DDoS resilience, segmentation, configuration backups, vulnerability management, authentication, logging, and incident response exercises. Only four items explicitly require purchasing new tools such as WAF, ZTNA, NAC, and SIEM, while five others depend on existing infrastructure. Twenty-six points can be addressed through policy, inventory, and configuration changes alone, including enforcing unique passwords, disabling legacy protocols like HTTP and SNMP v1/v2, and quarterly backup restoration tests. The document references Order 117 and earlier FSTEC methodologies on vulnerability handling, serving as a practical self-assessment questionnaire rather than a mandatory regulation. Analysts note that many organizations still fail to implement low-cost measures such as excluding remote administration interfaces from DMZ zones and verifying backup recoverability.