CrowdStrike Falcon vs Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series

• Endpoint Isolation - instead of hoping an adversary was blocked in time. CrowdStrike locks down the endpoint beyond using the Windows Firewall. Allowing a whitelist of IPs brings additional management of that endpoint to another level that most other tools don't have.
• Rich Data Recording - CrowdStrike is best described as a giant tape recorder in the sky. When it lands on the box, it truly provides insight into the those that other tools could only dream of.
• Extensive APIs - CrowdStrike understands that they are not your only security vendor, so they have API usage for everything in their platform to automate and integrate to your heart's desire.
• Cloud Visibility - CrowdStrike's cloud monitoring capabilities are agnostic of cloud platform. No longer does one need to worry about putting all their eggs in one basket because the endpoint tool prefers one platform over another.

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• The PA handles VPN connectivity without missing a beat. We have multiple VPN tunnels in use for redundancy to cloud-based services.
• The PA has great functionality in supporting failover internet connections, again with the ability to have multiple paths out to our cloud-based services.
• The PA is updated on the regular with various security updates, we are not concerned with the firewall's ability to see what packets are really flowing across the network. Being able to see beyond just IP and port requests lets you know things are locked down better than traditional firewalls.
• It is a great overall kit, with URL filtering and other services that fill in the gaps between other solutions without breaking the bank.

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• The ability to do a system-level scan like a traditional AV is missing and isn't a feature CrowdStrike is planning on implementing. Old school IT guys are going to be curious about this.
• Host management and deletion are clunky and take 45 days for a machine to fall off your subscription license.

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• Our specific model is a bit slow and outdated and takes up to 10 minutes to commit a configuration change.
• Nested security rules would be helpful instead of a linear approach. But rule creation in general is very simple.
• Documentation gives a very straight forward answer to some items but is very vague in others.
• Support could be a little better. An issue we had a tech was insistent it was the "other guy" and it ended up being the very latest PAN OS upgrade.

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• CrowdStrike has cut our security costs.
• Has given us more insight into our end points.
• It has helped with our older PC's CPU usage.
• Cut our cost and time from managing multiple platforms down to managing one platform with better insight than what we had with multiple security platforms.

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• Overall, even though the device is very expensive (both hardware and licensing), the product does produce a decent ROI, given that one (or HA pair) of devices can do so many things, such as anti-virus, anti-malware, URL filtering, SSL decryption, SSL VPN, routing, etc.
• There will definitely be sticker shock when you're renewal comes up annually (or after 3 years), so be sure to look very carefully at the recurring costs of this product, with respect to licensing and hardware/software maintenance.

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