Forescout vs. Palo Alto Networks

 

More Than Just a Firewall

 

Talk to An Expert

 

“Forescout is the most advanced and mature OT network monitoring and intelligence platform available. We want to use it to automatically learn and validate network communication patterns, and to apply the most in depth analysis of industrial protocols to create network and protocol whitelists”

— Richard White, Cybersecurity Architect, Tennessee Department of Transportation

Why Customers Choose Forescout
Over Palo Alto

Palo Alto Networks might boast about its next-gen firewalls, but let’s face it — a firewall is just another piece on the chessboard. While important, a firewall has limited moves. It flaunts its capabilities, but threats are slipping through the gaps that simple traffic filtering can’t cover. In the complex world of ICS/OT environments, a firewall alone is not enough.

Compound conditions and actions

You need an expert in ICS/OT security

Someone who understands industrial processes and their unique risks. You deserve a partner who is driven by research and innovation and who not only follows trends but sets them. With more than 20 years of hands-on experience and deployments across all industries, Forescout is that partner, providing you with the deep understanding and expertise you need to keep your operations safe.

Actionable Insights for Efficient Risk Management

You don’t need someone who just hands over data and leaves you to figure it out. You need clear, relevant and actionable risk information delivered promptly. And that’s where we come in. Our insights empower you to quickly address potential threats, with each piece of intelligence prioritized and put into context to give you a comprehensive understanding of risk exposures and their impact.

150+ Classification Attributes

Cyber Strategy: The Grandmaster Approach

You need a platform that seamlessly coordinates all your security tools—NGFW, SIEMs, EDRs, VAs—like a chess grandmaster orchestrating moves on the board. This is where Forescout excels, providing the strategic oversight needed to integrate these technologies smoothly. It ensures you have the contextual intelligence and unified response actions necessary to outmanoeuvre cyber threats and keep your organization secure.

Palo Alto Networks Lacks Depth in Real Industrial Environments

  • Poor Protocol Support: Let’s face it, all firewall vendors integrate with OT monitoring solutions like ours because we have superior DPI and OT protocol expertise, resulting in more actionable insights.

  • Blurry Vision: While Palo Alto Networks does well with mainstream commercial systems, it struggles to recognize the intricacies of legacy, nested and embedded devices.

  • Operational Risk Blindspot: Its limited visibility into industrial processes means it misses operational risks, misconfigurations and dangerous operations that can lead to costly downtime.

The Forescout Advantage

Industrial resilience is not just about cyber security. A cyber attack is just one of things that can go wrong in industrial environments. There are many things that can go wrong and have the same, if not worse, consequences than a cyber attack. At Forescout, we know that protecting your industrial environment requires a comprehensive approach. Our platform not only addresses cybersecurity threats, but also helps you manage operational risks to keep your entire system resilient. With Forescout, you get a solution that covers all areas, from detecting and mitigating cyber threats to managing and prioritizing risks in your IT, OT and IoT environment.

Firewall Fumbles and Detection Shortfalls

  • A Must-Have, But… Since Stuxnet in 2010, major cyberattacks have waltzed through firewalls unnoticed. Need we say more? Every infrastructure needs a firewall, but it’s not enough on its own.

  • Out of Its Depth in OT: It lacks data sources to detect advanced OT threats, such as Triton, and has only basic support for a few proprietary OT protocols— with no integration of operational databases and application logs.

  • Missing the Mark: ICS environments generate a lot of noise and require fine-tuned detection to minimize false positives and detect specific threats. Palo Alto Networks can’t do this effectively.

The Forescout Advantage

In the ever-evolving landscape of industrial threats, the sophistication of attacks has reached a level where it is a daunting task to distinguish them from normal operations. At Forescout, we know that mere visibility is not enough. We cut through the noise to identify what is truly malicious. Our OT-specific expertise allows us to tackle OT-specific problems head on. We don’t change hats depending on the industry — we always wear the yellow hard hat, ready to tackle the unique challenges of the industry sector.

Flexibility Matters: Essential in Industrial Environments

  • Cost-Effective Installation: You can install Forescout on your existing hardware or network equipment as a container. If you can’t, we’re still more cost-effective than an NGFW.

  • Unmatched Adaptability: We support more than 30 active/passive discovery options to gather intelligence from any environment and any device to solve your visibility challenges. Can Palo Alto Networks keep up?

  • Freedom of Choice: Forescout integrates with all leading IT and security solutions, including NGFW vendors like Palo Alto. Why limit yourself to one solution when you can have the best of everything?

The Forescout Advantage

With Forescout, flexibility is key. Our platform adapts to your needs, so you can choose the deployment options that best fit your infrastructure. Build your security ecosystem with the tools you prefer and support countless devices while scaling seamlessly across multiple sites — all without compromising on performance and security. Our deep understanding of OT environments ensures robust protection and operational efficiency tailored to industrial settings.

Firewall: The First Line of Defense, But Not the Only One

Analyst Recognition

According to Gartner, by 2025, 75% of OT security solutions will be interoperable with IT security solutions and delivered via multifunction platforms. The Gartner Market Guide for OT Security provides a holistic assessment of the current state of this changing market to help future-proof your OT cybersecurity strategy.

read the gartner market guide

Validated by Customers

Major European Defense Company Deploys Building Automation System Security & SOC Integration for Critical Manufacturing

The customer deployed eyeInspect (formerly SilentDefense) to improve BAS and ICS threat detection capabilities for critical production plants of defense components.

read the case study
Forescout Palo Alto Networks
Visibility Complete ICS Coverage
Unmatched visibility across IT, OT, IoT, IoMT and building automation systems. Forescout's 30+ discovery methods ensure you can see and secure every device, leaving no blind spots behind.		 Fragmented Visibility
Palo Alto's visibility is fragmented across all device types, often requiring two or three different products to achieve the comprehensive functionality that Forescout offers in one.
Network Security Cutting-Edge Network Defense
Forescout excels in network security with dynamic access control and segmentation for industrial settings. Our advanced solutions assess and enforce network controls and streamline your zero-trust strategy.		 Palo Alto: Better Alone
It is a leader in network security, but only really shines in a complete Palo Alto-only environment. Integration with other systems often requires additional effort, making it less efficient and effective outside of its own ecosystem.
Risk Comprehensive Risk Management
We offer best-in-class risk management for IT, IoT and OT, covering cyber and operational risks providing you with all the tools you need to understand, prioritize and mitigate threats effectively.		 Limitations in Risk Management
What is often termed as risk management is more accurately vulnerability management. Palo Alto’s solution falls short in detecting operational issues and has minimal emphasis on OT threat intelligence and research.
Threat Detection Advanced Threat Detection
Forescout offers intelligence-driven detection with precise event classification. Role-specific dashboards, detailed playbooks and advanced event management tools give SOC analysts the insights they need to effectively manage and respond to threats.		 Detection Challenges in SCADA
Palo Alto's detection ability is limited by the type of traffic it can inspect and the data it can access. It performs well in standard scenarios, but it struggles with complex SCADA architectures where spanning traffic or installing firewalls is often impossible.
Incident Response SCADA-Focused IR
Forescout’s Incident Response integrates with your IT and security infrastructure, collecting data from security tools, applications, and cloud services. We detect real threats by correlating attack signals and automating responses, offering 24/7 remote SOC assistance for OT/ICS environments.		 Can Palo Alto Keep Up?
Today's cyber threats require a multi-layered defense strategy extending beyond network and endpoint approaches. Effective incident response and mitigation requires integrating multiple data sources and orchestrating responses across disparate solutions. Is Palo Alto up to the task?

Talk to an Expert

The right cybersecurity partner makes all the difference. Discover why customers choose Forescout for peace of mind and reliable protection across IT, IoT, and OT environments.

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