Can this plan be signed electronically?

Yes. Electronic signatures are generally valid under the ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. §7001) and UETA where adopted, provided intent, consent, attribution, and record retention requirements are met.

Who is the appropriate signer?

The signer should be the designated responsible owner or an authorized approver with role-based authority; record the signer’s name, title, and date to establish attribution and accountability.

Is notarization required?

Not typically for firewall plans. Notarization is rarely necessary unless a jurisdiction or contracting party specifically requires an acknowledged instrument or sworn statement.

What authentication level is recommended?

Use email plus an additional factor for approvers (SMS, SSO/MFA) for stronger attribution; higher-risk approvals may require KBA or enterprise SSO.

How long should signed plans be retained?

Retain signed plans for the active term plus recommended post-termination periods; follow 3 years for tax records, 6 years for HIPAA-related records as applicable.

What breaks an audit trail?

Editing a signed document without version history, missing signer metadata, or using image overlays without a verifiable event log can undermine an audit trail.

Electronic Signature
Templates
Miscellaneous
Firewall Management Plan

Firewall Management Plan

This template is fully customizable. Edit the text, fill out the fields, and send it for signature. Give it a try!

FIREWALL MANAGEMENT PLAN

This Firewall Management Plan ("Plan") is entered into by and between the parties identified below on the Effective Date set forth herein. The parties acknowledge that this Plan establishes the operational, administrative, security and reporting procedures under which firewall management services will be provided.

Service Provider Name: Service Provider Address: Client Name: Client Address:

WHEREAS

WHEREAS, Service Provider possesses expertise, personnel and systems to perform firewall management, monitoring, configuration and related services necessary to protect Client network assets; and

WHEREAS, Client desires to engage Service Provider to manage specified firewall infrastructure according to the terms of this Plan and Service Provider agrees to provide such services under the terms and conditions set forth herein.

Effective Date:

SCOPE OF WORK

Service Provider will perform managed firewall services for the devices and services explicitly listed in this Plan. Core services include configuration management, ruleset review and optimization, patch and firmware management, continuous monitoring, alerting, incident response coordination, and periodic reporting. Specific deliverables and exclusions are set forth in the Detailed Scope below.

Detailed Scope of Work: Managed Assets (firewall make/model and location):

Included Services:

Ruleset review and optimization
Firmware and patch management
24/7 monitoring and alerting
Incident response coordination
Configuration backup and secure storage
Documented change control and approval

PAYMENT TERMS

Client shall pay Service Provider the fees set forth below in consideration for the services. All amounts are payable in U.S. dollars unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Monthly Fee (if applicable): One-time Setup Fee (if applicable): Billing Schedule: Payment Method:

Late Payment: If any undisputed amount due is not received within days after the invoice due date, Client shall pay a late fee of % per month on the overdue balance, or the maximum rate permitted by law, whichever is less, together with expenses of collection.

TERM AND TERMINATION

This Plan shall commence on the Start Date and shall continue until the End Date or until terminated as provided below.

Start Date: End Date:

Either party may terminate this Plan for convenience upon days' prior written notice. Either party may terminate for material breach by the other party if the breaching party fails to cure such breach within thirty (30) days after receipt of written notice specifying the breach. Termination shall not relieve Client of obligations to pay for services performed and expenses incurred through the effective date of termination.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Each party acknowledges that during performance under this Plan it may receive Confidential Information of the other party. "Confidential Information" means non-public information disclosed in tangible or intangible form that is marked or identified as confidential or that a reasonable person would understand to be confidential given the nature of the information and the circumstances of disclosure. Each party agrees to: (a) use Confidential Information solely for performance of obligations under this Plan; (b) restrict disclosure to employees, contractors or agents who have a need to know and who are bound by confidentiality obligations no less restrictive than those herein; and (c) exercise at least the same degree of care in protecting the other party's Confidential Information as it uses to protect its own confidential information, but not less than reasonable care.

Confidential Information does not include information that is: (i) already known to the receiving party without obligation of confidentiality prior to disclosure; (ii) becomes publicly known through no breach of this Plan; (iii) rightfully received from a third party without restriction; or (iv) independently developed by the receiving party without use of the disclosing party's Confidential Information. Required disclosures by law or court order shall be made only after prompt notice to the disclosing party and to the extent permitted, an opportunity to seek protective measures.

SECURITY, CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND INCIDENT RESPONSE

Service Provider shall maintain administrative, technical and physical safeguards appropriate to the size and complexity of the services, including documented procedures for change management, emergency change approval, configuration backup and secure storage. Routine configuration changes shall follow documented change control with Client approval where such changes materially impact network behavior. Emergency changes required to mitigate an active threat may be applied immediately, with written notice to Client within one business day.

Change Management Frequency / Rule Review: Incident Response Notification Time:

REPORTING, METRICS AND AUDIT RIGHTS

Service Provider will provide regular reports documenting actions taken, incidents detected, rule changes, software/firmware updates and system health metrics in the agreed format. Reports shall be delivered at the frequency specified below. Client may audit compliance with this Plan upon reasonable prior notice and during normal business hours; audits shall be conducted in a manner that does not unreasonably interfere with Service Provider operations.

Reporting Frequency:

ACCESS, CREDENTIALS AND PRIVILEGES

Access to Client systems and credentials shall be limited to authorized personnel. Service Provider will follow least-privilege principles, maintain an access log, and rotate shared credentials as agreed. Client remains responsible for any insider activity using Client-issued credentials.

Primary Technical Contact (Service Provider): Primary Technical Contact (Client):

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY; INDEMNIFICATION

Except for wilful misconduct or gross negligence, neither party shall be liable to the other for indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages arising under or related to this Plan. Each party agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the other from third-party claims arising from the indemnifying party's breach of this Plan, negligence or willful misconduct, subject to any limitations of liability stated herein.

GOVERNING LAW

This Plan shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of without regard to its conflicts of law principles.

ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This Plan, together with any exhibits, statements of work and attachments expressly incorporated herein, constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to its subject matter and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements and understandings, whether written or oral. Any amendment or modification must be in writing signed by authorized representatives of both parties.

MISCELLANEOUS

Notices under this Plan shall be in writing and delivered to the addresses set forth above or to such other address as a party may designate by notice. If any provision of this Plan is held invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of this Plan will remain in full force and effect. Headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.

Service Provider:

By:

Date:

Client:

By:

Date:

What a Firewall Management Plan Covers

A Firewall Management Plan is a documented program that defines the policies, configurations, operational procedures, and governance used to manage perimeter and internal firewall devices. It typically includes architecture diagrams, an inventory of devices and rule sets, change control procedures, role-based responsibilities, monitoring and logging requirements, testing schedules, and incident response steps. The plan helps teams standardize rule creation, reduce configuration drift, and demonstrate controls for audits and compliance reviews. It should be reviewed regularly and updated after network, application, or regulatory changes to remain effective.

Why a Formal Plan Matters

A formal Firewall Management Plan reduces security gaps, enforces consistent configurations, supports regulatory compliance, and creates an auditable record of rule changes and approvals for internal and external review.

Who Typically Prepares and Uses This Plan

Teams and roles that create or rely on the plan vary by organization size and structure.

Security operations teams that configure and monitor firewall devices and review alerts regularly.
Compliance and risk teams that need documented controls for HIPAA, PCI, SOX, or internal audits.
Managed service providers (MSSPs) or network operations that enforce change control across customer environments.

Assign clear ownership and a primary approver to maintain accountability and timely reviews.

Essential Elements to Include

A professional Firewall Management Plan should collate policy, technical, and procedural elements so teams can operate, audit, and improve firewall controls consistently.

Policy Summary

High-level objectives, allowed traffic patterns, acceptable use, and minimum security baselines to guide rule decisions and exceptions.

Network Architecture

Diagrams showing zones, device locations, allowed paths, and relationships to IDS/IPS, VPNs, and segmentation controls.

Rule Inventory

A catalog of active rules with intent, owner, creation date, justification, and related change requests for traceability.

Change Control

Procedures for requests, testing, approvals, scheduled maintenance windows, rollback criteria, and post-change validation.

Monitoring & Logging

Log retention, retention location, alert thresholds, SIEM integration points, and review frequency for suspicious events.

Incident Response

Steps for containment, forensic capture, communication, regulatory notification triggers, and post-incident lessons learned.

Required Plan Metadata and Security Data

Plan owner: Name and contact

Device inventory: Model and serial

Rule identifier: Unique ID

Approval status: Signed/Approved

Logging retention: Retention policy

Encryption standard: TLS 1.2/1.3

Step-by-Step: Create or Update the Plan

Follow a clear sequence to gather facts, draft controls, validate with stakeholders, and finalize approvals.

01

Collect data: Inventory devices and existing rules.
02

Draft controls: Write policies, diagrams, and rule justification.
03

Review & test: Validate changes in staging.
04

Approve and sign: Obtain required approvals and timestamps.

How to Configure an Online Review and Signing Workflow

Set up an electronic workflow that centralizes draft, review, approval, and archival steps to reduce delays and ensure an audit trail.

Field	Configuration
Document Upload	PDF or DOCX with embedded diagrams
Place Fields	Signature, date, initials, approval checkboxes
Authentication	Email link, SMS code, or stronger MFA
Automated Routing	Send to owner → security → compliance

Typical Routing After Finalization

Define a clear handoff path so each stakeholder receives the plan and a verifiable copy for records.

Internal Review: Security team validates configurations
Compliance Review: Legal and compliance confirm controls
Executive Approval: Authorized approver signs
Records Archive: Signed plan stored in secure repository

Technical Requirements for eSigning and Storage

Choose a platform that supports required file formats, signer authentication, and secure retention.

File formats: PDF and DOCX supported
Integrations: Salesforce, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace
Authentication: Email, SMS, or SSO MFA

Recommended Review Cadence and Critical Timelines

Establish review and maintenance timelines to keep rules current and aligned with operating changes and compliance needs.

Annual review:

Full plan review and sign-off every 12 months

Patch window:

Apply firmware patches within 30 days of release

Emergency change:

Document and approve emergency changes within 48 hours

Incident containment:

Initial containment actions should begin within 1 hour

Retention trigger:

Retention starts on effective or signature date

Common Preparation Mistakes to Avoid

Failing to inventory rules and devices leads to orphaned entries, untested exceptions, and inaccurate risk assessments during audits.
Overly permissive rules such as broad any-to-any accepts increase attack surface and can obscure the real purpose of traffic allowances.
No formal change control results in undocumented emergency changes that cannot be traced or rolled back after incidents occur.
Neglecting log retention or SIEM integration prevents post-incident forensics and undermines the ability to demonstrate compliance with auditors.

Key Risks from an Incomplete or Incorrect Plan

Regulatory noncompliance: Fines and corrective actions

Data breach: Operational and reputational loss

Failed audits: Remediation orders required

Insurance impact: Claims disputes possible

Operational outages: Service disruption risk

Legal exposure: Increased litigation risk

Example Implementations and Real-World Context

Organizations use documented firewall plans to streamline approvals, support audits, and integrate with eSignature workflows for formal sign-off.

Tech Data (excerpt)

Tech Data standardized security documentation to speed approvals

Documented controls linked to approvals
Tech Data uses signNow to improve internal and external customer service while increasing our speed to revenue.

BIS (excerpt)

Regulatory assurance was critical during audits

SOC 2 evidence was required
We felt most comfortable with airSlate SignNow given their SOC 2 certification and strict focus on ESIGN and UETA act compliance.

eSignature Vendor Comparison for Firewall Plan Approvals

Compare baseline pricing and feature availability for common eSignature platforms used to approve and archive Firewall Management Plans.

	signNow	DocuSign	Adobe Sign	PandaDoc	HelloSign
Starting Price	$8/user/mo	$15/user/mo	$14/user/mo	$19/user/mo	$15/user/mo
Free Trial	7-day free trial	No	No	Yes, limited	Yes, limited
Bulk Send	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Audit Trail	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Envelope Cap	No cap	100 envelopes/user/year	Varies by plan	Varies by plan	Varies by plan

Frequently Asked Questions About the Firewall Management Plan

Answers to common questions about legality, signatures, storage, and common issues when finalizing a Firewall Management Plan.

Need help? Contact support

Can this plan be signed electronically?
Yes. Electronic signatures are generally valid under the ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. §7001) and UETA where adopted, provided intent, consent, attribution, and record retention requirements are met.
Who is the appropriate signer?
The signer should be the designated responsible owner or an authorized approver with role-based authority; record the signer’s name, title, and date to establish attribution and accountability.
Is notarization required?
Not typically for firewall plans. Notarization is rarely necessary unless a jurisdiction or contracting party specifically requires an acknowledged instrument or sworn statement.
What authentication level is recommended?
Use email plus an additional factor for approvers (SMS, SSO/MFA) for stronger attribution; higher-risk approvals may require KBA or enterprise SSO.
How long should signed plans be retained?
Retain signed plans for the active term plus recommended post-termination periods; follow 3 years for tax records, 6 years for HIPAA-related records as applicable.
What breaks an audit trail?
Editing a signed document without version history, missing signer metadata, or using image overlays without a verifiable event log can undermine an audit trail.

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