SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING FIREWALL EQUIVALENCE, UNION, INTERSECTION AND DIFFERENCE

Aspects of the invention pertain to integrated compliance analysis of multiple firewalls and access control lists for network segregation and partitioning. Access control lists may have many individual rules that indicate whether information can be passed between certain devices in a computer network. The access control lists in different firewalls in different network segments within a given network may overlap or have inconsistent rules. Aspects of the invention generate differences between firewalls, analyze equivalency of firewalls, generate the intersection (if any) between a pair of firewalls, and generate the union (if any) between firewalls. Such information provides an integrated analysis of multiple interrelated firewalls, including inbound and outbound access control lists for such firewalls, and may be used to manage firewall operation within the network to ensure consistent operation and maintain network security. It also addresses a wide range of security questions that arise when dealing with multiple firewalls.