Blog - Altanora

Don’t Let Your NetScaler be the Target of Cyber Attacks: What every IT Team Needs to Know

Written by Team Altanora | Jun 25, 2025 2:16:55 PM

When Application Delivery Controllers are the target of cyberattacks, and everything stalls

In today’s fast-moving digital landscape, application delivery is mission-critical and so is security. With the recent wave of targeted attacks on all mainstream Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs) including Citrix NetScaler, (formerly Citrix ADC), organizations are reminded just how vital it is to stay ahead of vulnerabilities, patches, and performance tuning.

But when the NetScaler is not configured correctly or left unmaintained, it can quickly become a major source of downtime, security exposure, and rising internal costs. If authentication fails, apps go offline. If patches aren’t applied, vulnerabilities open the door to attackers. If errors stack up, performance tanks.

And the worst part? You may not realize the risk until it’s too late.

At Altanora, we specialize in managing and optimizing NetScaler environments, so you don’t have to. Here’s why more businesses are turning to us to take the complexity and risk out of their Citrix infrastructure.

Security Isn’t Optional, It’s Continuous!

Key Takeaways

  • NetScaler mismanagement can lead to costly outages, security breaches, and poor user experience - often without warning.

  • Security is not one-and-done - NetScaler environments require continuous patching, monitoring, and policy hardening to stay protected from evolving threats.

  • DIY management can be inefficient and risky - Without specialized knowledge, in-house teams may overlook optimization opportunities or make costly errors.

  • Many NetScaler features go underutilized - including WAF, GSLB, SSL Offloading, and advanced SSO integrations—resulting in missed performance and security gains.

  • Partnering with experts like Altanora eliminates guesswork and internal overhead - providing full lifecycle support, proactive tuning, and peace of mind.

  • Now is the time to assess your NetScaler setup - Don’t wait for a failure to uncover vulnerabilities. Proactive management is far more cost-effective than reactive firefighting.

In the past year, Citrix NetScaler has been impacted by several high-profile CVEs. Attackers actively target systems that haven’t applied patches or followed hardening best practices. Even a short delay in patching can expose sensitive data or create a foothold for attackers.

To maintain a secure NetScaler environment, your team needs to:

  • Monitor Citrix security advisories in real time
  • Apply patches and firmware updates without downtime
  • Customize policies to reduce the attack surface
  • Watch for anomalies in logs and traffic patterns

If your team doesn’t have a plan for this, you’re already at risk.

The Hidden Costs of Managing NetScaler In-House

NetScaler isn’t a “set it and forget it” solution. It requires frequent tuning and cross-functional knowledge, security, networking, identity, and app delivery, all in one.

Without dedicated expertise, organizations often encounter:

  • Misconfigured load balancers causing dropped or delayed connections
  • Broken SSO flows that leave users locked out
  • Inefficient SSL configurations that strain server resources
  • Missed performance gains from underused features

Meanwhile, IT staff are stretched thin, and NetScaler often becomes a reactive task, until it’s too late.

You Might Not Be Using Even Half of What NetScaler Can Do and What You’re Already Paying For

NetScaler includes powerful enterprise-grade features—but many teams don’t know they exist, or don’t have time to deploy them. That means your investment may be underutilized, while your infrastructure remains exposed or inefficient.

Capabilities worth exploring include:

  • Web Application Firewall (WAF): Defends against injection attacks, data theft, and common web exploits
  • Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB): Enables regional failover and high availability across data centers
  • SSL Offloading and Compression: Reduces server strain and improves app response times
  • Authentication and Single Sign-On: Seamless and secure access via Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, Ping, and others

These features can improve resilience, reduce costs, and strengthen your security posture, but only if they’re implemented correctly.

Why IT Teams Partner with Altanora

Managing NetScaler properly takes time, expertise, and continuous attention. That’s why organizations across North America—especially in regulated and high-availability industries—turn to Altanora for help.

We provide:

  • Rapid response to critical vulnerabilities
  • Ongoing configuration audits and tuning
  • Full deployment and lifecycle management
  • Deep Citrix knowledge backed by certifications

Most importantly, we help you prevent the kinds of disruptions that leave businesses scrambling.

Is Your NetScaler a Strategic Asset or a Risk Waiting to Surface?

If your team is unsure whether your NetScaler is fully optimized, properly secured, or even doing what it’s supposed to—you’re not alone. But waiting until something breaks is never the best strategy.

One misstep—one forgotten update, or one misrouted policy—can have ripple effects across your entire environment.

The best time to address NetScaler risks is before they impact your users or your business.