A secure web gateway (SWG) is a network security technology that inspects internet traffic before it’s sent to users. It is a critical component of a modern organization’s cybersecurity arsenal. Today’s organizations face many challenges due to the rise of cloud migration, remote work, and the emergence of advanced cyber threats. Traditional perimeter-based SWGs must keep up with these changes and provide adequate protection.
Detecting Malware
One of the essential aspects of SWG security is its ability to detect malware. This is done by comparing code in internet traffic to known malware. This helps prevent a lot of issues from happening. SWGs can also block malicious websites by scanning their content and removing them from the network. They also offer SSL inspection, which allows them to decrypt HTTPS traffic and scan it for malware before delivering it back to the web server or user. SWGs are crucial for organizations as they help keep their employees and data safe from cyber threats. This is especially true as companies now rely on remote workers and cloud computing.
Preventing Data Loss
A Secure Web Gateway (SWG) protects against data loss by examining all outgoing traffic for risk. It also allows users to connect securely to corporate resources, enabling them to access data and apps without leaving the company network. SWGs can be implemented in a wide variety of ways. Some are cloud-based services, while others are on-premises appliances. Some organizations combine both types as they transition to cloud-delivered security. In addition to preventing data loss, SWGs can help businesses enforce acceptable use policies for web and internet access. An SWG can also help employees avoid malware by filtering URLs to prevent downloading files from dubious sources. This can be useful when employees are tempted to download software updates or new programs from sites with a reputation for hosting malicious code. SWGs can also protect against shadow IT by quickly identifying managed and unmanaged cloud apps in real-time and detecting when user-created data is shared on non-managed cloud applications. This allows organizations to strengthen their DLP policies and keep sensitive information from leaking onto websites or shadow IT apps.
Keeping Track of Online Activity
With more organizations relying on cloud solutions and employees working remotely, it’s critical to have a solution that can keep track of users’ online activity. SWG security helps companies with this task by monitoring and logging web traffic, giving them a clear picture of how users use the internet. SWG also allows organizations to categorize different applications and limit their usage by allowing employees to access only the needed sites. This enables companies to manage their employees’ productivity while protecting them from malware and other threats. In addition, SWGs can inspect files to ensure they’re not malicious. This can be especially important when dealing with aggregation sites that host both benign and dangerous files. A secure web gateway acts as a gatekeeper, blocking unsafe content and enforcing business policies to keep companies compliant with regulations like PCI-DSS and CIPA. SWGs protect users from cyber threats and data breaches by removing hazardous web content. They can be deployed as software-based solutions or hardware systems on a company’s premises or in the cloud.
Blocking Malicious Sites
Secure Web Gateway (SWG) security solutions are crucial to modern business protection. They are software-based applications or hardware devices running in the cloud or on your premises that perform network traffic inspection. SWGs filter out malicious websites and other threats from your company’s network. They also protect employees from malware by detecting and blocking it before it gets to their devices. A good SWG will have a blocklist that blocks bad sites based on company policy. This can help keep your organization safe by preventing access to material that may promote violence, drugs, or terrorism. In addition to preventing users from opening unsafe sites, SWGs can protect against URL injection attacks. This happens when a hacker creates a new page on an existing website that redirects an unsuspecting user to a malicious site. Another essential feature of an SWG is its ability to perform encrypted traffic analysis. This allows the SWG to evaluate the trustworthiness of a source without decrypting it. This can help businesses protect themselves against hackers who try to steal data or passwords through unsecured Wi-Fi connections.
Keeping Employees Safe
If you have a distributed workforce, a secure web gateway can help keep employees safe by monitoring their use of corporate applications and controlling access to content. These controls can help keep data loss to a minimum and improve productivity by keeping employees from downloading malware or visiting websites with explicit content not meant for business. SWGs inspect incoming network traffic and block unwanted traffic by blocking or disallowing connections based on corporate policies. This is accomplished by URL filtering and SSL inspection. Many of these solutions also offer next-gen data loss prevention features that prevent the extraction of sensitive data. They will also send alerts when a violation occurs, so you can proactively prevent security threats before they happen. These solutions can be deployed as hardware, software, or cloud-based solutions. Cloud-based deployments are the best option for many organizations, as they require no additional hardware home bases and are easier to manage than on-premise appliances.