A secure internet gateway is critical to IT security. It can monitor and manage compliance and IT policies. Organizations need a way to keep their data and devices safe. A secure internet gateway can help them transition to cloud computing.
Data leak prevention
A secure web gateway is a critical piece of network security. It can protect your entire business network by preventing incursions from malicious websites and web traffic. It also can monitor IT policies and ensure compliance. These are critical factors as more work is done outside the traditional office setting.
Your web gateway should be able to recognize and stop data leaks from keeping your business secure. Since many of these systems are cloud-based, they can implement security policies in motion. To stop illegal data exfiltration, they monitor encrypted traffic and evaluate it against threat databases and reputable sources.
A secure and safe internet gateway also includes a data leak prevention solution (DLP). This solution monitors data movement into and out of your network and applies preemptive measures to prevent data loss. A data leak prevention solution protects your organization from the potential damage that exposing sensitive information can do, including customer information and competitor data. It also enforces policies to prevent unauthorized access to confidential information.
URL filtering
URL filtering is a great way to limit the websites your employees can access. Limiting access can protect your organization from viruses, malware, and phishing. Additionally, URL filtering can prevent employees from using peer-to-peer software and instant messaging, which wastes bandwidth and time.
URL filtering is more granular than DNS filtering and can require more maintenance and customization. By contrast, DNS filtering is protocol agnostic and applies to all types of web traffic, which is an important distinction to make when choosing a URL filtering solution.
A URL filtering solution can use local lookups to reduce latency or rely on cloud databases to keep a catalog of known web objects. Hybrid solutions combine both approaches to adapt to different traffic patterns and store recently accessed URLs on the device cache.
Sandboxing
Sandboxing is one of the best ways to prevent malware from spreading over the internet. If malware is detected on your PC, sandboxing can prevent it from being used. However, Malware uses multiple techniques to evade detection, including encryption and code change. In addition, some malware uses fast-flux to alter DNS names or IP addresses to avoid detection and blocklisting by malware detection websites.
A sandbox works by separating malware from other programs and processes. It isolates the threat so you can understand it better. Sometimes, you can use a sandbox with anti-virus software and firewalls to protect your system. Sandboxing is a crucial tool for preventing cyber threats, but it’s important to note that sandboxing is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, you’ll need to combine it with other security measures, such as a firewall and anti-spam mechanisms, to protect your computer against the biggest online threats.
Another way to protect your computer is to use virtualization. In a virtual environment, the OS and hardware components are isolated from the actual hardware. This isolation prevents malware from accessing the main network. Virtualization is an effective way to protect your computer from malware, but it’s not foolproof. For example, some malware can detect that a sandbox is running and exploit your computer.
Web-based malware detection
Web-based malware detection is a crucial security feature in any safe internet gateway. It can detect zero-day threats and prevent users from visiting malicious sites. Additionally, it ensures strict compliance with security policies and does not slow your browsing speed. According to research, 78% of people know the risk associated with clicking on unknown links. With these security features, your users can browse the web easily and be more productive.
A secure web gateway acts as a checkpoint to prevent malicious website traffic and malware from entering the enterprise’s network, which means that users can access only authorized websites. Additionally, it prevents sensitive data from being exfiltrated outside the enterprise. Web-based malware detection solutions are becoming more sophisticated as time passes, and many of them now include native data leak prevention.
For example, Sophos’ Web Gateway combines advanced malware detection with cloud-based application control. It can read HTTP and HTTPS traffic and uses threat intelligence from SophosLabs. It also has a specific dashboard feature. Using this dashboard, you may see security events from above.
