SWGs monitor inbound internet traffic and prevent viruses, malware, phishing scams, and other threats from infiltrating the internal network of the company. Additionally, they carry out MITM inspection on SSL-encrypted traffic to keep hackers from eluding detection. By limiting file size uploads, an effective SWG can monitor online employee activity and assist IT and security teams in preventing data leaks from authorized applications. This feature aids in making sure that workers exclusively utilize authorized cloud applications for work.
Guard Your Network Against Malware
Employees need to have safe and secure internet access because more and more work is being done remotely. This is made possible by a secure web gateway (SWG), which screens out harmful content from online traffic and verifies the security of any files downloaded. This aids in the mitigation of cyber threats and data breaches. A SWG functions as a firewall between end users and the network, making it comparable to a proxy server. By examining incoming and outgoing data, it safeguards the company against malware, viruses, and phishing attempts while scanning inline web traffic. Additionally, it provides data loss prevention (DLP), which intercepts and blocks any unauthorized data transfer and enforces compliance with corporate and regulatory policies.
SWGs can be installed in hardware appliances or the cloud to function as SaaS gateways. Many businesses use both kinds of SWGs: cloud-based SWGs for remote workers and hardware appliances for offices. Keeping up with security updates and new features is essential to guaranteeing your protections are always up to date, regardless of the type of SWG you have. Additionally, the SWG inspects SSL/TLS encrypted data using a Mean Inversion Technique (MITM) to detect and stop any malicious content from entering the network.
Implement Internet Usage Guidelines
Multiple devices that collaborate are needed for the layered defense against web-based threats. SWGs, or secure web gateways, are among those gadgets. It could be a cloud-based, endpoint-based, or network perimeter hardware or software solution. A SWG enforces acceptable use guidelines for websites and cloud apps by keeping an eye on traffic to and from the internet. Multiple tools and techniques, such as URL filtering, content inspection, and antimalware protection, are used by SWG security to identify possible threats. Data loss prevention, which intercepts outgoing communications containing sensitive information like security credentials or controlled documents like engineering drawings, may be included in some SWGs, depending on the vendor.
To ensure that you are informed of any issues as soon as they arise, a SWG can be integrated with your security monitoring solutions like SIEM and NGFW. It can also be integrated with your zero-day antimalware solution to provide detection and prevention. In order to give you a real-time view of new threats and attacks as they surface online, some SWGs can also be integrated with your threat intelligence feeds. A remote browser isolation (RBI) solution, which runs all active principles in a disposable virtual container outside the regular endpoint browser, can also be incorporated into a SWG to stop malicious code and data from entering the organizational network. This lowers risk and safeguards data while enabling workers to carry on using their preferred apps without interfering with work.
Disable Unapproved Online Apps
To detect possible threats like malware and phishing, a secure web gateway (SWG) employs a variety of technologies, such as URL filtering, SSL inspection, antimalware protection, content inspection, and threat detection. In addition, it enforces policies related to organizational security, such as website blocking and role- and department-based access restrictions to particular apps. SWGs help comply with legal requirements like GDPR and HIPAA, offer a layered defense against malware and phishing attacks, and stop sensitive data from being transferred over the internet without authorization. They can be set up as cloud-based services or as hardware or software appliances that are installed on-site.
With Next Gen SWGs, you can keep an eye on how users are using apps and cloud services, set up detailed acceptable use policies, activate risk-adaptive procedures based on app and user risk, context, and activity, steer users clear of risky apps, and encrypt or redact sensitive data. Additionally, they facilitate real-time data loss prevention (DLP), which identifies and prevents unauthorized data from leaving the network of the company. This new feature allows you to block apps on endpoint devices and automatically mark apps and domains as unsanctioned in the Microsoft Defender ATP Indicators experience. If you have manually set organizational scoping on indicators, this automatic blocking will take precedence. It can take up to two hours for these tags to spread throughout all endpoint devices and disable the relevant Microsoft Windows Defender SmartScreen apps.
Verified Downloaded Documents
A successful business must prioritize security since workers need to access websites and cloud apps in order to perform their duties. However, because traditional network infrastructures were built to safeguard a perimeter-based network and are ill-suited to the demands of today’s cloud-based environment, they are no longer useful for this purpose. SWG solutions close this gap by enforcing internet usage policies and shielding businesses from cyberattacks. SWG solutions enforce organizational policies, like content blocking, and monitor web traffic to spot possible threats, like malware or phishing. They employ a number of methods, such as SSL/TLS inspection, content inspection, antimalware and antivirus protection, and URL filtering, to detect these threats. They can also include data loss prevention (DLP) to stop private data from traveling to the cloud and user behavior analytics (UBA) to identify suspicious user activity patterns.
Although SWG solutions can be implemented as hardware appliances, cloud-based gateway solutions are preferred by most companies. This provides numerous organizations with a more economical and adaptable choice. It also saves the company money and downtime by doing away with the need to replace outmoded hardware. Businesses that already have hardware investments can also choose a hybrid solution that combines cloud-based and on-premise SWG capabilities. As a result, they can take advantage of every deployment method’s best feature without having to pay the technical debt that comes with outdated firewall architectures.
