Secure Web Technologies | A Comprehensive Overview
With the shift to cloud computing, IT environments are now highly distributed – data and applications are accessible from anywhere in world, no longer protected by the traditional corporate network perimeter. The employees are scattered and require secure and fast connections to cloud and corporate IT services. As a result, secure web gateways are now essential to cybersecurity as part of a multi-layered security strategy.
Secure web gateway (SWG), as an overview, is a tool that blocks unwanted software and malicious code from live Internet browsers while also enforcing enterprise policies. This solution is similar to firewalls and CASBs, however, it functions at the application level. It inspects each request in greater depth than about his traditional firewalls, and examines all files for malware and threat that is evasive.
A reliable SWG solution combines firewall inspection as well as URL filtering and DNS filtering, along with antimalware, sandboxing as well as other features such as Two-Factor Authentication (TFA), Web Application Firewalls and more. It should also include encryption. Encryption encodes sensitive data so cybercriminals cannot read it. This helps to prevent sensitive data from falling into unintentional hands.
A quality SWG will include a broad array of features that can meet the business needs of your organization. For instance, if you work in a heavily regulated industry, your solution should include integrated or native data leak prevention and compliance reporting. If you are a company with a large remote workforce, the solution should be able to manage access to devices that are not managed and enforce the least privilege principle across your extended supply chain.