6 Ways to Modernise Your Network Security with Secure Web Gateway Filtering

25/05/2021

Antonne has a great relationship with his team but sometimes they are a little keen on browsing the internet for personal use in company time. With the increase in remote working and being a busy business owner, he is unable to keep a physical eye on what his team is viewing online. Malicious internet traffic is also a cause for concern. Especially the possibility of infections or intrusions causing downtime and untold damage to the company’s data and networks.

Antonne intends to continue hybrid working measures in the future but needs to ensure his team remain focused and his business is secure from external and internal threats. Surely his free WIFI router, the security it provides, along with his staff’s judgement is all the protection required to keep his data safe?

No, it would mean leaving his organisation wide open to malicious attacks.

Over the last two years the number of insider incidents has increased by 47%¹. With the rise in flexible working, it’s never been more important to ensure your organisation is more than adequately protected against a serious breach to company data.

Providing employees with digital devices means your organisation assumes the legal liability of their actions when it comes to use of the internet. Deploying Secure Web Gateway (SWG) filtering allows organisations to enforce security and productivity policies ensuring staff are not accessing malicious or inappropriate content on company issued devices.

What is Secure Web Gateway Filtering?

SWG filtering is a cyberbarrier that sits between an end user and the internet to protect critical company data and networks. It helps to enforce an organisation’s cybersecurity protocols by analysing web traffic in real-time and blocking any content that may violate these guidelines. Advanced network protection is also provided by filtering out web-based threats such as viruses, unwanted software and malware, that could infect an organisation’s devices and compromise their networks.

The diagram below illustrates how this form of web content filtering works.

1. SWG filtering user behind the firewall
2. Roaming SWG filtering Client user outside the firewall perimeter
3. Distributed SWG filtering ratings database
4. Local ratings cache of acceptable sites
5. Set URL policies to block objectionable or counter-productive websites
6. Real-time and historical reports

What are the Benefits of Secure Web Gateway Filtering? 

As migration to the cloud increases and flexible working becomes a regular practice the overall attack surface of a business grows, leaving it more exposed to cybercrime. The risk posed by web-based traffic continues to be a primary concern as attack techniques become more advanced and adaptable.

Simply relying on the minimal security provided by your free WIFI router from your chosen internet service provider is no longer enough to protect your organisation. Having proactive network monitoring through deploying SWG filtering has many benefits in modernising your network security.

• Protection from advance security threats, minimising the risk of data loss and data theft
• Administrators can enhance performance with bandwidth management and block harmful or unproductive online content including websites and files
• Offers flexible policy configuration and control of internet usage with custom policies for specific users, groups or individual categories
• Provides compliance for industry regulations, such as helping to achieve the Lexcel quality mark
• Simple management for administrators, cloud-hosted SWG is easily deployed across locations and users regardless of whether the device is located in or outside the firewall perimeter
• Scalable and cost-effective to suit your organisation’s needs 

Time to Modernise your Network Security with a Secure Web Gateway Filtering? 

If your organisation would like to implement SWG filtering NCI Technologies can help. We partner with leading cybersecurity solutions provider Sonicwall who help us to deliver IT security products that protect against advanced cyberattacks. To find out more you can call us on 01326 379 497 or contact our friendly sales team here.

Sources

¹ https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/next-gen-infosec/create-protocol-insider-threats/

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