What Is a Secure Web Gateway (SWG) and How Does It Work? Business
What is a secure web gateway (SWG) and how does it work?,Author: Gary Hilson,Modern trends such as , the move to a and increased use of for work have all combined to place intense pressure on business networks. At the same time, a rise in cyber attacks and increasingly cheap availability of cyber crime tools, such as , increase the vulnerability of said networks. This is why it is helpful to think of a secure web gateway (SWG) not only as something protecting your organization against malware but also as a critical technology for enabling communications and collaboration. A fully managed, centralized gateway can provide you with secure access to the variety of broadband and wireless access options necessary for your business to operate in a connected world where threat actors are looking to exploit potential attack surfaces. What is a secure web gateway?,A secure web gateway to stop unauthorized traffic from entering your organization's network. The gateway governs all inline traffic, standing between all incoming and outgoing data. Users can only access approved, secure websites. This helps to prevent viruses, malware, ransomware and other malicious traffic from taking root in your enterprise network to hamper operations, access sensitive data and steal valuable intellectual property. Secure web gateways can be installed either as a software component or as a hardware device on the edge of the network or at user endpoints. Every gateway uses a stored list of known and approved website URL addresses to block malicious sites and filter out any unknown addresses. A secure web gateway doesn't only control what gets in either. All outgoing data is checked to ensure whether and where it's allowed to be distributed. This is especially important given the adoption of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications commonly used for , as well as through which desktops and files can be shared in real time. An SWG protects each workstation in the organization from web traffic that might attempt to steal or destroy data or hijack devices as a means to get broader access to the enterprise network. Secure web gateways and cyber security,A secure web gateway is one of many that are becoming increasingly important as threat actors develop more into sharing personal identification information and business data or inject malicious code to take control of devices and networks and disrupt operations. Enterprise networks with multiple points of entry will need to address these threats. Recent research highlights the due to the acceleration of organizations migrating to the cloud with the adoption of cloud applications and storage. As more workloads are run from the cloud, there's an increase in threats focused on the web channel and increased reliance on browsers to access applications. This could result in more data leakage, according to the report. Secure web gateways can help to prevent the financial and reputational damage caused by a cyberattack or data breach. Verizon's annual found that the cost of breaches can reach into the millions, and breached companies underperformed in the stock market by approximately 5%. A Forbes found 46% of organizations had suffered reputational damage as a result of a data breach, and 19% of organizations suffered reputation and brand damage as a result of a third-party security breach. Who should use an SWG?,Any organization concerned about securing its network should consider an SWG. However, it is most relevant to:,Network requirements,A secure web gateway is more than just a security guard deciding who's allowed in and out based on credentials. Optimally, technology you deploy should offer capabilities beyond basic URL, data and web application control filtering. Features such as encrypted traffic analysis enable a secure web gateway to compare all traffic to available lists and then analyze the nature of the traffic, including SSL-based encrypted traffic, to determine if any content or code could be a threat to the network. A secure web gateway can scan and filter social media for outgoing information, as well as scan outgoing data to determine if it should be uploaded to the cloud outside of your organization's network to prevent data loss. For maximum effectiveness, you may want to make sure a secure web gateway deployment is integrated with other security tools, including your existing monitoring solution so that your IT and security teams are notified immediately of any problems. You may also want to integrate your preferred zero-day anti-malware solution to prevent and remediate threats never seen before. All protocols including HTTP, HTTPS and FTP internet protocols should be supported. Secure web gateway as a managed service,Where you deploy your secure web gateway is flexible. It can be placed at endpoints, at the edge or in the cloud. Like many other applications and services, it can be deployed in a cloud-based, SaaS model, which is less expensive and easier to maintain. A cloud-based solution is especially practical for remote locations and workers, although you can combine a SaaS approach with existing hardware solutions, such as appliances. Because today's network architectures are complex—and even more so with the dramatic rise in remote endpoints—it's important to understand the nature of your web traffic, where it needs to go and who needs to use it. Given the many deployment options and the many different locations you may have to support and the nature of your business, consider a . By delivering an SWG through a cloud-based port, your can be extended to remote locations and users, so they can safely and securely connect and collaborate virtually anytime and anywhere. Other benefits,Aside from protecting your organization against threats, your gateway can provide useful insight into network traffic including user behavior on the web, help to govern acceptable and safe use of the web and obtain better visibility and control of data through the use of advanced web analytics. Learn more about how Verizon can help you . If you'd like to receive new articles, solutions briefs, whitepapers and more—just let us know. Choose your country to view contact details. Manage your account or get tools and information. These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. 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