A secure online gateway is a software program that sits in front of your users’ connections to the Internet, checking all web traffic and preventing them from accessing any harmful or undesirable websites. It serves as the initial line of protection against web-based attacks and is essential to the security posture of any organization.
An organization’s network is protected from online-based dangers by a secure web gateway (SWG). Also, an SWG offers web filtering to make sure users may only visit websites that have been authorized. An SWG can also offer content screening to prevent the viewing of inappropriate material.
The majority of SWGs inspect both the content of the web page itself and the URL of every website that is browsed. The SWG will prohibit a URL or piece of material if it is thought to be malicious or disruptive. To find and block harmful content that URL filtering does not catch, certain SWGs also analyze online traffic in real time.
Benefits of A Secure Web Gateway
After knowing what is a Secure Web Gateway (SWG), you can determine that it is a security architectural component that delivers a single point of control and policy enforcement for all Internet traffic. Then, all Internet traffic will be routed through a single gateway, allowing the SWG to examine and filter traffic for illegal or malicious information thoroughly. The SWG can also give complete visibility into online activity and usage data.
The benefits of deploying an SWG are numerous, but some of the most important benefits include the following:
- Improved security: The SWG can inspect and filter traffic for malicious or unauthorized content more effectively than if each individual device were to attempt to do so.
- Improved visibility: The SWG provides comprehensive visibility into Internet activity and usage patterns, which can be helpful for both security and performance troubleshooting.
- Reduced complexity: By consolidating all Internet traffic into a single gateway, the SWG can reduce the overall complexity of the network.
If you are considering deploying an SWG, consider its benefits and drawbacks to familiarize the purpose of SWGs.
Types of Secure Web Gateways
Today, businesses have access to a wide variety of secure web gateways. Your particular requirements and needs will determine the type of gateway you select. The most common varieties of secure web gateways are listed below in brief:
- Firewall: A firewall is a type of network security system that regulates inbound and outbound traffic in accordance with pre-set security rules.
- Proxy-based web gateways: One of the most popular types of safe web gateways is the proxy-based web gateway. They serve as a go-between for people and the internet, filtering traffic and providing security.
- Intrusion Prevention System: An intrusion prevention system (IPS) keeps track of network traffic and scans it for any abnormal activity that might point to an attempted attack.
- Web Application Firewall: A web application firewall (WAF) defends web applications against threats by examining and filtering incoming traffic.
- SSL VPN: An SSL VPN encrypts all data traveling between a user’s device and the VPN gateway.
- IPsec VPN: An IPsec VPN uses Internet Protocol security to encrypt and authenticate all communication between a user’s device and the VPN gateway.
- DNS servers: By blocking unauthorized DNS requests, DNS (Domain Name System) servers are a different kind of safe web gateway that can help increase security.
- HTTP Secure: HTTP Secure (HTTPS) is a variation of the HTTP protocol that employs SSL/TLS to secure web traffic. Compared to HTTP, HTTPS is more secure.
Secure web gateways (SWGs) are intended to protect business networks from harmful traffic by evaluating and obstructing traffic as it travels between an internal network and the internet. In order to inspect each packet as it is transferred, an SWG often implements an application layer protocol, such as Web services.
