Is secure web gateway a firewall? Or are they completely different things? If you are interested in this topic, keep on scrolling below.
Is Secure Web Gateway a Firewall?
A secure web gateway (SWG) is different from a firewall. It refers to a product that can be used to detect and block threats. Such as hacking, password guessing, denial of service attacks, spyware, malware, and viruses on a network.
Not everyone can afford to have a firewall in their workplace. Not all companies need one. They are expensive solutions and you will have to pay a hefty price for them. However, SWG is preferred over a firewall for the following reasons:
1. SWG acts as a security filter for web applications. Hence, it is useful especially if you are using web applications. Such as SharePoint or Exchange that is integrated with your email system.
2. It will allow you to manage access to the internet from your organization’s computers and mobile devices. All without having to install any extra firewall in each computer connection. Basically, it does the same thing as a firewall does but at a cheaper price tag and with less complexity.
3. If you are planning to install an application that requires a connection to the internet, you can use the SWG servlets. This is to add it to your server’s whitelist so that they will be able to receive data directly from the internet. With this feature, you can remove the need of installing firewalls and IP addresses in your private network. That is if you only have one or two applications that are going online through your web server.
4. You can also use this gateway as an SSL proxy where it will monitor all of the traffic passing through it. And then decode encrypted SSL traffic so that it can be analyzed for threats. Such as phishing attacks and viruses or even spam emails later on.
Other Uses of SWG
SWG offers all of these features without having to purchase any expensive hardware, software, and maintenance fees. Such as hiring IT personnel to handle installation issues, software upgrades, fixing and maintaining firewalls, etc.
Thus, this saves companies money in the long run when compared with having physical firewalls installed in every computer terminal. SWGs work on a software-only basis using virtualization technology. So, this makes it easy to install additional modules later on if needed. All without having any new hardware requirements like adding another firewall machine into a network.
Then, another use of an SWG is to allow only specific users to access the network. It allows you to implement security policies that are needed. For example, providing access to the internet only to certain applications or networks. And only to those users that require it.
Another use of an SWG is to control traffic into and out of your network. By implementing policies that block any traffic that is attempting to connect via certain ports or protocols. Such as preventing particular types of traffic, or allowing only certain kinds of traffic. This works even by allowing some services through the firewall for your private network.