This blog post will feature secure web gateway strategies for newbies. So, if you are one of them, then you have come to the right post.
Secure Web Gateway Strategies for Newbies
To begin, let us define what a secure web gateway (SWG) is. An SWG refers to a network security function that protects web-based applications from attacks. Such as cross-site scripting and SQL injection. A web gateway can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both.
Web gateways have become very popular in recent years. As they offer a cost-effective way to secure web applications and other Internet-facing applications. It is important to note that SWGs are not firewalls and should not be used to replace a firewall.
A firewall is responsible for providing network traffic protection at the perimeter of an organization’s network. Whereas, an SWG will protect only web applications and other internet-facing applications.
Gateway Redundancy
The first strategy is to add redundancy to your existing firewall deployment. This is done by using multiple firewalls in a network architecture with redundant connections. This means that the network will have multiple paths and multiple firewalls with similar configurations.
Yet, one of the disadvantages of this strategy is that if one of the firewalls is compromised, all the traffic will go through that compromised firewall.
Another strategy is to deploy Firewall and Web Gateway on a separate device. This means that you can deploy a firewall on one network. And then a web gateway on another network. The main advantage of this strategy is that it will protect you from possible attacks against your web applications as well as your firewall device.
Proxy Versus Gateways
Another important note is to understand the difference between proxy and gateway. A proxy server acts as an intermediary for all traffic to internet applications. Next, it will receive incoming traffic from clients, inspect the traffic, and then forward it to the internet application.
On the other hand, a gateway receives requests from client devices in addition to forwarding those requests to internet applications. A gateway will also perform security checks on those requests before forwarding them to an internet application.
The difference between these two devices is that you can use a proxy server to provide access control for your users. But you cannot use it for web application security purposes. Because there are no security checks when using a proxy server, attackers can easily bypass it. So, this means that a secure web gateway should be used instead of a proxy server for securing your web applications.
Gateway Security Features
The final step is to learn about various features which an SWG should have to provide maximum protection. For example, an SWG should have an antivirus scanner, anti-spam filter, content filtering engine, vulnerability scanner, and URL filtering capabilities.
Moreover, it should also have anti-phishing capabilities by blocking websites that have phishing content. And behavior detection systems against malicious software and malvertising campaigns.
Follow These Secure Web Gateway Strategies for Newbies
As you can see, it is important to make sure that you know what you are doing when deploying a secure web gateway. This is to ensure that it provides maximum protection. As a result, learning different strategies will be very beneficial.