Hackers find ways to steal personal data and even infect data with malware. Learn what is an application control mechanism to help you prevent this harm.
Introduction to Application Control Mechanism
Organizations are using a different types of application control mechanisms. The application control mechanism is a policy-based mechanism that controls the applications that can be executed within the organization. It allows users to run only trusted applications and also use the application on a selective basis.
The application control mechanism provides security to the organizations. This is by preventing malicious software from executing and from accessing sensitive information within the computer or network. Also, organizations can access the resources of the computer or network in an efficient manner.
As organizations are facing numerous cyber threats, organizations need to apply the application control mechanism for their good. In comparison to other forms of security, the application control mechanism is an effective way of protecting against these threats. The application control mechanism is very useful in today’s world where everything depends upon computer and internet technology.
There are many reasons organizations have started using application control mechanisms. The application control mechanism is hardware-based and is a very effective way of preventing cyber threats from attacking the organization. Also, the Application control mechanism is used for securing network devices, software, and applications.
It protects the data from getting stolen or tampered with by unauthorized users. So, organizations need to set policies for using the application control mechanism for keeping their data safe.
Application Control Mechanism Implementation
Organizations can implement application control mechanisms on different devices such as routers, switches, firewalls, etc. The application control mechanism can be implemented at different levels. These are such as Web-proxy level, Operating system level, and Application level.
Web-proxy level: Organizations can implement web-proxy level controls to manage the applications that can be used in the organization. These web proxies will allow users to access only trusted applications. Also, the proxy servers store information about all trusted and untrusted applications.
When a user requests to access a particular website, the proxy server will check the website against its list of trusted and untrusted websites. Then allow access to only trusted websites. If a user wants to access an untrusted website then it can be allowed only if the admin approves it.
Web-proxy Server
Many commercial organizations are providing web-proxy server solutions such as Cisco ACE. Operating System Level: Organizations can implement operating system-based application controls. This is done by using policies for controlling specific applications within the organization’s network environment.
These organizations must have an operating system that supports application controls. This is such as Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system or above versions of Linux operating system. Also, the server administrators have to configure policies that specify what types of applications are allowed or not allowed within the organization’s network environment.
They have to also configure exceptions for these applications in case they need to use certain applications that are not approved by the policy settings. Application Level: Application level controls are very useful for protecting the specific line of business application. This is within an organization’s network environment.