How to handle every secure web gateway challenge with ease using these tips? Insecure web gateways are everywhere these days. They’re also becoming more complicated to handle as they evolve over time. If you want to develop secure applications, then you should take care of every step that involves securing your connection.
Secure web gateways are essential for every user. There are many ways to tackle this challenge. Here are a few tips that will help you handle every secure web gateway challenge with ease.
Use the Latest Software
One of the most important ways to ensure security is to use the latest version of the software. This latest version will come with many updates that will protect your connection from any remote or local threats. In this case, the vulnerability in the framework or third-party components can be very dangerous.
Avoid Using an Insecure HTTP Protocol
Another important way to keep safe is to avoid using an insecure HTTP protocol. It’s best to use a secure HTTPS protocol instead. There are many ways to accomplish this goal. You can use a proxy server or even a VPN server for this purpose.
Block All External Access
It’s also important to block all external access from your application. In other words, all user traffic should be physically located on the same network as your application server. By doing so, you’ll have control over network traffic and you’ll also be able to identify potential threats and block them in time.
You should also deploy an SSL certificate so you can encrypt all transmitted data. Make sure your certificate is signed by a trusted third party and that it has a strong encryption level using strong cyphers.
Restrict the Number of Users
The other thing you need to do is restrict the number of users that can access your application at any given time. With this in place, you can prevent any DoS attacks or brute force attacks that could harm your web servers and database servers and cause downtime or data loss.
You should also restrict traffic from specific IP addresses that pose risks to your environment. This way, you’ll be able to block suspicious traffic that could cause trouble for your system and harm your data integrity in the process.
Avoid Exposing Internal Ports and Services
The next thing you need to do is avoid exposing internal ports and services through public-facing firewalls, whether they are hardware or software firewalls (hardware firewalls are not always easy to configure). Doing so leaves room for many threats that could harm your environment if left unattended for too long. This should be part of your checklist before deploying a new server on the web gateway device or appliance you’re using.
Implement Strong Password Policies
Another thing you need to do is implement strong password policies for administrative accounts and make sure they are different across different applications and servers. One of the best ways to achieve this goal is by using password hashing tools
Restrict Access to Non-Administrative Users
One of the most important things you can do is to restrict access to the system from non-administrative users. You should never use the root account for day-to-day work, but instead, create a non-admin user account with limited privileges.
It’s also crucial to learn how to use the system correctly and how to leverage administrative rights responsibly. It’s not uncommon for a hacker to break into a system by taking advantage of poor administration practices.
One of the most common ways this can happen is by using an administrator’s SSH key to gain access to a server on their network.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many ways that you can secure your web gateway device or appliance without much effort at all. You only need to know what works best for your environment and what doesn’t work so well, and then you can make adjustments accordingly.
Doing so will help your team stay on top of any threat that could harm your environment in one way or another, which is exactly what every security professional wants when it comes down to it.