Do you want to build a secure web gateway without spending too much time or effort? If you are looking for a simple solution to create a Secure Web Gateway (SWG) then this article has some great ideas to consider.
What is Secure Web Gateway MCAS?
Secure Web Gateway MCAS Tips!
First, let’s talk about what a Secure Web Gateway is. When you deploy a web gateway and use it for Internet proxy load balancing, the traffic that is going across the Internet and then into your data center has to go through it.
This can be problematic if you are not careful because if you have a web server on the back end and your web traffic goes through the gateway, you might have some security issues. Some of these issues could be with buffer overflow attacks, cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection and more. The best way to solve this is to use a Secure Web Gateway MCAS solution.
So what is a Secure Web Gateway? An SWG is a reverse proxy that acts as a web application firewall (WAF). A WAF protects your web servers from common attacks like buffer overflows and SQL injection attacks. If you want to protect your applications with this sort of protection then be sure to deploy the reverse proxy or SWG in front of your web servers, allowing them to connect with it directly instead of the Internet.
Secure Web Gateway MCAS Tips
Below are tips for building a secure web gateway, based on our experience in doing this for 11 years:
1) Get a Linux Server That Supports As Many Services As Possible
When building a secure web gateway, you want to make sure that you get some sort of Linux server that supports as many services as possible. You can easily do this by using an open-source Linux distribution like Ubuntu Server LTS or CentOS 6 or 7.
Many people who are new to Linux think that they need Windows to run their web server. This isn’t true at all. You can run Apache (or IIS) on Linux just as easily as you can on Windows Server 2008 or 2012 R2 or even 2016 (if your hosts support them).
2) Get Your Operating System Image From Someone Else
If you are getting started with your first Secure Web Gateway MCAS deployment, we highly recommend that you choose an operating system (OS) with an image that is preloaded with everything you need.
Why? Because it is always easier to get an image that already has the packages you want. Rather than installing and maintaining your own OS image. This makes installing a secure web gateway much easier for beginners because there will be fewer packages you need to manage.
3) Get A Good Web Application Firewall
If you are using an operating system like Ubuntu Server then you should definitely get a good web application firewall (WAF). They offer great protection against common attacks like XSS (cross-site scripting), SQL injection attacks and buffer overflows. If you need protection against denial of service attacks then look at solutions like Cloudflare or Incapsula which provide this kind of protection out-of-the-box.
4) Choose Your Web Application Firewall Solution Wisely
If you do need a hardware-based firewall like a Cisco Firewall then make sure that it can support the web applications that go through it. Some firewalls also support Microsoft SharePoint so if this is something that your company uses then make sure that your firewall supports this too.