Secure web gateway vs SASE. What are the differences between these two tools? And how can you benefit from both?
Secure Web Gateway vs SASE
To begin, let us define what each one means. A secure web gateway (SWG) refers to a gatekeeper, which stands between your network and the public internet. It allows you to control the traffic that enters your network through a well-defined set of rules.
A secure access service edge or SASE, on the other hand, is a special type of firewall. It is a security gateway that provides a demilitarized zone and an access control list for applications that run on the network.
The primary difference between the SWG and SASE is that the latter is located on the network perimeter. It separates a trusted network from an untrusted network, while the SWG is located within the trusted network. The SWG connects to SASE.
Then, the SWG acts like a proxy server of sorts. It allows users to access the internet through it. This is done by filtering out any malicious traffic or content that may cause damage to your computer or network. It is also responsible for caching and analyzing content before it reaches your local servers.
Secure Web Gateway vs SASE: Which One Should You Use?
Answering this question will depend on what your needs are. And let’s face it, who doesn’t want to get more bang for their buck? By using both tools, you can achieve greater security than what you could get from either one of them individually.
A web gateway, for example, can be used to protect against attacks that target web applications. Such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and cross-site request forgery (CSRF). To put it simply, SWG helps secure your app from outsiders and insiders alike. Meanwhile, SASE has its uses too. For instance, it can be used to manage application policies across different platforms and devices.
It’s also important to note that while SWG ensures that all web traffic is encrypted via HTTPS (SSL/TLS), SASE only supports application traffic encryption with TLS 1.2 and AES 256-bit encryption keys. So if you want to protect your data against threats such as man-in-the-middle attacks and eavesdropping, then you’ll need an SWG as well.
Moreover, when it comes to analyzing data and passing it on to the servers within your network, a web gateway can perform better than SASE. It can also be used to speed up your website, by caching the content in memory. In contrast, SASE will cache data only on the disk. This can make it slower than the web gateway on some occasions.
So, you should use SWG if you want to detect and prevent attacks from external sources such as hackers or bots. Then, you should use SASE if you want to track and control internal users and applications.
Conclusion
As we’ve seen, both SWG and SASE have a lot to offer. In fact, they are two of the best tools for securing your business’s sensitive data and applications. So by using both of them together, you’ll be able to get more protection at less cost.