What is the truth about secure web gateway? What are the reasons why this is increasingly gaining popularity today?
The Truth About Secure Web Gateway
A secure web gateway or SWG refers to a network gateway that performs filtering of the traffic which is being sent and received through it. It is primarily used for filtering out unwanted content such as spam and viruses from the internet.
Moreover, it can also be used to filter content. This is considered inappropriate. Such as adult material or other material that could be detrimental to the users’ health or safety.
Today, many organizations are opting for them because of the following reasons:
1. The need for securing the organization’s networks from malicious programs such as viruses and spyware has increased significantly. This is because more attackers are focusing on coming up with more harmful programs to make money. Then, the number of attacks has increased significantly over the past years. And this is something that organizations need to worry about.
2. Advancements in technology have also contributed to its popularity. Today, more people are using shared computers or internet connections instead of having their own. So, this means that more people will be exposed to the risk of being infected with malicious programs. Like worms, Trojan horses, and viruses, if they use these shared computers or connections. This means that organizations should invest in SWG. This is so that they can control what kind of content their users will access online through these shared resources.
3. The need for protecting sensitive data from being accessed by unauthorized people has also increased significantly today. This data may include private information about employees at the organization, financial information, and other private information about customers. This means that it is important for organizations to protect this data from being accessed by hackers.
Other Reasons to Use Secure Web Gateway
The cost of securing an organization’s network through firewalls has become quite expensive today. Because firewall administration involves installing new hardware and software. And also, hiring staff who will be responsible for managing them properly. This cost may be higher when an organization wants to implement a higher level of security.
Hence, SWGs can help reduce this cost significantly. Because they do not require additional software or hardware to work properly. And they do not require much management either because they work automatically.
Moreover, when it comes to web security, many organizations prefer to use SWG instead of antivirus programs.
This is because they can be used to filter out malicious programs such as worms and Trojan horses. But not malicious HTML code which is responsible for sending spam to users’ inboxes. So, this makes them better at stopping spam than antivirus programs that only focus on blocking the malicious code.
Conclusion
So, in short, organizations are increasingly turning towards utilizing a secure web gateway because It provides better protection against spam and viruses. Also, the cost of securing an organization’s network through firewalls has become quite expensive today. SWGs can help reduce this cost significantly. So, are you ready to use this tool?