What does an SWG do? How can companies enjoy the perks of using this tool? To get to know more about this topic, keep on reading this post.
What Does an SWG Do?
A secure web gateway or SWG does a lot of things for companies. Firstly, it protects the IT infrastructure from a wide array of online threats. It is a security tool that acts as a barrier against several online threats. This includes viruses, spam, phishing sites, and worms among others.
Moreover, it also supports policies to ensure that everyone in the company uses the internet responsibly. An example of this is the implementation of policies that can block access to certain websites. An SWG also ensures that company data remains confidential and secure. Then, it provides strong protection against attacks like cross-site scripting, SQL injection, and other threats.
What are the components of an SWG? An SWG is made up of five components namely, policy server, proxy server, gateway server, virtual firewall, and reverse proxy. The policy server is responsible for managing access to websites and applications in the network. Then, this component allows users to access the internet through different levels of security.
The gateway server controls traffic between users and the internet. When users visit an internal website or application, an application-level gateway will read their requests. And then pass them on to the right component or resource based on a set of rules.
When it comes to routing traffic, a virtual firewall is used. It filters out bad traffic while allowing good traffic to pass through. Lastly, a reverse proxy takes requests from clients and forwards them to other servers or applications.
How Does an SWG Work?
SWG works like this; when a person wants to access an internal network resource such as an application or website, he has to go through the gateway server. This will then make use of a set of rules to determine whether that user should be allowed access or not.
If he is allowed access then only will his request be forwarded to the resources he wanted. But if not his request will be rejected outright thus protecting your system from malicious code and cyber-attacks.
Then, when a person tries to access the internet, his request will be received by a virtual firewall. This will then filter out malicious traffic and allow safe traffic to pass through.
It is important to note that an SWG can work independently or in conjunction with other security tools like firewalls, anti-malware software, anti-spam software, anti-virus software, anti-phishing software, etc.
How can you secure your network from external threats? It is very important to secure your network from external threats. These threats can damage not only your network but also compromise your user’s data and reputation. To prevent this from happening, you may consider using a Secure Web Gateway (SWG).
Final Words
In conclusion, SWG is a security tool that acts as a barrier against several online threats. It can protect your system by blocking access to malicious websites and applications, preventing cross-site scripting attacks, SQL injection, and other attacks.