Most businesses that are looking to protect against web-based threats choose a cloud web security solution, as there are considerable benefits that come from analyzing web traffic, blocking access to malicious websites, and exercising content control in the cloud. Before we explain the benefits of cloud web security, it is useful to explain how traditional web protection solutions are delivered and some of the main drawbacks.
Traditional Web Security Solutions
Traditional web security solutions consist of either a physical appliance through which all web traffic is routed or software solutions on an in-house server or on individual devices. Web filtering appliances are costly initially and require ongoing maintenance by the IT department. They are mostly used for content control to limit the types of websites that can be accessed over the network, rather than for threat blocking. One of the main problems with these appliances is capacity. They can only be used to protect a finite number of users, which means additional appliances or upgrades are required as the company grows or having to pay for much more capacity than is needed.
Software solutions are a better alternative; however, maintenance by the IT department is also required, such as patching, and IT hardware needed to be dedicated to housing the software. Software on individual devices can be a major headache for IT departments to manage and update.
Cloud Web Security Solutions
An increasing number of businesses are now taking advantage of cloud computing and are transitioning from on-premises IT infrastructure as part of their digital transformations. Cloud computing keeps businesses agile, as capacity can be scaled up and down as needed. Business also avoid paying a large up-front cost and only pay for the computing and storage capacity they need. There is no need for extensive on-premises hardware, and all hardware and software are maintained by the service provider.
Cloud web security is provided as a software-as-a-service solution and provides all of these benefits. All web security functions take place on the service provider’s servers, so capacity is never an issue. There is no need to purchase hardware and cover an initial high up-front cost, and businesses can be up and running and protecting against web-based threats in a matter of minutes. Further, cloud security solutions such as WebTitan are easy to set up and use, even by people who lack extensive IT skills. They provide IT professionals with the protection and threat insights they need but are developed to also be used by small business owners.
Are Cloud Web Security Solutions Really Necessary?
Cloud web security solutions are an important part of any cybersecurity strategy as many threats are delivered via the Internet. Even phishing attacks conducted via email have a web-based component. Threat actors are constantly changing their tactics, techniques, and procedures, and to counter those threats, businesses need to implement layered defenses, where there are multiple overlapping layers of protection. An email security gateway will block the majority of threats that are delivered by email, but not all phishing emails. Email security solutions and firewalls will not protect against many threats that are delivered via the Internet, especially threats targeting employees.
A cloud web security solution works in tandem with an email security solution to improve protection against phishing attacks, providing time-of-click protection against links in emails and protection from redirects to malicious websites through general web browsing. These solutions also allow businesses to carefully control the activities of users on the Internet, including blocking illegal and undesirable categories of web content which can prevent legal issues and improve employee productivity.
The Power of Threat Intelligence
Cloud web security solutions are fed threat intelligence and are constantly updated as new malicious web content is discovered. WebTitan Cloud is fed threat intelligence from a global network of more than 500 million endpoints. When a new threat is encountered by one of those endpoints, it is rapidly blocked across the entire network to protect against zero-hour and even zero-minute threats.
The Importance of SSL Inspection
The majority of the most popular websites now have SSL certificates and encrypt the connection between the website and the browser to protect against man-in-the-middle attacks. While encrypting web content is great for security, threat actors also encrypt the connection between browsers and their malicious websites. Traditional web security solutions have no visibility into this traffic.
It is vital to choose a cloud-based security solution with SSL inspection, otherwise, threats can hide behind encryption and will not be detected. Another reason why choosing a cloud-based web security solution is advantageous is that SSL inspection is CPU intensive and all processing takes place in the cloud on the service provider’s servers.
Cloud Web Security from TitanHQ
TitanHQ’s cloud web security offering is WebTitan Cloud. WebTitan Cloud has been developed to be easy to use by small businesses and is largely a set-and-forget solution for blocking web-based threats and exercising content control. The product suite also includes WebTitan Cloud for Wi-Fi, which is used by hotspot providers and businesses that provide Wi-Fi access to their customers to protect against web-based threats and content control.
WebTitan Cloud is an award-winning cloud web security solution that protects against the full range of web-delivered threats, including ransomware, malware, botnets, phishing, and scam sites, and provides zero-minute protection against emerging phishing threats. An extensive suite of reports provides IT teams with full visibility into the online activities of all users, with real-time views of Internet activity provided down to the individual user level. Set up is quick and easy, and integration with directory services makes it simple to apply filtering controls for different users, user groups, and locations, as well as organization-wide.
WebTitan for Service Providers was developed from the ground up to meet the needs of Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and resellers, and has multiple hosting options, a white-label version ready to take an MSPs branding, and WebTitan Cloud is a multi-tenant solution with APIs that allow it to be incorporated into MSPs auto-provisioning and client management systems.
WebTitan Cloud is relied on by schools, libraries, hotels, airports, SMBs, enterprises, and MSPs for protecting against web-based threats and content control for their wired and wireless networks, and also provides protection for remote workers.
Summary
If you want to improve protection against threats such as phishing and prevent downloads of malware, viruses, botnets, and ransomware, while exercising control over the web content that can be accessed on your wired and wireless networks, you need a cloud-based web security solution.
Contact TitanHQ today for further information on WebTitan Cloud, details on pricing, and be sure to take advantage of the free 14-day free trial of WebTitan Cloud. Full support is provided and the TitanHQ team will be happy to help you get the most out of the trial.