The issue of Web Security is a prominent one in the task list of IT department. Web has emerged as the main source for criminals to leverage it for attacks on networks. Criminals push malware, spam & spyware, carry out  phishing, pharming, intrusions,  and more through malicious web sites, web based applications and emails in order to steal data and gain unauthorized access.
Also, today the threats are increasingly complex, designed to appear low in profile and mutate easily to avoid detection and are the handiwork of extremely organized professional cyber criminal groups. This makes web security an important element in any IT security strategy in organizations. According to Web Security analysts, web based attacks are the biggest of all risks that affect the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of information assets on the networks of a business.

How Web based Attackers Compromise Security

The modus operandi of criminals involves altering the backend database in order to retrieve confidential information from the networks, substitute information of the user to gain entry into the networks acting as the authentic user, redirecting user requests from a legitimate site to an illegitimate site and controlling a Web user session to masquerade as the authorized user. All these attack methodologies allow attackers to do anything the user is authorized to do on the network -a dangerous trend indeed that blows away security in a single stroke. 

Cyberoam Comprehensive Web Security agains web based Threats

Cyberoam offers a comprehensive security cover against web-based threats, including the entry of malware, phishing, pharming, intrusions and unauthorized data uploads. Cyberoam’s Check Mark Level 5 certified security features deliver comprehensive network and data security while offering web protection, maintaining employee productivity, meeting regulatory compliance and preventing data leakage.

How Cyberoam Provides granular and Comprehensive Web Security
  • Cyberoam provides Wide Security Cover from Web Threats. Its  Gateway Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware scan the web, Instant Messaging, HTTPS and FTP traffic, delivering web security against emerging malware. Similarly Cyberoam IPS detects, blocks or drops intrusion attempts by detecting anomalous traffic. The Web Filtering feature detects and blocks third-party proxy and tunneling software, Google cache pages, embedded URLs and ‘safe search’ over search engines to prevent harmful websites from appearing in search results.
  • Cyberoam offers Data Leakage Prevention - Cyberoam Web Filtering blocks file uploads over HTTP, HTTPS and FTP while Instant Messaging and Application Visibility & Control block file transfers over IM and P2P applications, ensuring data leakage prevention and meeting HIPAA, CIPA, PCI DSS and other compliance requirements.
  • Unique Layer 8 Identity - based Controls in Cyberoam Web Filtering's internet access policies based on user, group, work function, web category and duration or time of the day, delivering high flexibility and web security and content security. Coupled with  Bandwidth Management, it ensures bandwidth availability and data transfer limit based on duration and schedule of access for specific web categories.
  • Layer 8 Identity-based Reporting adds teeth to Cyberoam’s web security offering with its on-appliance reporting giving complete visibility into user and system activities, enabling organizations to prevent illegal downloads, unproductive surfing, high bandwidth- consuming downloads and network attacks further putting a lid on web based attacks.  Based on the Layer 8 Identity-based visibility, organizations can take instant and preventive action to meet compliance requirements and enhance web content security and productivity.

Image Credits : Jaymis
 






 
Life was much simpler in the days when there was limited number of applications going through the business network. Application visibility and application control were not relevant in these times as these applications followed the port-protocol combination – all HTTP applications followed port 80 while all SSL applications followed port 443. But that’s the story of the past. Applications rose exponentially in number and variety since then. There were business-critical applications like VoIP, SAP and Salesforce; socio-business applications like Facebook and Gmail; noncritical applications like YouTube and iTunes; and finally the undesirable applications like BitTorrent, gaming applications and more, fighting for bandwidth in business networks. The already-scarce bandwidth was consumed by a small group of applications, notwithstanding their little use to the business. Business-critical applications like VoIP suffered, in other words, business suffered! The need for application visibility and application control became urgent and foremost!

Cyberoam’s Application Visibility & Control feature enables organizations to prioritize applications in their networks with visibility and controls over the Application Layer 7 and the Human Layer 8. It offers following features to organizations:

-          Application Security
-          User and time-based controls for application access
-          Bandwidth control for applications
-          Layer 8 Identity and bandwidth-based application control

The Application Visibility & Control feature offers complete visibility on which applications are being accessed within the organization and by which user, irrespective of their ports and protocols. application-layer threats can be easily identified and firewall rules can be set to block them right at the network perimeter, ensuring Application security.

Cyberoam allows application-based Bandwidth Management in organizations to accelerate business-critical applications, stagger non-critical applications, selectively accelerate socio-business applications and block undesirable or malware-infected applications. Business-critical applications can be given maximum bandwidth. In the same way, undesirable applications can be assigned zero bandwidth, blocking their entry into the organization. For applications that are bandwidth-critical but not time-critical, limiting their access to certain times of the day eliminates the strain on bandwidth.

Cyberoam thus helps organizations to ensure application QoS by helping them manage the complex matrix of applications, users and time and eliminate bandwidth shortage in business networks!