Reasons to Deploy a Web Content Filter
July 27, 2010Given
the number of attack vectors available to hackers, deploying a web content filter (WCF) has become more important than ever before. Current generation WCFs include several security tools to help thwart malware and phishing attacks originating from the web, while some WCFs also provide outbound security capabilities.
Web content filters also enhance protection from Human Resources and legal issues, preventing problems from occurring. The potential savings in IT labor, employee productivity and resources spent defending the company in court easily justifies the cost of purchasing and maintaining a WCF. They are vital to protect organizations from attack and inappropriate use of the internet, and the business case is very sound.
Although web content filters enable effective acceptable use policies, more advanced features also offer significant value.
Reasons to Deploy a Web Content Filter
Enforcing the organization’s Internet Acceptable Use policy is the most essential reason for implementing a web content filter, ensuring employees adhere to company policies, avoiding policy violations and preventing potential lawsuits brought on by employees.
Anti-malware scanning capabilities help prevent drive-by infections and phishing if users visit malicious websites built by hackers, or if popular websites have been hacked.
WCFs can also help reduce bandwidth usage, and possibly bandwidth costs through the ability to throttle bandwidth to specific websites and time-based policies (i.e. employees can only visit social networking sites during designated breaks).
Enhancing user productivity, by itself, cannot be used as grounds for deploying a WCF. Employees have always found ways to waste time, even before computers in the workplace. If the business blocks social networking and gaming sites on the corporate network, many end users can simply turn to their smartphones instead.
Do not select a web content filter purely for URL filtering. Again, end users will always find a way to waste time if they want to. Blocking categories of websites will not enhance security enough to justify the cost of the WCF. At a minimum, any WCF chosen should be capable of at least URL filtering and real-time anti-malware scanning.
Policing Web Activity is Good for Business
Being able to build policies around which websites users can visit, when users can visit them, and how often users can visit them, can help boost end-user productivity. However, productivity should be considered a by-product of securing the organization; the primary goal for implementing a web content filter is reducing the risk browsing the web introduces.
The ability to produce reports on top-visited sites by number of end users or bandwidth usage, or to provide reports on a specific end user due to a complaint, is vital for proving the web content filter’s value and potentially for legal issues. Good, meaningful reporting capabilities are a must-have feature.
Our next post will look at the core features provided by the latest generation of web content filters.
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