What Are Web Security Solutions?

Web security solutions protect organizations and users from threats posed by cyberattacks launched over the internet. They monitor and protect data, servers, networks, applications and devices by using a combination of technologies that include firewalls, anti-virus and antivirus, DDoS mitigation and web filtering to prevent malware infections, data loss and other business disruptions.

Almost every company has some type of web application and many rely on cloud infrastructure to run their operations. These are a prime target for attackers because they provide an easy entry point into the network. In a worst-case scenario, a successful attack against a vulnerable web app could lead to a complete network takedown or expose confidential information.

Cyberattacks are constantly evolving, and a business that fails to keep up with cybersecurity options could find itself in a world of trouble. Failing to update software and hardware can leave known, exploitable vulnerabilities wide open for attackers to exploit.

For example, when a website hosts multiple sites on the same server, it can create an environment that is difficult to manage and secure. When this happens, a single compromised site can affect all sites hosted on the same server. A common vulnerability that results from this is cross-site scripting (XSS), which allows threat actors to steal user cookies and hijack sessions. It can also lead to remote file inclusion attacks, which let attackers upload backdoor shells or execute code on the host server.

Other threats that a web security solution helps to defend against include:

Phishing. Most data breaches begin with a malicious phishing email, and a good web security solution blocks them before they reach end users. Malicious redirection. Hackers can use web page redirections to steal user credentials and redirect them to other websites. A web security solution prevents this by analyzing SSL-encrypted traffic to detect and block malware samples.

Another big threat to web security is ransomware. These attacks encrypt sensitive data and demand payment in exchange for decryption keys. Some solutions even monitor for exfiltration of sensitive or proprietary data, and can prevent this from occurring.

The best approach to web security is not a single technology, but an integrated solution that uses several tools working together. These tools may be appliances, such as a secure gateway or firewall, or they may be a cloud-delivered platform of services. In the case of a secure gateway or firewall, the appliance sits between an organization’s environment and the internet, and inspects all traffic and requests traveling in both directions. This granular visibility gives administrators the ability to set policies and controls that can prevent policy violations, malware infections, traffic leaks and other risks. A cloud-delivered solution can provide a similar function, but has the advantage of being always up to date and scaling on demand. Regardless of the technology used, a comprehensive strategy is critical to preventing advanced persistent threats that are hard for traditional cybersecurity tools to detect and contain. If your organization needs a boost in its web security, get in touch with a Proofpoint specialist.