Why do you need effective web content filtering?
In the early days of web content filtering it was enough to configure a firewall to block certain sites from being accessed. An SME would maintain a blacklist of forbidden sites and update that list from time to time. This method did not offer deep packet inspection and only filtered Internet access based on a domain name.
A modern and effective web content filtering solution scans more than the domain name. It is able to break down and analyze web traffic making it capable to accurately pinpoint portions of a web page which should not be allowed into the internal network.
An effective web content filtering solution is essential for an SME because granting your employees unfettered access to the Internet opens your company to a multitude of problems.
The main ones that I wish to point out are the following:
● Security: Grave risk to the companies’ security.
● Legal Trouble: Liability of inappropriate content.
● Productivity: Loss of employee productivity due to Internet abuse.
Security
With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies, websites are now mash-ups of content that is aggregated from many other sites. This scenario adds complexity to filtering websites based on domain names alone and also opens up new avenues of attack for hackers and virus writers who are becoming increasingly successful at compromising syndicated feeds. If just one feed of data is compromised, all the websites that pull in that feed will deliver malicious code to their trusted users.
An effective content filtering solution will judge incoming web data based on its content and not its source alone. Malicious content that is smuggled into trusted sites will still be detected and filtered out, thus protecting the internal network.
Inappropriate Content
Companies can be liable for the data that is transferred into their internal networks and servers. In an ideal world, you should be able to trust all your employees that they will only use the Internet for the jobs they do. The reality is unfortunately very different, and one single rogue user’s actions can create serious legal problems if his or her actions are not monitored. Pornography at work and downloading of copyrighted materials are a real and dangerous threat to an SME.
If a good web content filtering solution is in place, an SME is protected against this type of threat. Pornography and copyrighted material is blocked using standard filters. A web content filtering solution from a trusted vendor will also protect you legally because it shows your commitment to stopping this type of crime in your workplace.
Employee Productivity
A security breach due to lack of web content filtering will undoubtedly affect your employee productivity; however, an ineffective or badly configured web content filter can also have a negative effect on productivity if it blocks legitimate content that is needed by your employees to do their job.
A good web content filter acts very much like a sieve. Legitimate data should fall through the filter whilst bad data should be stopped. This means that a requested web page with some forbidden content will still load, but with some bits missing. This will allow the user to get the parts of the web page that are needed whilst remaining protected.
To recap, web content filtering will directly affect three important issues that all SMEs face:
● System Security
● Illegal Content
● Employee Productivity
Having an effective web content filtering strategy that aligns itself with your internet monitoring software will ensure that you are protected from a security and legal standpoint and will improve the productivity of your work force.
The last point you make about employee productivity is so important. For any number of reasons an employee may need to research an issue externally on the internet and by giving them access to information while still protecting the business from malicious code, bandwidth usage, and unwanted content.
Striking that balance is easier than most people think if they use the right content management systems, and it keeps all levels of the business functioning smoothly.
The problem with content filtering comes from the constantly evolving nature of content. When the Web was young and simple, a firewall used to be a solution. Now with all content diversity, we need really sophisticated, yet flexible solutions. But do we have them?
At present, an effective web content filtering system is greatly needed because of the advancement of several hacking techniques. These include
online proxies, phishing attacks, DDoS attacks, hacktivism, etc.
Many hackers use very sophisticated systems to target companies – big organizations and even SMEs. They are becoming more and more aggresive and centralized. Some are even calling themselves patriots of thier countries. Some are labelling themselves as “hacktivists” in protest against multinational corporations who they’re calling us unjust and evil. Now is the time to have an excellent web content filtering system in place.
Well, this article’s title is just right on. All organizations need a web content filtering system in place but it should be effective, efficient, and practical.
Although many will argue about employee productivity (some people think that employees should not be restricted when it comes to browsing the web as some sites can help them relax and relieve stress, and therefore improve the worker’s productivity), I still believe that filtering websites is a must.