Websense Web Security Gateway Offers Security via SAAS - Product Highlights
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Websense Hosted Security Services is designed to replace traditional hardware-based
security appliances with a service that protects an enterprise. At its most
basic level, the product acts as a “proxy” for all Web traffic. An enterprise
redirects all of its traffic to Websense, which acts as the network gateway.
That means all traffic coming in and out of the enterprise networks passes
through Websense’s data center and servers. While rerouting traffic can
introduce some latency, most users will find the impact minimal.
Websense Hosted Security Services rolls several security services together, e-mail hosting
being one of the most notable. An enterprise redirects all e-mail traffic to
Websense’s servers, and all e-mail is checked for spam, malware, phishing
attacks and so on. All of that takes place before e-mail arrives at any
enterprise server or desktop.
Web filtering is another important component of the service. Administrators can
expect to find all of the required rules and recommended blocking categories
readily available. An administrator can set what groups/users have access to
which Web categories. The rules are fully customizable and, due to the hosted
nature of the service, all lists are immediately up-to-date and all rules are
applied immediately to all users.
Every incoming and outgoing packet is inspected using a deep packet inspection
engine, and threats are identified before the traffic is passed back to the
host network. As a service that has ample horsepower behind it, Websense Hosted Security Services is very effective at detecting blended attacks. If an embedded link in
an e-mail attempts to spoof a legitimate location and install spyware, the
Websense service will prevent the embedded link from arriving in the e-mail, blocking
the Web site and preventing the spyware installation.
Topping off the offering is data leakage prevention. The service monitors
outgoing traffic to determine if critical information should not be leaving the
network—either by a Web 2.0 application or e-mail.
Normally, a hosted offering requires that administrators create a second user
list or to define groups. Websense dispenses with that task by offering
directory synchronization. Admin can set up the product to synchronize with Active
Directory, which will automatically populate groups, user accounts and other
pertinent information on Websense Hosted Security Services.
Administrators will find defining policies straightforward and that none of the
product's management screens offers any unwelcome surprises. The process for
maintaining the product is straightforward and requires the minimal amount of
effort for an administrator. Detailed reports round out the offering, and a
real-time dashboard keeps administrators on top of network traffic, allowing a
hands-on approach to be taken or to model traffic to better define usage
policies.
Once you add it all up, Websense Hosted Security Services proves to be a worthwhile alternative
to the many hardware-based solutions on the market and has the features and
channel programs in place to make this an attractive offering for solution
providers looking to enter the hosted security services realm. Those
considering Websense’s hosted offerings may also want to take a look at
Purewire, a startup that is focusing only on SAAS-based security and is
incorporating support for smartphones and other nontraditional access devices.
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