Why You Need a Business Web Filter?

The explosion of e-commerce websites in recent years shows all of us how much we depend on technology. Indeed, it was our culture’s acceptance of technology that helped us get through the worst of the pandemic’s stay-at-home recommendations. Most of us already live online lives. It was simply a matter of adjusting our work and play habits to accommodate Zoom meetings.

Unfortunately, even in the worst of circumstances, cybercriminals look for ways to infiltrate our lives. More times than not, it’s our own online actions that all but invite cybercriminals into our lives. As the line between online life and the physical realm blurs, hackers deploy tactics that look for hidden doors that even software developers missed. The result is this cat and mouse, tit for tat, exchange of attacks and counterattacks.

There’s no question that technology (like smartphones and the internet) facilitates entrance into the cyber world. However, this world is awash with bad actors wanting to take your digital “stuff,” not to mention our money and personal identities. We must all be hyper-vigilant about online security, especially when it comes to doing personal things on company technology.

What Is DNS Filtering?

DNS stands for Domain Name Server. Whenever a device establishes a connection using the internet it must have a distinct string of syntax that identifies the device for a connection. It’s like going to a specific place on a map using geo coordinates.

Web browsers use IP and DNS protocols to determine what shows up on the web page. Said another way, web browsers have physical addresses that can be managed as a business web filter.

The Problem

Although mixing your private life with your professional life isn’t recommended by most experts, most of us have inevitably done so even if we didn’t know it. Visiting our favorite e-commerce store using a public wifi connection, or buying something from Amazon using your work email address are just two examples. Some even have personal packages delivered to their work, the ultimate physical blurring of the line between work and play.

While these actions might seem innocuous, it is this mixing of our private digital lives with our business digital lives that leads to hackers looking for those hidden doors. Our buying habits on e-commerce websites are only the tip of the iceberg. Underneath is a stealth cyberworld that a few bad actors know how to exploit. When your business deploys a business web filter these hidden doors get locks even cybercriminals have trouble breaking into

"Personal devices highlight the need for secure business content filtering that stops bad actors from conducting malicious attacks."

BYOD and Business Content Filtering

About a decade and a half ago, businesses at the enterprise level realized that employees had their own electronic devices with computing power equal to or better than their own. It wasn’t long before employees understood they could use their personal devices to do “work from home.” The flip side of this is using work electronic devices to do personal things. Personal devices highlight the need for secure business content filtering that stops bad actors from conducting malicious attacks.

Hence, bring your own device (BYOD) entered the business lexicon. More precisely, policies and rules about Bringing Your Own Device to work started showing up in HR handbooks throughout the enterprise world. The one flaw in policymaking and adherence that many didn’t see coming is human nature. Humans aren’t computers that blindly follow instructions.

We can just as easily not follow a BYOD policy. In other words, policymaking at the IT level only does so much. Humans break rules; it seems to be our nature. Business content filtering is the application of a business web filter that helps employees follow their business’s BYOD policies.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) published an example of a BYOD policy on its website. This is a robust document illustrating the seriousness of the matter. The primary focus is company security, i.e. preventing things like data leaks and hacks looking for Personal Information (PI).

While BOYD policies focus on using personal devices to do business work, businesses need protection from employees using work devices to do personal things like visiting Amazon or a favorite social media platform. The SHRM brings your own device policy and others like it are useless without protecting the enterprise from outside digital threats. A business web filter strengthens BYOD policies because it prevents employees from using enterprise technology to harm the business. BYOD is the lock with a business web filter as the key.

"Enterprise employees might tend to take for granted they have internet access at work."

Internet User Policies and Why You Should Have a Business Web Filter

Much of the enterprise world runs on policies where compliance is required so that a business runs according to its business functions. However, we either follow policies or we don’t. We have a choice, which causes headaches for those IT people that need to protect sensitive company records and other documents.

Enterprise employees might tend to take for granted they have internet access at work. This isn’t surprising. The always-connected nature of the internet and our personal devices means we think our personal devices don’t function without the internet.

Indeed, many of us see the internet like electricity–walk into a room, flip a switch, and it's there ready for use. Not so fast! At the enterprise level, the internet is a vital tool that cannot be turned off because of elements like data centers and cloud computing. 

The categorical need for the internet at the enterprise level weakens internet use and BYOD policies. The result is the need for an IT-based solution that compliments employee work policies. One highly effective tool is content filtering. However, given the nature of internet access and enterprise flexibility, content filtering needs to have a granular approach that can be administered at the user interface level.

For example, your business's internet use and BYOD policies state all employees must refrain from accessing social media from work even on personal devices. But, your marketing department has several social media-based advertising campaigns that require some employees to have access to the internet and social media. With WebTitan DNS filtering, you can apply users' policies at the workstation level.

Enterprise Benefits of DNS Filtering

DNS filtering by WebTitan is the ideal solution for a business web filter that keeps your business safe. That said, there are many benefits of WebTitan DNS filtering, including:

• Malware blocking: Most security breaches happen because a small human error lets malware into the system. DNS filtering prevents known malware attacks that have been discovered in the public realm. These include viruses and any phishing attacks that cybercriminals deploy regularly.
• BYOD level security: Businesses should not ban employees from using wifi. Rather, they should deploy security that protects any and all devices that connect to the network.
• A flexible business web filter: DNS filtering must address the human need to find the nearest web browser to do something personal.
• Executive-level reporting: Data-driven reports help the business world function and even improve over time. Key people need executive-level reporting to protect their business interests.

In Review

WebTitan DNS Filtering adds a layer of cyber protection in a time when the enterprise could use it most. The security level advanced by DNS filtering allows for a granular business web filter that grows with a business as its tech needs increase. In closing, policymaking isn’t good enough for today’s cybersecurity needs.

Businesses must take control of their tech using the data the tech creates to run. In this way, WebTitan DNS Filtering puts the control in the hands that need it with simple to use data sets.