What is URL Filtering?
URL filtering is a common web filtering method used to limit the kinds of content users can access. It can be applied at the granular individual device level as well as at the network level to impact all connected devices on a defined corporate network.
URL Filtering is typically maintained and enforced via a cloud proxy. Once access to a website is requested, the request is redirected to the cloud proxy for analysis and compared against a policy list that specifies whether to block, allow, or warn the user on their request. This filtering process occurs at the application layer by examining URL requests over common protocols like HTTP and HTTPS.
Common reasons URLs are blocked are because they can be deemed malicious, time-wasting, or otherwise questionable, and since the filter is applied on the URL rather than the top-level domain, policies can be applied granularly page-by-page.
Another common way of filtering is on a category basis to broadly block certain types of content such as Adult Content, Gambling, or known Phishing sites. Limiting access to entire categories, ensures employees do not accidentally stumble across malicious or harmful websites that may not be captured in custom lists.
Why is URL Filtering Important?
It's pretty simple to be honest. As organizations grow, so will employee internet activity, and having unrestricted network/internet access could leave the entire company susceptible to security breaches, data leaks, or malware infections. Think of URL Filtering as your first layer of defense that does the following:
- Provides Network Security — Sometimes all it takes is a click to an unknown website for malware to get downloaded on your computer automatically. URL Filtering will allow you to block access to websites that host things like exploit kits that can take advantage of your users.
- Shield Against Phishing Attacks — Phishing is the most common threat organizations face, so just block the category entirely. Don’t take the risk.
- Promote Productivity — Distractions happen at work in the form of social media, online shopping, and streaming sites. Easily define what is allowed and what’s not allowed during working hours.
What About ChatGPT and AI?
The spotlight is on all things AI and ChatGPT, and while they’re amazing tools and technologies, they come with potential security risks that URL Filtering can help address. For example, it has become very common for Engineers to upload code to these AI models to see how they can improve or debug specific lines. While that may not seem like a big deal, it actually poses a massive data exfiltration risk, as a lot of times this code is proprietary information, and uploading it to a 3rd party application like ChatGPT is against company policy. With URL Filtering you would be able to block access for all groups in your organization to access websites like Bard, ChatGPT, or other AI URLs.
URL Filtering is only one necessary feature of a much broader stack. dope.security offers URL filtering and supplemental features like Cloud Application Control and the most detailed Shadow IT on the market.
Check out our datasheet with all the details.
