What you need to know about browser isolation and endpoint security

Hackers or cyber criminals often target web browsers when they want to steal data or resources from an individual or company. This is because, in this modern era, web browsers serve many purposes for individuals and organizations. Most of the individuals use web browsers for buying and selling things online, for work and even for educational purposes. On the other hand, the browser is the major gateway for most businesses to reach their customers and sell.

Such a scenario presents huge opportunities for cyber criminals to steal resources and data. Browser isolation is a reliable and capable security method employed to fight these cyber threats. In this article, you will learn more about how browser isolation works and how it guarantees endpoint security for individuals and organizations.

What are browser isolation and endpoint security?

Browser isolation is a form of security technology that allows users to perform their browsing activity in an isolated environment, such as a sandbox or virtual machine. This process of isolating users’ browsing activity can occur in two primary ways. One is through isolation on the computer, and the other through what is known as remote browser isolation.

On the other hand, endpoint security is protecting the data and workflows of individual devices connected to an individual or organization’s network. Multiple devices, such as laptops, desktops, mobile phones, and even IoT devices like smart homes, can be connected to a network. Endpoint security is all the practices, platforms, and solutions that help protect devices from being hijacked by cybercriminals.

Browser isolation and agnostic platforms like LayerX are often among the security methods employed to protect these endpoints. Browser isolation is a web security tool that is gaining a lot of traction from organizations due to the variety of threats it can prevent from succeeding. The use of browser isolation is not limited to organizations, but most individuals do not use it because they do not understand how it works.

How does browser isolation work?

People who use the Internet are prone to making mistakes at any time due to its complexity and pervasiveness. For example, one of the essential security practices is not to visit a page that does not have an updated SSL certificate. In simple words, users should not visit pages that start with “http” and should only visit pages that start with “https”. However, mistakes are natural when using the Internet and visiting an unsecured page can lead to a large-scale cyber attack.

To prevent such scenarios from occurring, there is a unique method that employs browser isolation, and that is the zero-trust approach. This is a process where the browser isolation solution automatically views each website as a potential threat, isolating it from the user. But how does this separation work?

Browser isolation creates a boundary or walls around all of a user’s browsing or network activity, the sole purpose of which is to isolate them from the real Internet. This means that the browsing process does not actually take place on the user’s device but in a virtual environment. Its importance is that suppose there is a cyber attack, its impact will never reach the actual device of the user but only the virtual environment. Furthermore, many browser isolation solutions ensure that they scan web pages for any cyber threats before allowing the user access to the virtual environment.

Nevertheless, browser isolation may occur first by removing the actual browsing activity from the user’s device and moving it into a virtual environment. Secondly, browser isolation solutions can automatically delete or destroy a user’s browsing data and environment after each session. The implication is that a user can connect back to a clean or free browser image for another browsing session.

Also Read: Current Advancements in Cyber ​​Security and How They Affect You

Types of browser isolation

Client-side browser isolation

Client-side browser isolation is the type that loads web pages and users’ browsing activity through special software installed on the user’s device. This particular software also uses the method of creating a virtual environment for each browsing session.

On-premise browser isolation

This is another type of browser isolation that organizations mainly use because they are the ones that perform the purely administrative role. It still provides the same service of managing isolated browsing sessions, but the organization manages it internally.

remote browser isolation

Remote browser isolation is becoming the most popular form of browser isolation due to the ease and speed it provides to users. Furthermore, this browser isolation allows seamless usage for individuals and organizations. The key difference between this type and others is that it uses cloud servers to isolate user browsing sessions. Any interaction between the user and elements on the Internet occurs in the cloud, meaning there is no interaction with the user’s device.

Common cyber threats that can be prevented with browser isolation

Below are some cyber threats that can be kept away whenever a user or organization uses browser isolation:

drive-by download

Drive-by downloading is a cyber threat whereby malicious content is downloaded when a user visits or loads a web page. Browser security solutions like LayerX and browser isolation prevent drive-by downloads from occurring.

click-jacking

Browser isolation also prevents users from clicking or visiting a website they did not intend to visit. Click-jacking is a technique that cyber attackers use to generate advertising revenue and sometimes initiate drive-by downloads.

redirect threats

Redirect threats occur when a user is forced to visit a website they did not intend to visit, which is one of the things browser isolation prevents.

cross site scripting

When a cross-site scripting attack occurs, it often allows the cybercriminal to steal things like session cookies and login tokens. However, browser isolation helps prevent cross-site scripting from occurring, preventing any form of impersonation.

wrapping up

Browser Isolation is a top browser security solution that offers a wide range of services to protect users from multiple cyber threats. There are three major classifications of these types of browser security tools, and they include client-side, on-premise, and remote browser isolation. Assuming an organization starts using browser isolation, some of the threats it can protect against are cross-site scripting, drive-by downloads, and redirect attacks.

Also Read: Importance of Data Privacy and Security in AI