Web Filtering Software for Business

Businesses are one of the main targets of cyber attacks. While governments collaborate internationally to bring down hacker groups, prevention is usually a local affair. In this article we discuss the importance of protecting the business Internet network and devices and show how the FlashStart content filtering software for business helps companies lower the risks connected to cybersecurity and cyber attacks.

1. Cybersecurity: international concerted efforts for a safer world

On 2 June 2022 Cybernews.com published an article where it reported that the FBI had shut down a cybercriminal website called weleakinfo.to along with its affiliated domains. After an international investigation, led by the US together with the Belgian and Dutch postal police, the FBI had found that the websites were trading in stolen personal credentials and facilitating cyber attacks worldwide.

Several insights into the ubiquitousness of the current cyber security threats stem from this account, which are dealt with in depth below. All point in just one direction: in cybersecurity, prevention is key.

>> The FlashStart web filtering software for businesses helps you prevent attackers from targeting your company ? Request a quotation or try it now

2. Facing the attacks: international policing and local prevention

2.1 The need for international cooperation

In commenting on the concerted work of the various law enforcement forces in shutting down the above-mentioned domains, US Attorney Matthew Graves highlighted that “Cybercrime often crosses national borders”.

Indeed, private hacker groups are based in one country, for example Russia or China, but then carry out attacks that often aim for targets in other countries. Also, state-sponsored hacker groups exist, that is, groups that are more or less directly linked to specific governments and are tasked with carrying out attacks on given targets, usually abroad, which bear a strategic significance.

This cross-national dimension of cybercrime implies that efforts to counter it should also have an international nature, as exemplified by the above-mentioned collaboration of the American FBI with European police forces. International effort is especially important because it:

»  Allows international collaboration on investigations: having multiple law enforcement agencies work on cybercrime means they can all bring, on the one hand, their own, different experience to the table, which proves enriching also for the other parties. On the other hand, it makes it easier to gather intelligence and information in foreign countries, which could be either other victims, or middle countries for hackers or, still, the country where the criminals are actually located.

»  Makes it possible to pool resources together: having a concerted effort is also more efficient since it allows states to share their resources, both in monetary terms because fighting cyber crime – or any type of crime actually – is an expensive matter, and in terms of human resources and capital. This includes all the individuals who are part of the “fight team” and who contribute their different knowledge and specialization making the response to crime a faster one.

>> The FlashStart content filtering software for business is distributed in over 100 countries. Join the club for safe navigation now ? Request a quotation or try it now

2.2 Local prevention

While cybercrime and the fight against it have a cross-national character, prevention is mainly a local business. Indeed, although there are measures that governments can implement at the national level and notwithstanding norms valid internationally are slowly developing, most cyber attacks still exploit the human error and so, in order to avoid being the next victim of an attack, businesses need to act internally.

Prevention of cyber attacks has many layers but they can all be summarized in two main points:

» Implementing tools and instruments that help the business lower its chances of being attacked. These can include hardware and software solutions, and most companies today make use of some sort of web filtering software for business.

On top of preventive tools, companies should also continuously scan their networks and devices looking for threats. Indeed, as good as your prevention system may be, hackers are getting smarter and smarter and for their targeted attacks they carry out a preliminary study of their prospective victims in order to understand how they can best hit them.

» Developing the culture of cyber security within the company. Information plays a crucial role in every decision we take in our life. The chance to make so-called “informed decisions” is essential for success, and this is true also in the realm of cyber security. Employees at all levels should be trained and informed about the risks they incur while navigating online and on how to avoid falling in the net of the attackers.

Moreover, the development of company strategies and procedures to diminish the risk of falling prey to an attack is extremely important. Also, developing “healthy Internet habits” helps businesses safeguard their work.

3. The FlashStart web filtering software for businesses

Above we highlighted the importance of web filtering software for businesses as a main tool in cyber security. Such softwares act as a checkpoint between the internal company network and the external Internet world since they check all incoming and outgoing traffic looking for threats. Once they identify one, they prevent the user from going on with his Internet search and show a message of warning.

FlashStart has developed a corporate web filtering tool that is particularly appreciated by companies and organizations. So, what makes it the ideal web filtering software for the business environment?

3.1 FlashStart protects your business from a wide range of threats

The content filtering software for business offered by FlashStart uses a mix of artificial intelligence and human abilities to continuously scan the Internet looking for threats. This allows it to detect scam and fraud websites, prevent access to domains known for malware and trojans, and block phishing attempts.

All these criminal acts usually have the aim of enriching the attacker, who may ask for a ransome in order to revert the situation back to the pre-attack phase (the so-called “ransomware attacks”).

3.2 FlashStart ensures the safety of your workers, wherever they are

The FlashStart web filtering software for business can be applied:

»  Internally, at the router level: in this way, you will grant the security of all devices connected to the network, also the ones that belong to external collaborators visiting the company.
»  Externally, through the ClientShield end-point application: this has grown in importance since the workforce has become more and more mobile, connecting from home or another remote spot to the company servers.

3.3 FlashStart improves workers’ productivity

FlashStart does not only detect and block malware, it also helps you achieve greater efficiency in the workplace. Indeed, FlashStart has 85 categories of pre-set contents that the network administrator can decide to block.

These include, but are not limited to:

» Dangerous contents: gambling websites, online gaming platforms, sites linked to violence and weapons, etc.
» Inappropriate contents: adult contents, pornography, dating apps and websites, etc.
» Distracting contents: this has an extremely wide range of contents, from social networks and streaming platforms, to online shopping sites and magazines.

The network administrator can also choose to schedule the blocks, for instance allowing access to social networks during breaks but blocking it during normal working hours, and to assign different access options to different employees depending, for example, on the department they work for. To make this last feature directly available, FlashStart has developed a full integration of its web filtering software with the Microsoft Active Directory.

3.4 FlashStart helps you comply with norms and regulations

FlashStart is fully compliant with personal privacy standards like the European GDPR and local needs can usually be managed through settings. Our support center is available 24/7 and will reply in English, Italian and Spanish in order to set up the tool so as to comply with the legal requirements of your country.

3.5 FlashStart has a highly competitive offer

The FlashStart web filtering software for business offers various packages/options so as to satisfy the requests of all types of companies, from Small and Medium Enterprises to big, multinational corporations. The options vary in terms of:

» Features included: all packages include a set of basic features, such as malware detection and protection, content filtering based on allowed and denied lists, protection of web searches through search engines, group filtering, and other. In addition to this, the advanced packages allow for the full integration with Microsoft AD, for end-point protection and offer other services.

» Number of licenses: you can enjoy the protection offered by the FlashStart content filtering software for business starting from a number of licenses as small as five. FlashStart still grants this option because SMEs were its initial scope of business and the company still believes everybody should be protected while navigating online.

>> FlashStart protects you from a wide range of threats and prevents access to malicious websites ? Request a quotation or try it now

You can activate the FlashStart® Cloud protection on any sort of Router and Firewall to secure desktop and mobile devices and IoT devices on local networks.