An advanced persistent threat (APT) is an attack in which an unauthorized person gains access to a network and stays there undetected. APTs are “advanced” because they use malware that can bypass or evade many types of security protections. They are “persistent” because, once on the network, the malware is in regular communication with command-and-control (C&C) servers to which it can send stolen data or from which it can receive instructions.
Read how Zscaler protects against APTs.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) refers to a category of security solutions that defend against sophisticated malware or attacks targeting sensitive data. ATP detects and responds to new and sophisticated attacks that are designed to evade traditional security protections, such as antivirus, firewalls, and intrusion prevention systems.
Learn how the Zscaler platform protects against advanced threats, such as ransomware, polymorphic malware, and others.
AWS, a cloud services suite (including EC2, RDS, S3, SQS, and VPC), make up the Amazon cloud computing platform, which many companies are using to connect to private applications and workloads on the cloud.
Learn how Zscaler Private Access provides AWS customers with added security when they access AWS workloads — without the cost, complexity, or security risks of a VPN.
Network bandwidth is the measurement of a communications channel. Bandwidth varies and affects the speed and volume of data that can be transmitted over an internet connection.
Bandwidth control is the practice of allocating available bandwidth to optimize the performance of mission-critical communications, such as Office 365, while reducing bandwidth allocation for lower-priority or recreational applications, such as YouTube.
Learn about Zscaler Bandwidth Control.
Behavioral analysis involves monitoring the behavior of a file in an isolated environment, such as a sandbox, to protect users from unknown (zero-day) threats. Through this monitoring, a file’s functions, and how it interacts with its environment, can be understood by IT security professionals. It also identifies whether a file will attempt to communicate with an attacker-controlled external server for command-and-control purposes or to download additional [malicious] files.
A botnet is any number of internet-capable devices that, unknown to their owners, have been hijacked by malicious users and infected with code. This code may instruct the infected devices to spread the malware, or it may instruct them send repeated requests to a particular server, which results in a denial-of-service (DoS) attack.
See data breach.
Branch transformation is the enablement of traffic in the branch to be routed directly and securely to the internet, rather than being routed through MPLS links to the data center before it can go out to the internet. Branch transformation is a key element of IT transformation.
Browser isolation is an advanced cybersecurity technique that provides an additional layer of protection for users and organizations. Browser isolation separates browsing activity from endpoint hardware, thereby reducing the device’s attack surface. When a user accesses a web page or app, it is loaded onto a remote browser that serves a rendering of the webpage to the user. The page operates normally, but only pixels are delivered to the user. There is no active content downloaded, so malicious code that may be hidden is kept at bay.
CASB is software that acts as a liaison between cloud services customers and service providers. CASB provides visibility into what cloud services are being used and supports organizations with compliance, threat protection, and security for cloud services.
A CDN is a system of servers distributed across a network. CDN servers copy and deliver web content closest to users based on their geographic locations, improving the delivery of content by speeding up page loads and optimizing overall network performance.
According to Cisco, 40 percent of internet traffic crosses CDNs. And, because that traffic is trusted, it tends to go uninspected by most organizations. Zscaler adds a layer of security and compliance between your existing infrastructure and the internet to protect against attacks hiding behind CDN-delivered traffic. Learn more.
The term cloud commonly refers to the internet, which supports the delivery of services to users on demand from a provider’s servers rather than their own. Cloud service delivery enables scalable, easy access to applications and services with fewer resources.
There is a distinction between public clouds and private clouds. Public clouds are multi-tenant environments in which organizations may consume applications, infrastructure, and services on a pay-per-use basis without the need to own the IT infrastructure. With public cloud services, organizations can add or remove users and services easily, thereby eliminating much of the management involved in the deployment of software and services. Private clouds, which may be housed onsite or in hosted environments, are single-tenant environments where the hardware, storage, and network are dedicated to a single organization. Private clouds are chosen by organizations that want the promise of greater control, privacy, and security, and they want to know exactly where their data resides.
A cloud application is a software application that is delivered over the web as a service rather than from a data center or local machine. Examples of cloud applications include Microsoft Office 365, Google Apps, Salesforce, and Box.
Cloud application visibility is the ability to see all the cloud applications in use throughout your organization, giving you the power to control and protect your data. Because Zscaler sits inline, it can see all traffic, coming and going, whether it’s sanctioned by IT or not.
Learn about Cloud Application Visibility features in the Zscaler platform.
Cloud architecture refers to the components and subcomponents required for cloud computing. The front end is what the end user sees; it consists of interfaces and applications that are required to access the cloud computing platforms. The back end consists of all the infrastructure and resources required to provide the cloud computing service, which generally include servers, data storage, virtual machines, security mechanisms, services, and more.
The Zscaler security platform is built on a globally distributed, multi-tenant cloud architecture. It has been built from the ground up to deliver security and access controls on a massive scale. Its many patented technologies (100 as of January 2017) enable comprehensive security for users everywhere with ultrafast performance. Learn about the Zscaler cloud architecture.
Cloud computing is an internet-based, client-server approach to storing, managing, and processing data. Key features of cloud computing include on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service. It enables the delivery of applications and business processes as services online, as opposed to resources like software and storage hardware that are “traditionally” housed onsite. The three main categories of cloud computer are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).
Cloud data protection is a model used to protect stored data (data-at-rest) and moving data (data-in-motion) in the cloud. It was created to implement data storage, protection, and security methodologies for data residing in and moving in and out of a cloud environment. The model can be used to protect data regardless of where it is located or if it is managed internally or externally.
Cloud enablement is the process by which organizations create, deploy, and operate IT infrastructure, software, and resources that enable cloud computing.
Founded on the belief that cloud enablement is a business imperative, Zscaler helps to level the playing field by bringing sophisticated, cloud-delivered security to enterprises.
A cloud firewall provides the network security, application control, and visibility features available in leading firewalls. But cloud firewalls have key advantages over hardware-based solutions. Cloud-based solutions can, for example, scan traffic in real time to provide global, up-to-date protection. Cloud firewalls can also scan encrypted traffic, whereas hardware solutions are extremely limited, and with the majority of internet traffic now encrypted, they leave a lot of traffic uninspected.
Zscaler Cloud Firewall brings next-gen firewall controls and advanced proxy-level security to all users in all locations. Because Zscaler is 100 percent in the cloud, there’s no hardware to buy, deploy, or manage. Learn more about Zscaler Cloud Firewall
A firewall controls the inbound and outbound traffic between an organization’s network and the internet and determines whether traffic should be blocked or allowed to pass, based on rules set by the organization. Cloud Firewall as a Service (FWaaS) refers to a firewall that delivers advanced, next-generation firewall (NGFW) capabilities, from the cloud, including URL filtering, advanced threat prevention, intrusion prevention systems (IPS), and DNS security. A cloud FWaaS enables organizations to eliminate physical firewall appliances and simplify their IT infrastructure while enforcing policies consistently wherever users connect.
Read about Zscaler Cloud Firewall
Cloud governance and compliance consists of a set of regulatory processes by which policies and procedures are created and followed to protect the security of cloud applications and data.
Cloud migration refers to the movement of applications and infrastructure from a physical data center to public and private clouds. The adoption of SaaS applications, such as Salesforce and Microsoft Office 365, is an example of this migration, and so is the movement of internally managed applications, such as SAS and Oracle, to cloud infrastructure (IaaS) services, such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Chances are, you already have multiple apps in the cloud. Learn how to provide secure access to then, regardless of user location, on our secure cloud migration page.
A proxy acts as an intermediary between a user and the internet, verifying and forwarding user requests for inspection. While traditional (physical) proxies are generally regarded as the best way to inspect inline traffic, they are also costly, prone to legacy, and face capacity and compatibility issues. A cloud proxy, on the other hand, solves these problems by placing the traffic inspection process in the cloud. Cloud proxies can scale globally to provide comprehensive security for in-office and remote workers, reduce IT spending, meet and exceed compliance and security benchmarks, provide an enhanced user experience, and shield the organization from outside visibility.
Learn about the benefits of the Zscaler proxy-based cloud architecture vs. traditional firewalls
In general, a sandbox is a computing environment in which a program or file can be executed in isolation; if a file contains malicious code, the code can be detected before the file has the chance to infect a computer or network. Sandboxes have long been used by software developers to test new programming code and they have become a critical component of advanced threat protection.
Sandbox appliances generally sit in the data center and operate in TAP (Test Access Point) mode, which means that a file being tested is also sent on to its destination. If the sandbox detects malicious content, it sends an alert, but this can arrive too late. On the other hand, a cloud sandbox inspects internet traffic inline and executes programs in the cloud before it reaches its destination. It inspects files for all users everywhere, on the corporate network and off, there is no need to deploy sandboxes in dozens (or hundreds) of locations.
Learn more about Zscaler Cloud Sandbox.
Cloud security consists of technologies designed to protect information, data, applications, and infrastructure, but unlike the stacks of appliances that sit at the gateway where they can scan inbound and outbound traffic, cloud security is delivered from the cloud.
Cloud security offers many advantages over hardware-based security, especially as users have become mobile and applications have moved to the cloud. It moves security from the network to the cloud, where it can scan all traffic, even if it’s encrypted, no matter where it is headed or where it originated. The cloud also reduces the cost and complexity of deploying and maintaining appliances.
Zscaler has designed and built the world’s largest cloud security platform with more than 150 data centers on 6 continents. Learn more about cloud security.
The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment. CSA works with industry experts, associations, governments, and its corporate and individual members to offer cloud security–specific research, education, certification, events, and products. CSA provides a forum through which diverse parties can work together to create and maintain a trusted cloud ecosystem. Zscaler CEO Jay Chaudhry is a founding member of CSA. Learn more at CSA.
A cloud security gateway is a cloud-delivered solution that sits between users and internet destinations to inspect and filter malware to prevent device infection and network compromise. Cloud security gateways can also enforce corporate and regulatory policies. The solution is delivered as a service in the cloud, eliminating the need for physical appliances.
Cloud security posture management, CSPM, is an automated function that scours cloud environments and alerts IT to configuration vulnerabilities in the software as well as compliance risks, most of which stem from human error. A CSPM tool helps organizations meet compliance standards, allows for more transparency, and helps prevent data leakage.
The term cloud-washing refers to the deceitful practice of rebranding products and services with the term “cloud” to make them seem more relevant in today’s cloud-centric computing environment. Some vendors, for example, may host an existing product (hardware or software) in a virtualized environment and call it a cloud solution. But such an implementation has none of the characteristics of a true cloud solution, such as elasticity, multi-tenancy, or automated, continuous updates.
A data breach is an incident in which sensitive data, such as personally identifiable information (PII), trade secrets, or intellectual property, has potentially been viewed, stolen, or used by an unauthorized individual.
Data breaches in the corporate environment are common and may be the result of the theft or loss of a computing device, internal employees inadvertently introducing malware into the network, or external hackers directly targeting a company’s network. Because these incidents can damage a company’s reputation and are costly and time-consuming to mitigate, data breach prevention is a top priority in most IT environments.
Data loss prevention (DLP) refers to systems with which organizations can prevent end users from sending sensitive information to unauthorized devices or recipients. DLP technology detects and blocks the movement of data based on policies set by the network administrator. Such policies may be based on dictionaries, which are algorithms designed to detect specific kinds of information in user traffic. They may also be defined by user or group, URL categories, location, and more.
Learn About the Zscaler Data Loss Prevention solution.
A DDoS is an attack in which hundreds or thousands of computers or other internet-capable devices (a “botnet”) are hijacked to strike against a single system, network, or application. If an organization becomes compromised by a DDoS attack, its servers become overwhelmed by the barrage of “hits” from the botnet and its services become unavailable.
Digital transformation broadly describes the adoption of digital technologies across an organization to improve flexibility, speed, efficiency, and intelligence, and, ultimately, drive growth and success. A transformation doesn’t simply replace existing processes and systems with new technologies. It’s a fundamental rethinking of business models and processes using digital technologies, such as cloud computing, big data, IoT, and artificial intelligence. The migration of applications and services to the cloud is an essential part of any digital transformation strategy.
In a traditional network model, traffic heading to the open internet or cloud apps and services is routed through outbound and inbound security gateways. For users in branch offices and remote locations, cloud-bound traffic is backhauled to the central data center or a regional hub to have security controls applied. But routing traffic over private (MPLS) networks only to have it head to the cloud is expensive and problematic, especially for applications like Office 365, which open multiple persistent connections per user. Microsoft says that Office 365 was designed to accessed “directly” for the best user experience. With more and more business traffic traversing the internet, “direct connections” improve efficiency, reduce costs, and dramatically improve the user experience. Learn about securing direct-to-internet connections here.
A DoS attack occurs when one compromised computer and internet connection inundates an entire system or resource. When an army of remotely controlled computers inundates an entire system, that’s called a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. However, both types of attacks attempt to prevent internal employees and customers from accessing an organization’s web-based service by either flooding or crashing the servers.
The cloud is elastic in the sense that resource allocation can be increased or decreased on demand. Elasticity enables scalability, which means that the cloud can scale upward for peak demand and downward for lighter demand. Scalability also means that an application can scale whenever users are added or application requirements change.
A DDoS is an attack in which hundreds or thousands of computers or other internet-capable devices (a “botnet”) are hijacked to strike against a single system, network, or application. If an organization becomes compromised by a DDoS attack, its servers become overwhelmed by the barrage of “hits” from the botnet and its services become unavailable. >The Zscaler multi-tenant cloud architecture delivers elastic scale for our customers while maintaining security and data privacy. Learn more.
Encryption is the process of converting data into code to protect information from unauthorized access.
A majority of global internet traffic now uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption, yet many organizations leave SSL inspection turned off, because it’s compute-intensive and severely impacts performance. The Zscaler cloud inspects every byte of traffic — SSL included — so we can catch hidden threats before they get into your network. Learn more.
EDM is a critical component of data loss prevention. It refers to the ability to “fingerprint” sensitive information from a structured data source, such as a database, so you can identify it and stop it from being shared or transferred inappropriately. EDM identifies and correlates multiple tokens that contribute to a particular record—for example, name, birthdate, Social Security number—to identify ownership of that data for set policy for it. Learn more.
Fingerprinting is a technique that maps large data items to short text strings (bit streams), which become identifiable fingerprints of the original data. Fingerprinting is a scalable way to identify and track sensitive information as it moves across a network, because engines only need to identify the fingerprints instead of the full data sets during inspection.
Google Apps was launched in 2006 as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering. Today’s Google Apps includes an office productivity suite, email, and document sharing, as well as Gmail, Google Talk for instant messaging, Hangouts, Google Calendar, Google Docs, spreadsheets, presentations, and more.
To enable visibility into cloud-delivered applications, like Google Apps, Zscaler offers a Cloud Application Visibility and Control solution, which provides secure access and enables single sign‐on. Learn more.
HTTPS is an aggregate of HTTP and the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol, in which the authentication and encryption capabilities of SSL and TLS protect HTTP communications. HTTPS is widely used, accounting for roughly 80 percent of internet traffic according to Google. When a client accesses a website or a web application, HTTPS provides authentication for both the website and associated web server and encrypts data between the client and server.
An increasing number of malware authors are using SSL to hide threats, yet many organizations still allow SSL traffic to go uninspected. Learn About the Zscaler platform’s native SSL inspection.
A hybrid cloud is a networking environment that uses a combination of on-premises and public and private cloud platforms.
The IoT is the interconnection of a wide range of devices — thermostats, televisions, printers, security cameras, and more — that have IP addresses, enabling them to send and receive data.
While the IoT offers great potential for businesses to create new services and improve operational efficiencies, it offers a greater potential for security breaches. Zscaler provides comprehensive, cost-effective protection for all your internet-connected devices.
Read Zscaler research about the IoT threat.
Internet security encompasses browser security, the security of data entered through a web form, and overall authentication and protection of data sent via internet protocol.
Zscaler offers the world's first and only 100% cloud-delivered internet security platform — providing secure, policy-based access to the internet and private apps for every user, on any device, and in all locations. Learn more.
A local internet breakout brings internet access close to users so they can access their applications and services in the cloud with fast, local connections. Local breakouts enable branches and remote offices to route traffic directly to the internet via an internet service provider (ISP), often using low-cost broadband connections. Local breakouts provide a fast user experience and reduce networking costs because internet traffic is no longer backhauled over private MPLS networks to a regional gateway.
Learn more about the network transformation that enables secure local internet breakouts
Least-privileged access is the idea that any given user should be granted the minimum level of access necessary to perform their assigned function. Least-privileged access may also be known as the principle of minimal privilege (POMP) or the principle of least authority (POLA), but what is consistent across all terms is that the organization attempts to reduce exposure by curtailing unauthorized access to business applications or resources and restricting lateral movement across the network.
Malware, or malicious software, is any program or file that is designed to compromise a computer or network. Malware includes many varieties of computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, and adware, and it has become both plentiful and sophisticated. Malware is coded to perform a range of functions, including stealing, encrypting, or deleting sensitive data; altering or hijacking core computing functions; and monitoring users' computer activity without their permission.
Zscaler inspects all traffic, including SSL, for unmatched protection against malware and other threats. Learn more.
Microsoft Azure is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering that enables developers to create and house cloud-based applications and services.
Microsegmentation is a method of secluding areas within a data center, network, or cloud environment to streamline and secure individual workflows. It originated as a way to moderate traffic between servers in the same network segment and has evolved to allow servers, applications, and hosts to communicate more effectively while giving system administrators more flexibility and control over the network using a zero trust network access (ZTNA) framework.
Microsoft Office 365 is the most widely used cloud-delivered enterprise application today. It has made the ubiquitous Microsoft Office suite of applications available as a subscription service. Because Office 365 was developed for cloud use, Microsoft recommends direct internet access for the best user experience, and distributed organizations with hub-and-spoke architectures are encouraged to enable local internet breakouts in their branch offices.
In addition, Microsoft Office 365 can often result in the need for infrastructure upgrades, as it dramatically increases the number of persistent connections that quickly exceed firewall capacities.
Zscaler makes Microsoft Office 365 deployment fast and easy, and enables secure local breakouts for remote offices, so users can quickly become productive. It requires no infrastructure changes — no hardware, no backhauling, and no impact on performance. Learn more.
Multitenancy can describe hardware or software architectures in which multiple systems, applications, or data from different organizations are hosted on the same physical hardware. This differs from single-tenancy, in which a server runs only one instance of an operating system and application. A multitenant cloud architecture describes a single cloud instance and infrastructure purpose-built to support multiple customers. Multitenant cloud architecture enables customers, or “tenants,” to share computing resources efficiently in a public or private cloud while securely scaling to meet increasing demand.
Multi-tenancy is an architecture in which multiple systems, applications, or data from different enterprises are hosted on the same physical hardware. Multi-tenancy is a common feature of cloud-delivered services, as it allows clouds to share IT resources cost efficiently and securely.
Multi-tenancy is what enables the Zscaler cloud architecture to secure users anywhere they go because it allows policies to follow users. It also provides the scale needed to deliver multiple security services without latency. Perhaps most importantly, multi-tenancy is what fuels cloud intelligence, which means that if a threat is detected for any one of the 15 million users on the Zscaler cloud, protections are immediately propagated for all 15 million users. Learn more.
Network security is the strategic combination of hardware and software designed to protect the sensitive data housed within the corporate data center. Network security has evolved over the years as more traffic is bound for the internet than is staying on the local network. Today’s stack in a security gateway, which monitors traffic going to and from the internet, includes a complex array of firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, sandboxes, URL filters, antivirus technology, data loss prevention systems, DNS filters, and many more devices and tools designed to keep outside attacks from entering the network and reaching the data and intellectual property inside.
Network Segmentation is the process of dividing a network into multiple zones and applying security protocols to each zone to manage security and compliance. Typically, it involves isolating traffic between network segments using virtual local area networks (VLANs), after which security is applied via firewalls to protect applications and data.
Applications and infrastructure have moved to the cloud, and users have moved off the network, working on a range of unmanaged mobile devices. Forcing user traffic over established private networks and through centralized security controls or regional hubs is expensive, inefficient, and provides a poor user experience. Organizations are moving away from these traditional hub-and-spoke architectures to new, secure direct-to-cloud architectures. They are taking advantage of SaaS and IaaS, platforms, storage, and much more, and benefiting from cloud intelligence and agility to make their business more efficient and competitive. See how your can transform your network and security.
NGFW is a hardware- or software-based network security system that detects and blocks sophisticated attacks by enforcing security policies at the application level, as well as at the port and protocol level.
Because Office 365 was developed for cloud use, there are many hurdles to overcome when attempting to deploy it on a traditional hub-and-spoke architecture. With Zscaler customers who have migrated to Office 365, we’ve seen an average increase in network utilization of 40 percent, and that’s because each user is now generating between 12 and 20 persistent connections. This increase can easily overwhelm firewalls and increase your transport budget. It’s important to learn the network implications of Office 365 and the steps you can take to ensure a successful rollout. Learn about Zscaler for Office 365.
OT security is composed of hardware and software controls used to monitor, identify and manage changes to devices and organizational processes, therefore protecting systems from cyber threats. Used in tandem with IT systems, OT security systems use intentional software for industrial process automation and are most commonly used in manufacturing or production environments, which makes it crucial to a company’s wellbeing.
In security, the payload is the part of the malware (malicious software) the gets “dropped” onto a victim’s system and carries out malicious activities. Malicious payloads are typically delivered via email in the form of an attachment or a link to an infected site. If the user opens the attachment or clicks the link, the payload is executed and begins the infection cycle, carrying out activities that may include stealing user credentials, deleting or encrypting data, spying, mining for cryptocurrencies, and more. It can also cause the infected user’s email account to start sending out spam email.
Ransomware is often delivered in infected email and may be targeted to a specific user or users. Attackers are good at making their email look legitimate, and they often hide their malware payloads in encrypted messages. So, while training users to be careful about opening attachments is critical to avoiding the download of malware/ransomware, it’s only a first step. You also need multi-layered security, with various tools working together to block malicious traffic, decrypt and scan encrypted messages, and prevent attempts to contact command-and-control systems. The Zscaler Cloud Security Platform combines eight different security engines that allow you to quickly discover and block coordinated attacks. Learn more.
Salesforce, founded in 1999, is the first major cloud-delivered, pay-as-you-go platform. Salesforce upended the world of enterprise applications by delivering software as a service (SaaS) and betting on a pure-cloud future. The company has remained the leader in online customer relationship management (CRM) tools.
SD-WAN is software-defined networking (SDN) technology applied to WAN connections, which are used to connect enterprise networks — including branch offices and data centers — over large geographic distances.
Zscaler partners with leaders in SD-WAN to provide comprehensive security, visibility, control, and data protection for your users going directly to the internet on your network. Learn more.
Secure access service edge, or SASE (pronounced “sassy,”), is a framework defined by Gartner in 2019 as a way to securely connect entities, such as users and machines, to applications and services—from anywhere. SASE combines wide-area networking (WAN) capabilities with security functions, such as SWG, CASB, FWaaS, and ZTNA, into a single cloud-based solution that’s delivered as a service. Services are delivered at the “edge” of a distributed cloud architecture, pushing them as close as possible to users for a fast experience with the fewest hops. At a time when workers are increasingly working remotely and off the corporate network, SASE assists organizations in making a secure, seamless transition to the cloud from legacy hardware in data centers, while securing access to cloud applications and reducing costs.
Read about the Zscaler SASE architecture.
A secure web gateway provides threat protection and policy enforcement for users accessing the web. It prevents users from accessing infected websites and prevents infected or otherwise unwanted traffic from entering an organization’s internal network. It is used by enterprises to protect their employees from accessing and being infected by malicious web traffic, websites, and viruses/malware.
The Secure Web Gateway is a critical component of the Zscaler Cloud Security Platform. Zscaler has been named the only Leader in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Secure Web Gateways, cementing 10 consecutive years of being recognized as a Leader. Read more about Zscaler Web Security and Zscaler’s position in the Gartner Magic Quadrant.
Security as a service is a way to deliver security technologies, traditionally deployed as hardware appliances in enterprise data centers or regional gateways, as a cloud service. Security as a service has become an important enabler of business in the increasingly cloud and mobile world because it is everywhere, providing secure access to applications and services no matter where they are hosted or where users connect. Security as a service closes gaps in enterprise security created by off-net users and those connecting directly to cloud apps and the open internet rather than being routed through the secure gateway.
An SLA is a contractual agreement between a service provider and customer that defines the level of service, responsibilities, and priorities. An SLA also makes guarantees regarding availability, performance, and other service metrics.
Zscaler is ISO27001-certified and provides 99.999% availability guarantees, with additional SLAs on latency and security.
The software-defined perimeter (SDP) is a cloud-based approach to secure access. SDP mediates the connection between users and internal applications, without placing users on the network. While the traditional security perimeter were designed to protect internal services from external threats, the widespread use of SaaS applications and IaaS extend the perimeter to the internet. The software defined perimeter enable organizations to deploy the perimeter in the cloud so it can protect assets anywhere they reside—inside the data center or in public or private clouds. Access Gartner’s findings on SDP here.
SSL commonly refers to the two cryptographic protocols in computer network security — transport layer security (TLS) and its predecessor, security sockets layer (SSL). The purpose of SSL is to provide secure communications over a network, and SSL-encrypted data now accounts for more than 80 percent of all internet traffic, according to Google. Many malware authors now hide their malicious code inside SSL-encrypted traffic. Yet many organizations don’t scan SSL traffic, because it is compute intensive do to so, requiring considerable hardware upgrades.
Zscaler inspect every byte of traffic — including SSL-encrypted traffic — so we can block hidden threats before they get into your network. Learn more.
SSL traffic accounts for about 80 percent of all internet traffic, making SSL decryption, encryption, and inspection a vital component of your security posture. ThreatLabZ researchers found that more than 54 percent of the malware discovered by Zscaler security engines was hidden behind SSL.
Zscaler inspects all traffic — including SSL-encrypted traffic — so we can block hidden threats before they get into your network.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) decryption is the process of decrypting inbound and outbound traffic and routing it to be inspected for threats. SSL decryption enables organizations to break open encrypted traffic and inspect its contents. The traffic is then re-encrypted and sent on its way. But inspecting encrypted traffic is nontrivial and it requires a proxy architecture.
If you want to learn how to inspect all your SSL traffic without costly appliances and without limitations, see how Zscaler’s SSL Decryption can help.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) inspection is the process of intercepting and reviewing SSL-encrypted internet communication between the client and the server. The careful inspection of SSL traffic has become critically important as the vast majority of internet traffic is encrypted with SSL (and its successor, TLS (Transport Layer Security), and encryption is widely used by malware authors to hide their exploits.
The Zscaler Cloud Security platform enables SSL inspection at scale, without latency, so you can inspect all traffic whether users are on the network or off. By pairing SSL inspection with Zscaler’s complete security stack as a cloud service, you get improved protection without the inspection limitations of appliances.
URL filtering screens and blocks access or web content that is deemed inappropriate. URL filtering also protects against exposure to web-borne malware and viruses. URL filtering is a component of the Zscaler Secure Web Gateway. Learn more.
The zero trust security model was first introduced about ten years ago by an analyst at Forrester Research. The concept was built around the idea that enterprises should never inherently trust any user on or off the network. Access is granted based on user identity, device posture, and the policies defined for a particular application. Because all traffic must be inspected and logged in a zero trust model, it requires a level of visibility that’s not possible with traditional security controls. Zscaler Private Access enables zero trust security and access through multi-factor authentication, micro-segmentation, and visibility and reporting. Learn more.
Zscaler Internet Access is a 100% cloud-delivered replacement to the security stack of appliances in the outbound gateway. It provides multi-layered security for secure, policy-based access to the internet, for every user on any device in all locations across a distributed organization. Zscaler Internet Access includes Access Control services (Cloud Firewall, Bandwidth Control, URL Filtering, and DNS Filtering); Threat Prevention services (Cloud Sandbox, Advanced Protection, Antivirus, and DNS Security) and Data Protection services (Data Loss Prevention, Cloud Application Control, and File Type Controls). Learn more.
Zero trust network access (ZTNA), also known as the software-defined perimeter (SDP), is a set of technologies that operates on an adaptive trust model, where trust is never implicit, and access is granted on a “need-to-know,” least-privileged basis defined by granular policies. ZTNA gives users seamless and secure connectivity to private applications without ever placing them on the network or exposing apps to the internet.
Zscaler Private Access provides policy-based, secure access to private, internal applications no matter where users connect or where the applications reside. With Zscaler Private Access, you can enable authorized users to access an application without allowing access to your network. And your private apps are never exposed to the internet. Learn more.
Built on a global, multi-tenant architecture, the Zscaler platform is the world’s largest 100 percent cloud-delivered security platform with more than 150 data centers on 6 continents. The Zscaler platform is the foundation on which the Zscaler Internet Access and Zscaler Private Access services are built. Learn more about the platform.
ZTNA architecture is a security framework that operates on an adaptive trust model, where trust is never implicit, and access to applications and data is granted on a “need-to-know,” least-privileged basis defined by granular policies. ZTNA architecture has become more popular in recent years, as organizations become digitally enabled and employees migrate off the corporate network. To be successful in this new model, organizations must make their systems, services, APIs, data, and processes accessible anywhere, anytime, from any device over the internet. ZTNA architecture enables organizations to do this securely by providing precise, contextual access where necessary, while shielding services from attackers.