Malware and phishing attacks cost the economy billions of dollars every single year, and the problem is only getting worse:
- Large businesses spend, on average, around $15 million per year dealing with (successful) phishing attacks.
- Even keeping the threat at bay is costly; some organizations are spending over $1 million annually just on defense and mitigation.
URL filtering is a limiting technology that employers have long used to lock employees out of unproductive and inappropriate sites. Now, this method of blocking URLs is seen as a viable part of any corporate cybersecurity strategy.
In other words, today’s URL filtering isn’t just about policing your employees’ browsing habits. It’s also about keeping your organization safe from malicious digital threats.
So, what is URL filtering and how does it work?
What is URL filtering?
URLs, or uniform resource locators, are what you and I know as the characters we type into our browser’s address bar to reach a specific site or page. URL filtering is the act of blocking URLs, preventing them from loading on devices connected to the corporate network. Secure web gateways use a URL filtering feature to protect organizations from harm caused by their employees and their browsing habits.
The purpose of URL filtering
In general, URL filtering exists to keep organizations safe and productive. While every organization is free to decide exactly how to use the technology, most implement it to achieve some mix of these three objectives.
Control access to online content
If your goal as a business is to get work done, not everything on the internet is beneficial toward that end. NSFW adult content just isn’t appropriate in the office. (People didn’t start calling it “not safe for work” for no reason.)
But there’s also other, less explicit content out there that may not be helpful in a professional environment. Common culprits here are time-wasting or entertainment-oriented sites like online games or video streaming services.
We can’t tell you exactly where your business ought to draw the lines, but chances are, you want to draw some lines. URL filtering is an extremely effective way to do that.
Reduce the risk of security breaches
URL filtering isn’t just “anti-fun” technology—it also helps keep your organization safe.
There are countless ways attackers will try to gain access to vulnerable business systems. Malware and other malicious content can take numerous forms, like sketchy internet destinations or malicious code tacked onto downloaded files (like pirated movies or even business software).
By filtering out known malicious destinations (and even domains, where applicable), you’ll cut down on one dangerous avenue for these security risks.
Preserve company resources
URL filtering also helps to preserve company resources. Bandwidth isn’t infinite, nor is it free: If every employee in one physical location is streaming 4K video “in the background” while they work, you might run into a bandwidth choke point.
Succumbing to the wrong phishing scheme could also lead to a ransomware attack. These can destroy data or even disable hardware, putting you into an operational crisis.
Other not-so-wholesome sites could siphon away resources by installing mining bots that steal computing power.
With URL filtering cutting down access to the things that put your company at risk, you’ll protect resources and your business’s digital infrastructure at the same time.
Why is URL filtering important?
URL filtering helps prevent cyberattacks because many of them require the unsuspecting victim to load and interact with a specific webpage. If the URL isn’t allowed to load, the attack is stopped dead in its tracks.
But take note: Filtering for URLs is only one type of filtering. Other forms, such as DNS filtering, can also be highly effective at protecting sensitive company and customer data.
Reducing the chances of falling victim to an attack is important enough on its own, but the introduction and strengthening of global data and privacy protection policies make it a necessity. The GDPA and CCPA are two examples of policies all organizations must comply with.
If you experience a breach and it’s discovered that you didn’t have various types of filters in place, you could be liable for heavy regulatory penalties and private lawsuits.
URL filtering vs web filtering: What’s the difference?
URL filtering and web filtering are two different ways of referring to the same technology. Most technological organizations use the terms interchangeably.
However, you might find some references to DNS filtering, which is sometimes also called web filtering—confusing, we know!
DNS filtering blocks an entire domain and cannot get more specific than that. All of Facebook is either on or off; the same goes for any other recognizable site or domain.
URL filtering, on the other hand, is much more precise. It can block specific URLs within a domain, such as particular subreddits rather than all of Reddit, or individual broken or compromised pages on an otherwise healthy domain.
URL filtering is more flexible, but it requires a lot more upkeep. Imagine being a network admin making decisions about whole domains (will you allow Twitter, CNN, and YouTube?) versus one who has to make decisions about individual posts, pages, articles, videos, and channels.
Use cases for URL filtering
Organizations of all types use URL filtering to achieve varying yet similar objectives. Here’s how URL filtering improves outcomes in business, education, and government.
Business
Businesses use URL filtering solutions to block URLs for network security (using block lists to bar access to phishing sites and other malicious websites) and to configure content filtering functionality.
By protecting end users from inadvertent or intentional endpoint misuse, businesses can reduce the risk of data loss and other negative outcomes.
Education
While adults can and do debate over what kinds of content are appropriate in the office, just about everyone agrees that certain forms of content have no place in the educational setting.
Many content filtering solutions are easy to bypass, but URL filtering is different. As long as a device is operating on the school network (not on a cellular network, for example), URL filtering policies will always apply.
Government
Governments are at even greater risk of cyberattacks, including by state-sanctioned actors.
We’ve already discussed numerous reasons why businesses would want to keep employees away from the seedier corners of the internet so they don’t accidentally enable malicious access to the network.
All those reasons apply equally well for government organizations—perhaps with even more urgency.
How does URL filtering work?
To engage in URL filtering, a company needs to have the means to compare URLs against a database and automatically apply a block. At its heart, URL filtering is about constantly scanning a database every time a user tries to access a URL. If that URL is already in the database, the user won’t be able to gain access. The process works by using either local data lookups or by accessing a master cloud server.
Naturally, setting up URL filters for every conceivable URL and category on the internet is a wildly overwhelming task—but you won’t actually have to do this. It’s industry standard to use filtering vendors who set up their databases based on known phishing and malware sites.
In most cases, companies don’t need to do anything for basic protections, as the categorization process is fully automated. Every so often, updates will continually add to your database without needing your input.
Of course, employers can make changes and build their own categories (with URLs) to suit their needs. If you decide to do this, you need to know more about how these databases work.
Within a URL filter database, there are two major settings companies can use.
1. Block or allow via URL category
The first major URL filter profile is categories. This profile sends instructions if a URL matches a specific category. For example, you might choose to have one category for phishing and malware sites and another category for gambling, inappropriate, or extreme content.
If any URL matches one of the profiles you’ve set up, the user will be denied access.
2. Match for policy enforcement
Alternatively, traffic can be matched via URL category to enforce a specific policy. By using web filtering for policy enforcement, you can create specific categories with match criteria.
For example, this may be used to discourage the use of social media websites that are prime targets for malicious activity.
Benefits of URL filtering
Implementing URL filtering in your organization can deliver numerous benefits. Consider whether any of these would improve either your security posture, day-to-day operations, or both.
Heightened security
The internet is full of great resources, but it’s also full of plenty of dangerous and malicious content. URL filtering is part of a comprehensive approach to security. Implementing it improves your security posture by eliminating numerous threat vectors.
Regulatory compliance
HIPAA, GDPR, and other regulations require compliance, and your company could incur large fines if it fails regulatory compliance checks.
URL filtering is a part of certain regulatory compliance standards, making it a technology that any regulated business needs to implement.
Increased employee efficiency
URL filtering can be used to discourage unproductive behaviors by restricting access to sites that serve no legitimate business purpose. Your organization is fully in control over what sites and domains are available to employees via network access and which ones are not.
The goal of eliminating time-wasting websites is clear: increased employee efficiency.
Improved control over network usage
Certain behaviors may not directly reduce employee efficiency, but could still interfere with network traffic.
Imagine a situation where a tech-savvy employee figures out how to siphon off network resources for cryptocurrency mining, for example. Or, someone could take advantage of your business bandwidth (far greater than their at-home bandwidth) to download or upload massive chunks of files. These behaviors can spike latency and interfere with legitimate network needs.
URL filtering can eliminate some of the worst techniques that create high volumes of web traffic and limit your network’s capacity.
Customization and control over web access
Web security is a vital concern, but controlling what kinds of web content are allowed on your network devices is also important.
Real-time URL filtering works to siphon out inappropriate content on specific web pages maintained in your URL filtering database, allowing you to offer the vital web access your employees need without creating security and HR difficulties.
With Bitly, URL filtering is easier than ever
Now that you know what URL filtering is, you know that its effectiveness depends on different categories. This is the main reason why you need to keep your links organized.
Bitly gives you the power to easily track links and keeps them organized for you. If you’re already using Bitly to create shortened and customized links, you still need to categorize and organize them—and Bitly can help.
With Bitly, users can simplify their experience with filtering and settings to organize and order their links. Our filtering system empowers you to compile links based on organization, team, and individual.
Links could offer a backdoor to your company’s most sensitive data. Bitly makes it easier for you to set up your web filters to better protect your company.
To learn more about the number one linking solution from Bitly, sign up for free today.
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