Endpoint Security , Security Operations , Video

Can Browser-Native Security Stop Web Attacks?

Interest in SASE/SSE technologies is growing as organizations and vendors move toward consolidated networking and security platforms. But SASE has not been able to deliver on its promise of protecting enterprise users, according to Vivek Ramachandran, founder and CEO, SquareX.

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For secure web gateways, for example, "we feel that the [SASE/SSE] model is broken and there is a browser-native agent required," Ramachandran said. When Gartner introduced SASE/SSE, enterprises felt they would be protected and at least "tick off another checkbox" for compliance, he said, but it turned out that "adopting SASE is quite painful." Employees are the weakest link in the organization's security chain.

"Most employees in a cloud-first world are spending 90% of their time using a web browser. The browser is the most important application but also the least understood and the least secure," Ramachandran said.

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSA Conference 2024, Ramachandran discussed:

• The challenges in adopting SASE;
• The weaknesses in secure web gateways and web application firewalls;
• Strategies for mitigating web attacks.

Ramachandran founded Pentester Academy, which has trained thousands of customers from government agencies, Fortune 500 companies and smaller enterprises from over 90 countries. Pentester Academy was acquired by INE in 2021.