Response to COVID-19 Accelerates Cloud Migration and Increases Web Traffic
This report analyzes the global secure web gateway (SWG) market. Web-borne threats are second to email as the major threat vector for cyberattacks. It is the hacker’s favourite for command and control.
More organizations are conducting business online and web access has become a critical component. There has been a drastic increase in internet traffic driven in large part by work-from-home surge. In the last few years, the complexity and volume of threats have increased significantly. Web-based threats have become big business, targeting specific verticals as well as individuals within organizations.
The threat landscape is constantly changing. Advanced and targeted threats remain prevalent along with the growth of malware. Incidences of attacks targeting web browsers and web-based email are increasing. Attacks have become more sophisticated and aimed at high-profile targets, and hackers have more monetary incentives. State and criminal actors now use multichannel attack techniques (or cross-channel attacks) that start via email but immediately transfer to the web or cloud when the user clicks on a link in the message; thus, tighter integration between email, web, and app security are critical for end-to-end protection. Many attacks use social engineering techniques: cybercriminals are leveraging the fear and uncertainty concerning COVID-19.
The most significant trend in the SWG market is the acceleration of organizations migrating to the cloud. Organizations continue to adopt cloud applications and storage and run more of their workloads from the cloud. The result is an increase of threats that are focusing on the web channel and increased reliance on browsers to access applications. Cloud applications also pose the threat of data leakage. In such a competitive environment, SWG vendors need to distinguish themselves.
