Sangfor IAG and Application Control

We rely on applications for everything from dating, to sending and receiving mail – making applications as much a part of our daily life as the water we drink. In some cases, enterprises can operate successfully without even water, while the failure of a single application can bring the enterprise to its knees. Recently there have been endless stories of malicious files, ransomware attacks and hackers deploying applications designed to steal from, deface or generally disrupt business – making application control one of the most vital functions of a network security or IT department. But what is application control, and how does it help protect our files, data and jobs? Let's find out!

What is Application Control?

Application control is a segment of network security which allows only approved or “safe-listed” files to bypass endpoints, while blocking “black-listed” or potentially malicious files wishing to enter your network through applications. Application control is most useful for organizations with BYOD policies, and prevents damage caused by unknown applications which could contain potentially dangerous files. Application Control is designed to make management and safeguarding of a network easier and quicker, giving administrators automated and granular control over each application, and thus over endpoints, blocking both external and internal threats to the network and users.

What is the history of Application Control?

Application development began in the 1960's, and as early as the 1970's, many organizations were paying attention to application development – albeit in its early days. As application development became more commonplace, enterprise started to recognize the higher level of productivity and ease of maintenance that came with application development, and the vitality of application control to the success and safety of an enterprise network. As applications became more numerous, easy to create and deploy, methods of control became more vital – thus the invention of application control as we know it today. While its beginnings were rudimentary, application control developed in line with the application development industry – in leaps and bounds, leading to its position today as a vital part of every enterprise IT security set-up.

What are the features and benefits of Application Control?

Both individuals and organizations have become reliant on applications for everything from leisure and dating, to day-to-day or vital business operations. Applications are developed by a wide range of creators, some honest and some malicious, making monitoring and controlling data security threats essential to continued business growth and productivity. Application Control solutions provide several critical functions to IT and network security administrators including:

1. Identification and control over applications access your IT environment
2. Ability to determine sanctioned and unsanctioned applications
3. Ability to uncover encrypted traffic generate from application usage
4. Automatically recognize trusted applications through the use of a white-list
5. Prevents unauthorized or untrusted applications from executing
6. Automatically bars entry to unknown or black-listed applications
7. Reduces the risk of attack by malware and ransomware, improving stability and security
8. Prevents exploits associated with unpatched or third-party applications

How does Application Control help with network security?

Network security requires IT administrators to have full visibility into applications, files and users, and complete control over storage, access or end points, and all data, at rest or in transit. This type of control helps with data discovery, classification of both risky and safe applications, and compliance, allowing IT administrators total control of their network traffic, threats, data patterns, key features and behavioural characteristics of applications, and who is using them.

Sangfor IAG

Application control is a security technology built into Sangfor's IAG solution, providing a secure web gateway between users, applications and the network, and the ability to identify any applications' particular traffic flow, and providing several network performance and security benefits including:

1. Minimizing access to non-business related sites and distractions
2. Providing an intelligent billing solution
3. Maximizing bandwidth usage and availability
4. Minimizing leakage and regulatory risks and protects intranet data security
5. Providing visual management and comprehensive control of wireless APs
6. Enabling unified internet behaviour management for wired and wireless networks
7. Simplifying legal compliance with simplified cross-regional controls

As a leading vendor of Network Management solutions, Sangfor's IAG Secure Web Gateway has been listed in the SWG Gartner Magic Quadrant for 10 consecutive years. Sangfor IAG is a superior Internet behaviour management solution consisting of professional internet bandwidth management, application control, URL filters, traffic control, information control, illegal hotspot/proxy control, behaviour analysis, wireless network management and many more features. This solution can truly help you achieve effective web filtering and unified internet behaviour management of all clients in the entire network.

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Why Sangfor?

Sangfor Technologies is an APAC-based, global leading vendor of IT infrastructure solutions specializing in Network Security and Cloud Computing. Visit us at www.sangfor.com to learn more about Sangfor's Security solutions, and let Sangfor make your IT simpler, more secure and valuab