Author: Guest blog courtesy of Webroot
Staying connected via the internet and email is now an integral part of our daily lives, so it should come as no surprise that the availability of WiFi hotspots has evolved from an unexpected bonus to an everyday necessity. Simply put, we insist on “being in in the loop” while at home, at work and on-the-go.
The sheer scale of the public’s appetite for constant connectivity is remarkable: According to an October 2016 Xirrus WiFi user survey report entitled “Rolling the Dice with Public WiFi,” 83% of users connect to WiFi at hotels, 72% log on at coffee shops and restaurants, 64% use airport hotspots, 48% connect in co-working spaces and 41% go online at convention centers.
To meet this demand, many organizations unwittingly put themselves and their customers at risk with poorly-secured hotspots or by neglecting other security obligations. While these WiFi hotspot vulnerabilities are troubling, they also open up new business opportunities for MSPs to sell security services, such as DNS protection and content filtering, to their customers. These services not only give your clients peace of mind, they also deliver more complete network visibility, mandatory in today’s increasingly-toxic cybersecurity landscape.
How DNS Protection Combats WiFi Hotspot Threats
Unsecured WiFi hotspots increase risk for organizations of all sizes, and that jeopardy can arise from a variety of activities:
Corporate-owned devices traveling between business, home and public networks
Employees using personal devices at the office
Guests accessing the internet via public WiFi in your clients’ buildings
Whatever the source of the risk, endpoint security alone isn’t enough to keep users safe. By integrating DNS-layer protection into your clients’ defenses, you not only ensure greater network visibility, but also significantly strengthen the overall cybersecurity posture of their business and users.
Simply put, DNS security services enable you to quickly establish a protection barrier that sits outside of your clients’ networks. Operating at the domain layer, these services let you finely tune your clients’ web access policies, and limit access to websites that are considered a risk to their network.
Maximize Client Security with Content Filtering
Regulations such as PCI, GDPR, HIPAA and others, coupled with security and safety concerns, make DNS content filtering an absolute requirement to reduce the risks from malicious data exfiltration. What’s more, your clients that want to offer convenient public WiFi to customers or guests must adhere to industry- and location-specific compliance requirements—otherwise they could be penalized with stiff fines.
By adding DNS-layer web filtering for your clients’ WiFi hotspots, you can:
Prevent users from accessing potentially harmful websites that host malware or dangerous content
Help clients achieve regulatory compliance by blocking adult or undesirable web content
Enforce policies by blocking sites that violate internal regulations
Block illegal user activities and content
Stop undesirable and illegal content flagged by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)
Help Clients Save Money by Protecting Their Bandwidth
Slow internet speed and website delivery is irritating to users—even worse, it can cost your clients money. When you provide content filtering services that block high bandwidth websites and ensure your clients’ critical processes have priority; you’ll improve site speed and significantly reduce bandwidth usage. As a result, your clients may not need to upgrade systems as often to keep pace with bandwidth demands—which can result in dramatic cost savings.
Integrate WiFi Hotspot Security with Endpoint Protection
While the benefits of offering WiFi hotspot security are clear (increased sales and profitability for you, greater security and productivity for your clients), for maximum efficiency you should choose a DNS-layer security solution that integrates with your existing endpoint protection solution.
For example, MSPs can easily deploy and manage Webroot SecureAnywhere DNS Protection to secure their clients’ guest WiFi connections while managing their existing SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection solution from one convenient location, saving both time and money. Built with MSPs in mind, these Webroot solutions offer single-pane-of-glass management across your clients’ install bases. Click here to learn more about DNS Protection or contact Webroot directly.
Guest blog courtesy of Webroot. Read more Webroot blogs here.
