How Does It Work?
File security works by inspecting inbound HTTP traffic destined for an organization’s web applications. With access to the HTTP traffic, the inspection engine can identify and extract any files being uploaded to the application.
The inspection engine can then submit information about the file to a reputation service to identify known malicious files. For example, the inspection engine may upload a file hash or other signature values to the reputation service and receive a response stating the probability that the file is malicious.
After receiving a risk score, the file security service can take action to protect the application and corporate servers. Files with a score below a certain threshold will be permitted to continue on, while suspicious or known-malicious files will be blocked before they pose a real threat to the organization.
Why is File Security Important?
Corporate web applications are the face of the business and one of the main ways that companies interact with their customers. The ability to upload files to these apps is critical in certain cases, especially in the context of customer service. However, accepting file uploads also places the organization and its systems at significant risk. If an attacker can simply upload malware to a system, they may be able to execute the malicious file to steal data, perform a ransomware attack, or carry out malicious actions.
File security is a vital part of an application security (AppSec) strategy. By automatically identifying and blocking uploads of known-malicious files, file security inspection engines enable organizations to offer file upload functionality in their web applications while managing the risk to the business. File security capabilities improve customer experience, application development, and corporate security.
File Security Best Practices
File security helps to limit the security risks posed by file upload functionality on corporate web apps. Some file security best practices include the following:
- Inspect Uploaded Files: Files uploaded to corporate web applications can have a wide range of potentially malicious content. Inspecting this traffic before it reaches the target web app is essential to threat prevention.
- Subscribe to Threat Intelligence Feeds: Effective file security is dependent on the ability to accurately identify malicious uploaded files. Access to high-quality threat intelligence is vital to detecting malware associated with the latest threat campaigns.
- Tune Security Thresholds: A file security risk score represents the probability that an uploaded file is malicious and is compared to a threshold to decide whether or not the file should be blocked. This threshold should be tuned to ensure corporate security without negatively impacting the user experience.
File Security with CloudGuard AppSec
Check Point CloudGuard AppSec provides prevention-focused security for corporate web applications. This includes a range of security features designed to address the various cybersecurity threats faced by corporate web applications.
File security is one of the optional functions incorporated into Check Point CloudGuard. If enabled, all files uploaded to corporate web applications are checked against the threat intelligence stored in Check Point Threat Cloud. Any malicious files are then blocked before they reach their destination.
File security is only one aspect of a successful corporate AppSec strategy. Learn more about the security challenges faced by cloud-based web apps in this eBook. Then, check out this Cloud Application Security Blueprint to learn how to design effective AppSec for the cloud.
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