Some organizations do not consider the full financial benefits of business content filtering. For many, the objective of filtering Internet content is to protect networks from malware infections and ransomware attacks and, in this respect, many business content filtering solutions achieve their objective – not only protecting the organizations´ networks, but also the devices and users that connect to them.
However, the financial benefits of business content filtering can be substantial. According to Kaspersky Lab´s latest “IT Security Risks Special Report”, the average cost of recovering from a malware infection or ransomware attack is $551,000. The costs not only include retrospective recovery of data and staff training, but also the cost of being unable to trade while business-critical information is inaccessible.
Admittedly this figure could be inflated because of some very large-scale attacks recently resulting in substantial recovery costs. However, who is to say large-scale attacks will not become a norm in the future? Nonetheless, Kaspersky Lab also investigated the cost to SMBs of recovering from a malware infection, and found the average cost to be $38,000 plus a further $8,000 in indirect costs such as increased insurance premiums and damage to credit ratings.
An Increase in Productivity is a Key Financial Benefit
Inasmuch as the avoidance of recovery costs might not be considered by some to be a financial benefit of business content filtering, there is no disputing that an increase in productivity is. Lost productivity due to “cyber-slacking” is estimated to cost industry many billions of dollars every year. Allegedly, Facebook alone costs U.S. employers $650 billion in lost productivity annually.
As an employer, you may feel that allowing your employees a little “slack time” is a positive thing; but you will also likely acknowledge that some employees take liberties with their Internet privileges. Business content filtering solutions can resolve this issue by limiting access to social media sites and other non-work related online activities during certain hours of the day.
It is important to note that any filtering parameters you apply to a filtering solution do not have to be applied universally. If, for example, your organization has a marketing department that needs access to Facebook in order to fulfil its role, you can create one Internet user policy for your marketing department allowing unlimited access to social media sites, and another policy for the remainder of your workforce limiting the time they have available for personal pursuits.
Improving the Workplace Environment also has Indirect Benefits
Although you may be in favor of allowing employees a little “slack time”, certain types of online content should permanently blocked by a business content filtering solution. If you allow employees to view topics such as pornography, racial intolerance and child abuse in the workplace, this is likely to offend other employees and – should an employee claim to feel intimidated – could result in an employer facing legal action for failing to provide a safe environment in which to work.
Employers can also face legal action for facilitating the illegal downloading of copyright material from P2P file sharing sites or any other illegal activity that takes place via the organization´s network. By blocking access to categories of website likely to cause offence and those which promote illegal activities – and blocking access to anonymizer services to prevent circumnavigation of the filtering parameters – websites can create a better workplace environment and avoid legal risk.
Creating a better environment also has benefits for business in the hospitality industry who provide a publicly-accessible WiFi service to customers and guests. By preventing network users visiting websites containing certain types of online content, businesses eliminate the risk that another customer or guest will be inadvertently exposed to offensive material. Companies such as McDonalds and Starbucks do this already and have been commended for providing a family-friendly environment.
Business Content Filtering from SpamTitan
As different businesses have different requirements, there is “no-one-size-fits-all” solution for business content filtering. So, here at SpamTitan we have developed a range of filtering solutions – the WebTitan range – that offer maximum protection against malware, ransomware and phishing, and that have the filtering granularity businesses need to increase productivity and improve the workplace environment.
- WebTitan Cloud is a cloud-based solution that is compatible with all operating systems and can be set up within minutes.
- WebTitan Cloud for WiFi is a versatile option for business that provide a publicly-accessible wireless service or who operate a BYOD policy.
Each of our business content filtering solutions is managed via a web-based administration portal, through which user policies can be applied with the click of a mouse. The solutions can be integrated with Active Directory and LDAP for accelerated configuration, and each element of the software driving the WebTitan business content filtering range is automatically updated in real time to minimize maintenance overheads.
Try a WebTitan Business Content Filtering Solution for Free
If you are a network administrator with a responsibility for protecting your network from malware, ransomware and phishing attacks, we invite you to contact us and request a free trial of a WebTitan business content filtering solution. Our team of Sales Technicians will ask a few questions about the type of network you have at the moment to determine which of the WebTitan range is most suitable for you to try.
Our team will then guide you through the set-up of your WebTitan filter and be on hand throughout your trial to help you find the optimal settings for your particular circumstances. Then, should you decide to continue using our service at the end of your free trial, no further configuration will be necessary, in order to protect your network from web-borne threats and avoid the costs of recovering from a malware or ransomware attack.
