Remote Browser Isolation-Powered Solution Enables Browser-based Access to WhatsApp Web, Without Risk of Encrypted Malicious Content Bypassing SWGs and NGFWs

Ericom Software, a leading provider of Zero Trust cloud cybersecurity solutions and developer of the ZTEdge™ SASE Platform, announces availability of ZTEdge Instant Messenger Isolation, a solution that is vital for safeguarding organizations from ransomware and malware delivered via encrypted instant messaging web browser clients, such as WhatsApp Web.

With over two billion active users monthly, including 50 million business users, WhatsApp is more than the world’s most popular messaging app. For many individuals, it is their most essential communication channel. Signal and Telegram, with an estimated 40 million and 500 million active users, respectively, are similarly essential for users who depend on them.

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Throughout the world, the first thing many users do upon arriving at their offices or turning on their work devices is to open a browser window to access the web client of their instant messenger (IM) of choice so they can easily stay in touch with both business and personal contacts.

For the organizations operating the business networks their users connect to, however, the end-to-end encryption that protects IM user privacy poses a considerable risk. Secure web gateways (SWGs) and next-generation firewalls (NGFWs), which apply a host of anti-virus and other technologies to filter web content for ransomware and other malware, cannot “see” the content in instant messages or files that are delivered via IM web clients. As a result, if a message contains malware, or a file that is delivered via a chat is weaponized with ransomware or other malware, or a phishing link is inserted in a message, organization endpoints and networks are defenseless.

Ericom Software’s ZTEdge Instant Messenger Isolation protects organization endpoints and networks from malware, ransomware and exploits hidden within chats opened on IM web clients, securing the browser-based IM access that users view as essential.

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Using remote browser isolation (RBI), ZTEdge Instant Messenger Isolation renders IMs in isolated containers in the cloud. Only safe rendering data representing the message is sent to the web client on users’ regular browsers, where they chat just as they are accustomed to – only without the risk. All active code, including any malware, remains in the isolated container and is destroyed when the IM web client is closed, or the chat is idle. To protect organizations from weaponized files or images sent via IM web clients, when a user clicks on an attachment, ZTEdge Instant Messenger Isolation downloads it in the isolated container, where it’s examined for malware and, if necessary, disarmed. Files are then reconstructing with (desired) native functionality intact and delivered to endpoints.

“WhatsApp and other IMs have become essential communication tools for today’s workers – across both business and personal interactions – making it extremely challenging for IT teams to block the use of IM web clients on endpoints. In fact, in countries where WhatsApp is almost universally depended upon, it’s a key productivity tool,” said Gilad Haver, Ericom VP, International Sales. “However, no organizations can run the risk of allowing uninspected and potentially malicious content to be delivered to endpoints via IM clients running on web browsers. ZTEdge Instant Messenger Isolation is the only solution that enables organizations to ensure that no malicious content can be delivered to endpoints via IM chats. We are proud to provide this vital solution to cyber-secure companies worldwide, wherever IM web clients are used by employees and contractors.”

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