Remote Browser Isolation is a cyber-security technology that isolates web browsing activities in the cloud and away from the end-user’s local computing environment. RBI allows users to browse the web without the risk of exposing their device to potential threats found on the internet.

How does RBI work?

When a user accesses a website, the actual browsing session occurs not on their local device but on a remote, isolated server in the cloud. This server fetches and processes all the web content, from HTML to JavaScript. The user’s device receives a safe, sanitized representation of the web page visuals to render locally.

Why not use a standard web browser?

Web browsers are the number one productivity application for today’s workforce. So it is not surprising when Gartner says:

Almost all successful attacks on users originate from the public internet and many involve web-based attacks

So clearly a standard web browser does not offer the required security to deal with today’s threats. Still, the idea of using a cloud browser to create a physical isolation between the user endpoint and the browser seems somewhat extreme. After all there are many methods for web browsing security which do not involve RBI, e.g. Secure Web Gateways.

Why not stick to standard methods for web browsing security?

Check Point Research calls 2023:

The year of Mega Ransomware attacks with unprecedented impact on global organizations

A Staggering 1 in every 10 organizations worldwide hit by attempted Ransomware attacks in 2023, surging 33% from previous year, when 1 in every 13 organisations received ransomware attacks

Throughout 2023, organizations around the world have each experienced over 60,000 attacks on average, 1158 attacks per organization per week

Add to that the notion of HEATs, Highly Evasive Adaptive Threats, which are designed to bypass the standard defenses used by organizations and it is becoming clear that existing methods are just not enough.

How is RBI able to help?

For the most part cyber security is a cat and mouse game with security experts locked in a battle with hackers for decades. Remote Browser Isolation recognizes the fact that there will always be new attacks that penetrate the standard defenses leaving endpoints exposed (until these defenses are patched) and it takes a totally different approach altogether. RBI creates a disposable browser in a sand-boxed container in the cloud, physically isolating it from the endpoint, so that those new attacks, when they succeed, will not be able to reach the end user and will therefore be contained in the cloud.

Summary

Gartner summarizes it best:

Almost all successful attacks on users originate from the public internet and many involve web-based attacks. Security and risk management leaders can contain damage by using remote browser isolation to separate end-user internet browsing sessions from enterprise endpoints and networks.

Organizations that isolate internet web browsing will experience a 70% reduction in attacks that compromise end user systems.

RBI isolating the black hat cat from the mouse