Internet usage is virtually touching every facet of human necessity and convenience; it has expanded from simple Web pages to social networking, banking, media and beyond. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must keep their networks clear of malicious content that may cause operational, reputational and customer relationship management challenges in order to keep customer satisfaction high.

With the continuous expansion of security-as-a-service market, ISPs are starting to look at security advantages as a selling point to their customers. This new opportunity not only protects the end user, but also increases revenue for providers. According to Microsoft (News - Alert) research, a shocking one in every 14 downloads contains malicious content. ISPs must be able to manage high volumes of traffic, utilize up-to-date infrastructure, plan for future growth and maintain customer satisfaction while simultaneously providing robust network security in order to stay differentiated in this highly competitive market.

Malicious Content – Protect Against the Expansion

ISPs must increase data scanning costs in order to guard against increasing loads of malicious data flowing through networks. An Osterman Research survey showed service providers reported over 11 percent of their users’ accounts were actively part of a botnet used for sending out spam, with 86 percent of service providers reporting they are actively battling “zombies” (a compromised computer utilized for spamming others) in their networks. Outdated content security systems are reducing potential revenue, as they no longer maximize the potential of ISPs for customer satisfaction. To keep up with changing Internet expansions and the high influx of data transfers, a more advanced and innovative data security solution is needed, to optimize the future of ISP networks.

Find the Optimal Security Platform

To prevent malware from degrading service levels, ISPs must stop malicious content at the source. According to the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group, 88 to 92 percent of email messages are spam. In order to maintain network credibility, high-performance network based detection and malware blocking is critical. A thorough content inspection of inbound and outbound data does not just clear network-damaging threats, such as spam and malicious email, but is conducive to building a long-term reputation as a dependable ISP.

With the amount of new threats spanning across a variety of different applications, home users and small businesses can utilize ISPs as a proactive partner. ISPs can secure customer networks from malware, prevent against emerging threats and safeguard the network from being utilized by revenue-damaging, malicious code, all while establishing safe and steadfast services.

Maintaining a service provider’s network can be costly with large amounts of time, energy and resources spent on managing system functions, network configuration and security threats. A network content security system with an easy-to-manage platform can be smoothly integrated with existing ISP management practices and network infrastructures, optimizing returns by decreasing operational and managerial costs.

As demand for network security systems grows, ISPs are selling security as an advantage to customers. ISPs looking to increase security beyond protecting their own infrastructure will continue to expand security-as-a-service as a marketable differentiator. The proliferation of Web access on new portals will increase threat levels and welcome the introduction of network security systems. Match the quickly evolving Web pace-for-pace, avoid high-traffic complications and protect users. Maintain a clean network from the start with a flexible, robust and scalable security platform that can adjust to zero-day threats without impacting network performance.

About the Author:

Dr. Hongwen Zhang (News - Alert) is president and CEO of Wedge Networks, an innovative provider of remediation-based Deep Content Inspection for high-performance, network-based Web security. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Calgary; a MSc in Computer Engineering from the Institute of Computer Technology - Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing, PRC), and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Fudan University (Shanghai, PRC). With more than two decades of high tech leadership experience, Dr. Zhang is a co-inventor and holder of several patents in the area of computing and networking.

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