Websense

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Websense Inc.
Type Web Security Gateway, Web filtering and Information Leak Prevention
Founded 1994
Headquarters San Diego, California
Key people Phil Trubey, founder
Industry security
Revenue $295 million
Employees 1,200
Website http://www.websense.com/

Websense is a San Diego-based company specializing in Web security gateway software. It enables clients (businesses and governments) to block access to chosen categories of website.[1] The company says it is the global leader in its field.[2] It has come under criticism from civil liberties groups on the grounds that it assists repressive regimes to restrict freedom of speech.[3][4]

Contents

[edit] History

Websense was founded by Phil Trubey, a 31-year-old Canadian-born engineer in 1994. It went public in the year 2000.[5]

Apart from Web filtering, also known as Internet content-control software, the company provides email security, and data loss-prevention technology. The software also tracks individual internet usage, and its reports can be date drilled by "risk class, category, URL, application, user, workstation, dates, and more."[6]

Websense allows system administrators to block access to web sites and other protocols based on categories. These contain lists of sites that may be blocked at will, either at specified times or permanently. The software offers clients a continue button which permits users to access an otherwise blocked category if it is work related.[7]

[edit] Products through acquisition

SurfControl was acquired by Websense on October 3, 2007. Websense has indicated it will continue the Surfcontrol business with a full staff until at least 2011.[citation needed]

Websense's proprietary "Deep Content Control" is software designed to protect confidential information. The company says it is a combination of its ThreatSeeker and PreciseID technologies.[8] PreciseID uses software first developed for the Israeli military.[9] The company has a Data Loss Prevention product called Information Leak Prevention, which was developed by the Israel-based data security company PortAuthority Technologies. In December 2006 Websense bought PortAuthority for $90 million.[10][11] Announcing the take-over, Websense said that it was "committed to maintaining the company's research and development presence in Israel."[10]

In January 27, 2009, Websense acquired Defensio, a security company specialized in blog plugins that help to fight spam and malicious links in the comment sections of blogs. This will help expand its ThreatSeeker Network and could is used by webmasters are warned as soon as suspicious content is posted to their websites.[12][13]

[edit] Controversy

Websense classifies websites and enables clients to block access to chosen categories: here it is seen blocking access to amnesty.org, the administrator having set it to filter "advocacy groups"[Neutrality disputed — See talk page]

Anti-censorship and human rights organizations say that Websense is censoring free speech in repressive régimes, and in those with restricted civil liberties.[4][3] Websense is denounced by Peacefire as having a double standard when deciding what websites should be blocked,[1] and is seen by some as discriminatory for blocking non-pornographic homosexual content, and certain categories relating to education, religion and health.[citation needed]

In a 2005 report the Rhode Island branch of the American Civil Liberties Union called Websense a deeply flawed technology.[14] It refers to an earlier 2001 report on the inaccuracy of the software, and notes that the Children's Internet Protection Act was struck down in 2002 by a federal court in a decision that was partly based on similar reports.[14] It further notes that, although the blocking technology has improved over the years since 2002, it still remains a "blunt instrument" and that in public libraries equipped with Websense people of all ages "are still denied access to a wide range of legitimate material." [14]

Amnesty international complained in 2004 that Websense is being used by the Chinese government.[4] The OpenNet Initiative has reported that Websense is used by the government in Yemen to enforce censorship of the internet.[3][15]

The company states in its website that "Websense does not sell to governments or Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that are engaged in any sort of government-imposed censorship", and won't engage in any arrangement with foreign government that implies opression of rights.[16] The only exception is for providing filtering capabilities to block child pornography or to prevent minors from accessing sexual websites, as long as adults who have given proof of age are allowed to see websites carrying sexual content.[16]

On occasion, Websense's filter has mislabeled and blocked notable sites. In 2007 Norman Finkelstein and Noam Chomsky's websites were blocked under 'racism/hate speech' category for approximately 24 hours until Finkelstein complained.[17] In 2009, Websense briefly classified router company Cisco's website under 'hack sites'.[18] The blocking of cisco.com was solved in very short time, but it illustrates that the problem of false alarms is not restricted to antivirus software.[18]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b WebSENSE Examined, Peacefire.
  2. ^ Websense: web filtering.
  3. ^ a b c Internet Filtering in Yemen in 2004–2005: A Country Study, OpenNet Initiative, http://www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/yemen/ 
  4. ^ a b c China: Controls tighten as Internet activism grows (direct link to PDF).
  5. ^ "He's All Business On the Internet, Phil Trubey Unveils His Latest Venture Even Though He Could Retire Today". San Diego Business Journal. 2000-12-11. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-28681445_ITM. Retrieved on 2008-08-04. 
  6. ^ Websense: reporting tools.
  7. ^ Websense: list of the categories used to classify the URLs.
  8. ^ Websense: Deep Content Control
  9. ^ Websense: PreciseID.
  10. ^ a b Israel-Times.com Websense to acquire portauthority for 90 million in cash (broken link 26/Feb/2008).
  11. ^ Robert McMillan, IDG News Service (2006-12-20). "Websense to buy PortAuthority". InfoWorld. http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/12/20/HNwebsenseportauthority_1.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-04. 
  12. ^ Websense acquires Canadian blog-spam fighting security company, Maxine Cheung, itbussiness.ca, 2009-02-04
  13. ^ Robert McMillan, IDG News Service (2009-01-27). "With Acquisition Websense to Silence Comment Spam". PCWorld. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/158433/with_acquisition_websense_to_silence_comment_spam.html. 
  14. ^ a b c The Rhode Island affiliate, American Civil Liberties Union (April 2005). "R.I. ACLU releases report on "troubling" internet censorship in public libraries". http://www.riaclu.org/20050418.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-26. 
    * full report.
  15. ^ Jane Novak (6–9 March 2008). "Internet censorship in Yemen". Yemen Times (1135 (volume 8)). http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=1135&p=local&a=5. "The government ISP automatically denies internet requests from Yemeni users by using Websense and Antlabs to filter internet content. Websense enables the government to block websites by category and to define specific internet sites to block" 
  16. ^ Websense filtering out this site, official website of Norman Finkelstein, "Reader letters: reply from Websense stating that www.normanfinkelstein.com has been reviewed and now categorised as 'News and Media'"
  17. ^ a b John Leyden (2009-03-20). "Websense mistakes Cisco.com for hack site". The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/20/websense_blocks_cisco/. 

[edit] Further reading

  • Access Denied: The Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering, Ronald Deibert, John G. Palfrey, Rafal Rohozinski, Jonathan Zittrain, MIT Press, 2008. ISBN 0262541963, 9780262541961

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Websense"
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