In an era where every click online may hide a threat and the use of cloud-based SaaS applications grows by the day, it is essential to ensure that sensitive data travels across the internet privately, without alteration, loss, or theft. SSL/TLS encryption has become the primary method of protection and is widely adopted on both the client and server sides to ensure data privacy during transmission. It is used across most SaaS services and other internet applications that rely on web access.

All major browsers and web-content providers now deliver secure data exchange over HTTPS, which is HTTP running on top of TLS/SSL. At the same time, looking at the broader context, it is important to note that HTTPS can be used not only to safeguard confidential information during transit, but also to conceal malicious activity.

According to Google’s Transparency Report, more than 94% of webpages accessed through Chrome use HTTPS. Data from Zscaler Threat Labs shows that encrypted threats have increased by 87% year over year, underscoring the urgent need for strong security controls.

Since the majority of traffic is encrypted with TLS, it is crucial for built-in security technologies – specifically Secure Service Edges (SSE) – to use SSL inspection techniques. These allow organizations to scan traffic and enforce security policies, ensuring that threats are removed and attempts to exfiltrate sensitive data are blocked.

Benefits of SSL Inspection

Deploying SSL inspection within a SASE solution enables organizations to protect users, customers, and data by allowing them to:

• block compromise attempts through deep inspection that identifies hidden malware and other malicious payloads;
• monitor and control the movement of confidential or sensitive information using granular DLP policies;
• comply with regulatory standards and reduce risks associated with employee-driven data exposure;
• maintain a layered security strategy that protects the organization end-to-end.

Although every organization would ideally perform SSL inspection, many face challenges during deployment.

Potential challenges in implementing SSL/TLS inspection

1. testing and validation: implementing SSL inspection requires extensive testing to ensure website compatibility and functionality – a complex task for large enterprises;
2. infrastructure complexity: conducting SSL/TLS inspection in large environments introduces issues tied to PKI infrastructure or certificate deployment across user devices;
3. compliance and privacy regulations: some countries impose strict rules prohibiting SSL/TLS inspection of user web traffic to protect privacy; these measures benefit users but unfortunately allow encrypted threats to pass unnoticed;
4. TLS/SSL configurations: website configurations designed to bypass inspection – such as non-standard cipher suites, outdated SSL/TLS versions, or encrypted Server Name Indication (SNI) in TLS 1.3 – create additional challenges.

These difficulties can lead organizations to delay or abandon TLS inspection altogether, leaving them exposed to encrypted threats for extended periods.

An alternative approach: Cloud Browser Isolation

There are two fundamental approaches to security:

• Security through deep inspection: Every packet is intercepted, decrypted, scanned, and subjected to security policies. Payloads are analyzed for signatures, anomalies, or behavioral indicators to detect and block threats;
• Security through isolation: Instead of scanning content, users access it in a secure, isolated environment. Content – even if benign – remains separated from endpoints and corporate networks.

Cloud Browser Isolation aligns with the second approach.

It allows organizations to separate users from potentially dangerous internet content by loading webpages on a remote browser hosted in Zscaler’s global data centers and streaming a safe visual copy to the user’s browser.

The real webpage content always stays in the isolated cloud browser and never reaches user devices or corporate networks. Beyond separating web content via a remote browser, cloud isolation gives organizations additional controls to prevent data loss and ensure safe content handling.

Key data-loss prevention controls available through browser isolation:

• file transfer control (downloads and uploads);
• clipboard control;
• print control;
• read-only access to webpages.

Key threat-protection capabilities provided by browser isolation:

• viewing Office and PDF documents in a fully isolated environment;
• downloading safe, simplified PDF versions of documents processed in isolation;
• achieving CDR level 3 through file transfers over dedicated communication channels separate from primary workflows or systems;
• submitting files to a sandbox via a separate channel for analysis, keeping them isolated from production environments.

Today’s threats are reshaping security strategies. SSL inspection within SASE solutions is becoming a fundamental requirement for protecting sensitive information, yet it continues to face operational barriers and lengthy deployment timelines. Cloud Browser Isolation is not a replacement for full SSL inspection, but it can serve as an important transitional layer – allowing organizations to reduce exposure while they work toward more advanced traffic-analysis capabilities.