The Latest Challenges of Remote Browser Isolation

By
IntelligentHQ

Thousands of cyberattacks occur daily, with cybercriminals targeting victims in various ways. For instance, most use unscrupulous tactics to install malware into targeted machines and, when the time is ripe, use them to encrypt files, steal invaluable data, and do much worse.

But here’s some good news. You can use an excellent remote browser isolation solution to deter cybercriminals. But before deploying an RBI, you must know that these solutions are associated with challenges like excessive bandwidth consumption and costly fees. 

As such, you must familiarize yourself with them and position yourself to make informed decisions and prepare accordingly. So, what are some of these challenges, and how can you address them? Continue reading for more information. 

What is Remote Browser Isolation?

Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) is a technique that protects web users by hosting their browsing sessions on separate remote servers. This technology ensures internet users’ web sessions occur in cloud-hosted sandbox environments instead of local devices.

It essentially allows users to protect their devices and data from targeted attacks that cybercriminals hide in webpages, vulnerable plugins, downloadable content, etc.

Challenges of Remote Browser Isolation

Just like other web security technologies, remote browser isolation is associated with numerous challenges and downsides, including:

  • Substantial Expenses

Remote browser isolation isn’t cheap. Several factors make this tech significantly costly, starting with infrastructural expenses. RBI demands high-end infrastructure, like networking equipment, data centers, and dedicated servers. Service providers pay heft sums to acquire and maintain such items and transfer the costs to their customers.

Besides paying high fees to service providers, RBI users must also acquire licensing before configuring the technology. Though inexpensive, RBI licenses contribute to the ballooning costs of using remote browser isolation.  

Remember that for remote browser isolation to run seamlessly and be super effective, regular maintenance and updates must be prioritized. These items call for RBI to pay significant fees to web security experts.

  • High Bandwidth Consumption

RBI goes hand in hand with high bandwidth consumption. While using this tech, a vast amount of browsing data is constantly transferred from your devices to remote servers. If you don’t have high-quality infrastructure to handle this scenario, it can get overwhelmed easily, catalyzing issues like sluggish user experience and frequent service disruptions.

Some RBI solution providers limit the volume of data their customers can transfer. Anything above the threshold attracts additional charges. In scenarios where massive data volumes are transferred from your devices to remote servers, dealing with ungodly bills can be a norm.

High bandwidth consumption also facilitates network congestion. That massive drawback can snowball your problems by exposing you to additional hurdles, including slow data transfer and lousy browsing experiences.

  • Latency

In small doses, latency can be an insignificant problem. Conversely, high latency can cause crippling long delays that undermine a network user’s ability to make the most of their interactions with vital website navigation features, applications, and pages. The results include degraded user experience, uncapped frustration, and poor productivity.

As a network user, excessive latency can also negatively impact your experience when using applications requiring real-time interactions. For instance, latency can be your worst enemy while holding a video conference. It can lead to significant bottlenecks by delaying video/ audio and causing frequent unnecessary disruptions.

Sadly, since remote browser isolation tech diverts your browser’s traffic through unique cloud-based systems before forwarding them, it can worsen latency and make browsing sessions a nightmare.

  • Compatibility Problems

Most RBI solutions are compatible with popular browsers like Google Chrome, Edge (Chromium), Modern Chromium, Opera, and Mozilla Firefox. They also support modern versions of OS platforms like Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. But there’s one significant challenge: mobile compatibility.

Your average smartphone isn’t built to handle the high bandwidth associated with RBI. If you find a phone that supports seamless remote browser isolation, limited screen size, poor network connectivity, and limited multitasking capabilities can ruin your experience.

Pixel pushing can also make browsing remotely from a mobile device a lousy ordeal. That is because the approach involves visual representations from remote servers, which consume more bandwidth and cause frequent lags, especially where less powerful gadgets like Android or IOS phones are concerned.  

  • User Acceptance and Adoption

Investing in training is necessary if you want to use RBI to create a safe browsing space for employees. It will help your team understand this technology and how it benefits them. Employees are more likely to accept and adopt technological solutions that improve their work experiences.

The type of training your workers will need before effectively exploiting remote browser isolation depends on the RBI solution you pick. Unfortunately, there are many complex RBI products, and they require new users to dive into extensive training revolving around essential features and functionalities. This makes it necessary to invest in robust training and proper implementation procedures. 

Potential Solutions for Pertinent RBI Challenges

As significant as they may seem, the latest challenges of RBI are surmountable. Here are several hacks you can use to beat them and cut their effect:

  • Use edge computing architecture to reduce latency and improve user experience.
  • Cut costs by making remote browser isolation accessible to high-ranking executives and high-risk employees.
  • Employ content compression techniques to reduce the transmitted data volume and avoid the cons of high bandwidth consumption.
  • Assess your devices before implementing an RBI solution to avoid compatibility issues and future frustrations.
  • Use customized training programs and materials to familiarize your employees with remote browser isolation, its benefits, and concerns. 

Final Thoughts

Remote browser isolation is incredibly beneficial in optimizing web security. However, this technology has several challenges. As mentioned, it’s pricy, resource-intensive, and susceptible to high latency. RBI is incompatible with some systems and requires organizations to invest in employee training before implementation.

Luckily, all these challenges are avoidable and solvable. You just have to employ the hacks outlined above. Most importantly, to guarantee seamless experiences, evaluate your preferred RDP solution carefully before committing. Ensure it has all the right qualities and features, like uncapped transparency and next-gen security protocols. 

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