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
Employees 1,200
Website http://www.websense.com/

Websense is a San Diego-based company specializing in Web security gateway software. This enables client businesses and governments to block user 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 régimes to restrict freedom of speech. [3] [4]

Contents

History

Websense was founded by Phil Trubey, a 37-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. Websense also tracks individual internet usage: "Included at no extra charge with all Websense products" are tools for "comprehensive reporting on the endpoint" with drill-down features to "access data 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: at specified times or permanently. The software offers clients a continue button permitting users to access an otherwise blocked category if it is work related.[7]

SurfControl was acquired by Websense on October 3, 2007. The company stated that it plans to continue the Surfcontrol business with a full staff until at least 2011.

Controversy

Having been set up in this instance to filter the category "advocacy groups," Websense is seen preventing access to the human rights organization Amnesty International at http://amnesty.org/

Anti-censorship and human rights organizations say that Websense is censoring free speech in repressive régimes, and in those with restricted civil liberties.[8] Websense is seen by some as discriminatory for blocking non-pornographic homosexual content, and certain categories relating to education, religion, health.[citation needed]

In a 2005 report, the Rhode Island branch of the American Civil Liberties Union called Websense a deeply flawed technology. [9] 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. [9] 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." [9]

Amnesty international complained in 2004 that Websense is being used by the Chinese government. [10] The OpenNet Initiative has reported that Websense is used by the government in the Yemen to enforce censorship of the internet. [11]

Websense's proprietary "Deep Content Control" aims to monitor and control "who and what goes where and how" in an effort to protect confidential information. The company says it is a combination of its ThreatSeeker and PreciseID technologies.[12] PreciseID uses software first developed for the Israeli military. [13]

The company's Information Leak Prevention software, a market-leader according to analysts, was developed by the Israel-based data security company PortAuthority Technologies. In December 2006 Websense bought PortAuthority for $90 million. [14][15] Announcing the take-over, WebSENSE said that it was "committed to maintaining the company's research and development presence in Israel." [14]

In November 2007 fellow academics and others in the US and Britain complained that Websense was blocking their access to the websites of Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein, academics noted for their criticism of the state of Israel.[16]

References

  1. ^ Peacefire WebSENSE Examined
  2. ^ Websense: web filtering
  3. ^ Internet Filtering in Yemen in 2004-2005: A Country Study
  4. ^ China: Controls tighten as Internet activism grows
  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). Retrieved on 2008-08-04.
  6. ^ Websense: reporting tools
  7. ^ Websense: list of the categories used to classify the URLs
  8. ^ Amnesty Intercepted: Global human rights groups blocked by Web censoring software
  9. ^ 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". Retrieved on 2009-06-26.
    * full report
  10. ^ China: Controls tighten as Internet activism grows
  11. ^ Internet Filtering in Yemen in 2004-2005: A Country Study
  12. ^ Websense: Deep Content Control
  13. ^ Websense: PreciseID
  14. ^ a b Israel-Times.com Websense to acquire portauthority for 90 million in cash (broken link 26/Feb/2008)
  15. ^ Robert McMillan, IDG News Service (2006-12-20). "Websense to buy PortAuthority", InfoWorld. Retrieved on 4 August 2008. 
  16. ^ Reader letters: reply from Websense stating that www.normanfinkelstein.com has been reviewed and now categorised as 'News and Media'

Further reading

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

External links

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

This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

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