Browser Detection and Response: Challenging Gartner’s predictions of enterprise browsers

Gartner has highlighted enterprise browsers and browser extensions as emerging solutions in cybersecurity, forecasting their sizable growth over the next decade. However, while these solutions are seen as the future of browser security, Gartner has not explicitly defined "browser security" as a standalone category. Instead, enterprise browsers are seen as a means to address a growing need for centralised control and visibility within organisations. 

The contention is that Gartner's vision of enterprise browsers doesn't fully cover the dynamic and complex nature of browser-based threats and usage scenarios, especially in hybrid work and BYOD environments. This is where a new category, Browser Detection and Response (BDR), emerges as a more encompassing solution.

Introducing Browser Detection and Response (BDR)
BDR represents a more comprehensive approach to browser security. BDR solutions are designed to proactively identify, analyse, and mitigate browser-based threats in real time. They go steps beyond to conduct threat hunting by correlating browser intelligence across policy violations and offering detailed, actionable insights to security admins. Most importantly, BDR is also responsible for securing the browser as a gateway to enterprise apps and private environments under one unified framework.

Let's break down how BDR differs from Gartner's view on enterprise browsers.

Tapping on the Wealth of Browser Data for Threat Hunting
Gartner's endorsement of enterprise browsers focuses on policy-based enforcement and monitoring. However, simply capturing policy violations is not enough. The browser, in itself, generates an ocean of data points for threat intelligence. Without an automated threat-hunting component, security administrators miss out on valuable insights that could prevent breaches.

BDR solutions address this gap by delivering complete attack path analysis and AI-generated incident reports, which provide a detailed breakdown of how a policy violation or security breach occurred. Beyond mere detection, they also offer auto-remediation capabilities, enabling enterprises to respond proactively. More critically, a BDR solution can correlate security incidents across the organisation, automating threat hunting.

With BDR, the browser is not just another point of visibility but an active tool in threat intelligence, making threat hunting more efficient and response times dramatically shorter.

Comprehensive BYOD and Access Control 
BYOD and remote work pushed the enterprise browser narrative to the forefront. But what makes a true BYOD solution? Not only should the browser act as a secure gateway for enterprise app access, it should also have the capability to provide isolated environments - browsers and desktops for secure private browsing. Most importantly, the security solution has to be able to apply centralised security controls on the browser and all the environments that it supports, including the isolated environments. This is something that enterprise browsers fall short in, that a true BDR solution fulfils. 

The admin portal centralises all security policies and threat intelligence, maintaining a consolidated overview and control of all browsers, remote browsers and desktop environments used. In this definition, a security focused BDR solution completely replaces VDI, while enterprise browsers only promise VDI reduction. 

The Myth of Browser Extension Limitations
The strength of browser extensions has long been underestimated, even in Gartner's report. There's a misconception that only a full-fledged enterprise browser can deliver comprehensive web security. SquareX's BDR extension, for example, challenges the perception that only a full browser solution can provide comprehensive web security. It proves that even advanced capabilities like VDI replacement and BYOD access can be seamlessly handled by a lightweight yet powerful browser extension. Unlike many competitors that provide vague claims of security capabilities, SquareX openly documents the full range of web attacks it protects against. 
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Enterprise browsers are a step in the right direction, but they fall short in many ways. In addition to the friction in adoption of enterprise browsers, enterprise browsers are insufficient as a browser security guard today. 

The future of browser security lies in deploying BDR to secure every aspect of the browsing experience, actively defending against evolving threats.