Secure Web Gateway (SWG)
Filter the web. Protect every user.
Cato SWG adds a layer of protection from internet threats and enforces corporate standards for website access.
Todayโs Challenges
The open web is an open door.
Web-borne threats
Phishing, malware delivery, and compromised sites expose users to attacks the moment a page loads.
Web threats
Policy bypass
Uneven policy
No visibility
Our approach
Filter the web.
Enforce it everywhere.
Web access is everywhere, and so is web-borne risk. Cato SWG inspects and controls all internet traffic from the cloud โ including encrypted sessions โ enforcing one access and threat policy for every user and location without backhauling to an appliance.
Enable best-practice policies
Turn on ready-to-use policies aligned to internet security best practices โ enforced uniformly across the enterprise.
Categorize and filter
Classify sites across 80+ categories and block malicious, phishing, and parked domains with an always-current blacklist.
Refine and monitor
Refine by user, location, and device; customize notifications; and retain every event for visibility and reporting.
White Paper
Cato Networks Advanced Security Services
How it works
Secure Web Gateway (SWG) Capabilities
Ready-to-use, enterprise-wide
Instant protection with 80+ categories
Ready-to-use policies align with internet security best practices and enforce uniformly across the enterprise the moment theyโre enabled.
80+ website classification categories
Refine by user identity, location, and device posture
Choose Allow, Block, or Prompt per policy
Block web-borne threats
Defend against phishing and malware sites
Blocking malicious, compromised, phishing, and parked domains reduces user exposure to web-borne threats.
Always-current blacklist of malicious domains
Block compromised, phishing, and parked sites
Log access attempts for analysis and training
Close the search-engine loophole
Prevent policy circumvention via search
Enforce Safe Search and content restrictions so users canโt bypass compliance policies through search engines.
Enforce Safe Search on popular search engines
Apply YouTube content restrictions
Enable in a few clicks for all users and locations
See it in action
Watch how Cato does it
Secure Web Gateway Video Demo
Customer Stories
Customers love Cato
โ
Microsoft Defender does some web filtering, but itโs limited and not as configurable or easy to use as what we can do in Cato with all the different types of filtering groups and SWG features. Thereโs a lot more flexibility weโll have in Cato.
IT/Security Leader
Enterprise Software Company
Shayne Green
Head of Security Operations, CloudFactory
Mike Wiser
CTO, Focus Services
David Daniels
Director of Enterprise Technology, Darling Ingredients
Get a live demo
Secure every interaction across the enterprise, cloud, and AI with the only purpose-built SASE platform.
What to expect
15โ30 minute session with a SASE product expert
Discuss your use cases and how we can help
Live product demonstration where applicable
Get Started
See Cato in Action
What’s new
Latest resources and insights
White Paper
Solution Brief
FAQS
Answers to common questions
What web risks does Cato SWG protect against?1 question
What is Cato SWG and what does it protect against?
Cato SWG is a cloud-native Secure Web Gateway that inspects and controls internet traffic to enforce corporate web access policies. It helps protect users from a broad range of web-borne threats by identifying and blocking risky or malicious destinations before they load.
How does cloud-native SWG fit into a broader SASE architecture?3 questions
How does a cloud-native secure web gateway differ from traditional appliance-based approaches?
Traditional appliance-based SWGs add a separate security appliance to the local stack and require ongoing sizing, patching, and upgrades. Cato SWG delivers SWG capabilities from the Cato SASE Cloud, eliminating the need for a separate SWG appliance while applying consistent protection across users and locations.
How does Cato SWG fit into a broader security architecture?
Cato SWG is part of the converged Cato SASE Cloud platform. This means it operates alongside other networking and security capabilities within a single platform rather than functioning as an isolated point solution, providing consistent protection across the enterprise without managing separate tools.
How is Cato SWG recognized in the industry?
Cato Networks has been recognized as a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for SASE Platforms, a Leader and Outperformer in the GigaOm 2025 SASE Radar, and a Growth and Innovation Leader in SASE by Frost and Sullivan.
How does Cato SWG enforce web access policy across the enterprise?4 questions
How does Cato SWG handle policy enforcement across a distributed enterprise?
Cato SWG provides flexible, centrally managed policy controls that can be tailored to enterprise requirements and applied consistently across users and locations. Administrators can refine enforcement by user identity, location, and device posture, with options to allow, block, or prompt for each policy rule.
What web content categories and controls does the platform support?
Cato SWG classifies websites across 80+ or more categories. Administrators can block specific categories, customize notification pages, and set granular controls per user, location, or device. Safe Search can be enforced on popular search engines and content restrictions applied to YouTube in just a few clicks.
How does Cato SWG prevent users from bypassing content policies through search engines?
Cato SWG prevents users from bypassing content policies by enforcing Safe Search on popular search engines and applying YouTube content restrictions across all users and locations. These controls address image and video previews in search results that could otherwise circumvent organizational content and compliance policies.
What visibility and reporting capabilities are available?
Every web access event is logged and retained, giving administrators the data they need for visibility, compliance reporting, and security awareness training. Access attempts to blocked domains are also logged to support analysis and user education.
