Google’s Chrome browser is used by an estimated 65% of the world’s internet-using population, which amounts to an astonishing 3.5 billion people. However, this widespread use also makes it a prime target for criminal hackers who exploit vulnerabilities to steal data and compromise users’ security. Google regularly updates the Chrome browser with security fixes and has even formed an in-house team of expert hackers to identify critical vulnerabilities before they can be used against it. But, it seems, this isn’t enough. Recently, Google announced an advanced Chrome security program. This increased security, however, is only available to businesses that are willing to pay a $6 monthly subscription fee per user.
What you get for $6 per user per month
Google’s New Enterprise Chrome Security Subscription Service
Although the consumer and enterprise versions of the Chrome web browser are actually exactly the same, the differentiation comes from the deployment and management tools available to enterprise users. Now Google has added a new level of separation between the two with the launch of Chrome Enterprise Premium.
Designed to simplify and strengthen security, specifically endpoint security, Chrome Enterprise Premium was announced by Google vice-president for Chrome, Paris Tabriz during the recent Google Cloud Next event in Las Vegas. Promising to have evolved so as to provide more protection for hundreds of millions of enterprise users, Tabriz said the new offering provides “additional advanced security capabilities” over and above the core capabilities of Chrome Enterprise.
This makes sense, given that the browser can now be thought of as a ubiquitous business endpoint where critical activities such as authentication, access and administration occur. That is why, Tabriz said, enterprises can now subscribe to this enhanced security program, which brings important additions to help protect against data loss, malware and phishing.
What Do You Get For Your $6 A Month?
For a fee of $6 per user per month, Google Chrome Enterprise Premium will bring scalable context-aware access controls to software-as-a-service and web apps, helping to mitigate data exfiltration. An AI and Google Intelligence-led threat and data protection feature allows for content inspection, dynamic URL filtering, and other anti-phishing measures. Then there’s security event reporting support, even forensic capabilities for enterprise-wide visibility, as well as policy enforcement controls.
For the rest of us, consumers and small businesses alike, we’ll make do without paying yet another subscription for security that, frankly, should be there right out of the box. Either that or switch to a different browser, that is. It’s not that such alternatives are thin on the ground, and just because Chrome has market dominance now, that’s not to say it will be top of the crop in another few years. Does anyone remember Netscape?
