The Next Cybersecurity Generation: LayerX Security Co-Founder, Or Eshed, Offers a Disruptive Vision for the Future

The “Browser Wars” between Netscape and Internet Explorer in the 1990s marked the start of a whirlwind across homes and workplaces. The browser would soon provide ubiquitous access to the internet, making technology and information accessible to all. The introduction of Mozilla Firefox in 2004 and Google Chrome in 2008 further encouraged adoption, allowing for faster and easier use of browsers. 

Today, corporations and employees rely on the browser for almost any work task, from emailing customers to designing products to accessing their CRM and managing inventory. 

“The browser is the key workspace for modern corporations,” says Or Eshed, browser security expert and Co-founder of LayerX Security. “Companies that have not gone digital yet will most certainly do so in the next few years.” 

From Browser Wars to Browser Attacks 

Yet, it’s not all rosy for corporations. Cyber attackers are finding that gaining malicious access to an employee’s browser provides them with access into the entire company network, where they can steal data and passwords, providing them with access to the company’s most sensitive business secrets. 

“2023 was replete with browser-borne cyber-attacks,” continues Eshed. “Attacks are coming from any direction, from malware distribution on social media to fake GenAI browser extensions that steal passwords to sensitive systems.” 

Just to give a taste, according to Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, one of the most prestigious security reports in the industry, nearly half of all breaches start with obtaining access credentials. Those are then used to compromise web applications, accounting for 40% of all enterprise breaches. Being the #1 authentication platform, the browser is at the frontline of the cyber world. 

Digital cyber-attacks are not new. Consequently, there is also a bustling and lucrative cyber security industry that oversees securing corporations' most important assets, dubbed by the industry as ‘crown jewels.’ 

3 Generations of Digital Protection 

Some giants are experts at securing the company’s servers and any internal hardware. However, they aren’t adept at defending against threats originating from external sources. To combat this, some companies emerged to secure any information that leaves the company and is transferred through publicly available servers, also known as ‘the Cloud.’ Still, these companies do not fully address the unique challenges posed by the decentralized and borderless nature of the internet and do not fully protect against users’ activities online. 

Now, it seems, it’s time for a third generation to emerge, one that takes into consideration the new location the risk is coming from: The Internet. 

“"Protecting against web-based risks from network appliances or the Cloud is a backward approach,” comments Eshed. “The risk is online, so protection needs to occur where the risk meets the user. This means the edge, the browser on the end-device.” 

Just like with many technological advancements that dominate our day-to-day, startups are at the forefront of innovation and browser security startups rose to the challenge. Browser security solutions are disrupting the traditional cybersecurity market by shifting their protection focus from corporate networks to the public internet. With hundreds of billions of dollars invested in these corporate networks, this is quite a splash. 

When Security Meets the Employee 

LayerX Security offers an Enterprise Browser Extension for companies that is deployed on all employee browsers. By continuously monitoring, performing risk analysis, and real-time enforcement on any event and user activity in the browsing session, LayerX protects against all web-borne threats and browsing risks. These include blocking data leakage over the web, SaaS apps and GenAI tools, prevention of credential theft from phishing, enforcement of secure access to SaaS resources by the internal or external workforce to mitigate the risk of account takeover, discovery and disablement of malicious browser extensions, Shadow SaaS, and more. The company has enterprise customers worldwide, including Fortune-100 organizations. 

Unlike other solutions on the market, LayerX emphasizes user productivity. Eshed claims employees will not implement a security solution that does not meet them where they are, in their own browser. This sounds like the transition many products are going through, providing all the necessary security without degrading user experience. 

Will browser security solutions, representing the third generation of digital protection, soon become obsolete? This question arises considering the rapid evolution akin to Freudian/Jungian theories, where each successive ‘generation’ overcomes or integrates with its ‘parent.’ 

Eshed doesn’t think so. Instead, he believes AI will help make existing solutions better and better, so they’re always future proof. AI will overcome the human factor vulnerabilities, ensuring these solutions can always identify and mitigate threats. What this means for humans and AI is beyond the scope of this article but suffice to say that startups need the AI revolution and to integrate AI capabilities to succeed and become the ‘next big thing.’ 

Consequently, browser security might be the generation to end all generational turnover. Companies such as LayerX are contributing to the growing prevalence of browser security platforms in enterprises, indicating a potential future where these extension-based platforms become as common as browsers themselves. They are more efficient, cost-effective, and relevant to modern security needs compared to appliance, network, and cloud-based security solutions. 

As such, they are positioned to supplant even the most resilient security solutions currently in use, such as SSE (Secure Service Edge), a new cybersecurity tool type recognized by leading analyst firm Gartner. 

With security getting complicated and attackers currently gaining the upper hand, this simplification and efficacy will modify the balance of powers, giving enterprises the tools they need to prevent the risk of cyber-attacks.