Advanced Real-time URL Filtering for Smishing and Spam Protection
Real-time URL filtering for text messages is essential for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) providers to maintain compliance and safeguard subscribers. Detecting malicious links in text messages is critical for smishing protection, but our firewall also detects ordinary spam messages through the URL analyzer. Real-time URL filtering is an essential feature of any messaging firewall.
Highlights
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Blocks spam and smishing messages in real-time
The Adaptive Messaging Firewall effectively blocks or flags messages containing URLs classified as malicious or unwanted by its real-time URL analyzer.
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Catches “zero-day” scams
The firewall can detect even previously unseen bad URLs within milliseconds, enabling it to block messages containing “zero-day” smishing links.
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Protects privacy
Privacy is safeguarded because no human intervention is involved, and no data has to be sent off-site for the URL analysis.
Smishing Detection and the Race Against Spammers
Mobile operators and CPaaS providers must screen URLs in text messages they transmit to protect end users from threats like smishing (from “SMS phishing”) and spam. Smishing attacks use fraudulent messages containing malicious links to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information or installing malware. Ordinary spam messages also often include URLs, though they may lead to pages that are not phishing sites per se. However, spammers frequently mimic legitimate messages to lend credibility to their campaigns, which makes it challenging to detect all spam using only text-based filtering. In either case, spam messages are a nuisance to end users and pose risks to both individuals and organizations.
This is why real-time URL filtering is essential. Spammers frequently generate new, previously unseen URLs to evade traditional, list-based defenses. Suppose URL screening is only performed through forensic analysis after delivery. In that case, there is a critical window of opportunity, sometimes just minutes, during which significant volumes of spam messages can reach end users. By analyzing and classifying URLs in real-time, service providers can immediately block or flag messages containing suspicious links, even if the URLs have never been seen before. This effectively mitigates “zero-day” smishing campaigns.
True Real-Time Filtering of Bad Zero-Day URLs
The Adaptive Messaging Firewall addresses this issue by implementing real-time URL filtering. It automatically blocks or flags messages with URLs it classifies as spam or smishing links. The messaging firewall can even detect bad URLs that have never been encountered before, known as “zero-day” links.
This real-time URL analysis eliminates the time advantage that spammers previously held, adding another layer of security to the messaging firewall’s scam protection. It works alongside fingerprinting and behavior-based filtering to achieve the highest possible accuracy, helping to maintain regulatory compliance and user trust.