How To Use Residential Proxies For Your SaaS Network Security?

As more and more SaaS businesses continue to sprout, so does the number of cyberthreats increase. And let’s be frank, there is basically no full-proof traditional security infrastructure that can defend against all kinds of internet vulnerabilities.Fortunately, modern residential proxies have been designed to proactively help you engage every possible threat and prevent them from penetrating your SaaS network.In this article, we will explore the few ways you can use residential proxies to protect your SaaS network and avoid data breaches.

What Are Residential Proxies?

Residential Proxies are a network of home-sourced IP addresses provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to mask your true IP address.Let's break this down…Anytime you surf the internet, your device sends a request to the website you want to access. The receiving website’s server screens your request and tracks it back to you for proper identification before granting you access.But this process exposes your IP address to the receiving website. And sniffers, a.k.a Cyberattackers, can spy on this information to attack your browsing network.So what a residential proxy does is that it comes between your device and the internet to act as an intermediary or mask. This means the receiving server only sees the IP address provided by the residential proxy, not yours. Likewise, cyberattackers are unable to figure out your true IP address.

Forward Proxies Vs. Reverse Proxies

Residential proxies can be forward or reverse. And the one we described above is a forward proxy, also publicly called a residential proxy since most people do not understand the difference.Unlike forward proxies, reverse proxies are directly installed on business networks such as a SaaS network, and their job is to screen every traffic request coming towards that network.So any time a user tries to access a SaaS platform, the SaaS network’s reverse residential proxy steps in to screen the request for any suspicion before giving it a pass. If the request is suspicious, the proxy server will cut it off before reaching your SaaS business network.

3 Ways SaaS Businesses Can Use Reverse Residential Proxies For Network Security

SaaS businesses can easily buy static residential proxy. So it’s not particularly rocket-science. But here are some use cases to bear in mind when you want to configure your proxy for good network security.

Screen Incoming Requests

Let’s consider Hubspot, a renowned cloud-based CRM SaaS business in the industry. Hubspot receives hundreds of thousands of requests weekly on its SaaS platform, and that’s not to mention the millions of blog traffic at the side.Now the thing is, these hundreds of thousands of traffic each carry a request which can be for logging in, logging out, navigating a page, switching dashboard, and many others. But in some cases, one or two traffics can carry malicious requests intended to breach Hubspot’s network security.In this case, HubSpot can use a reverse residential proxy to screen each incoming traffic and its request to sniff out any suspicious activity.If there’s something suspicious, your residential proxy will prevent entry of the request, set off a security alarm, and call your attention immediately to the offending traffic or request. From there, your IT infrastructure can set in and implement more security protocols.This strategic process prevents cyberattackers from getting any information on your SaaS business network since there’s a gateman-like proxy in place.

Distribute Request Load

Recall our Hubspot scenario? Hundreds of thousands of traffic jamming your business network can effortlessly overload your server and reduce website loading speed. This happens a lot to popular programs like chatGPT.SaaS networks experiencing network downtime is probably one of the worst things that can ever happen. It puts you and your clients in panic, exposes your IT infrastructure to security threats since everything is literally down, and can mar your reputation.To avoid that, you should configure your proxy to receive each request and appropriately distribute them across all your servers. The mechanism here is no-brainer. A reverse residential proxy simply acts as your website’s access node to your cloud data (since most SaaS infrastructure are cloud-based, anyways).This prevents website overload, increases uptime to 99.9%, and reduces bandwidth.

Automated Penetration Testing

We said at the beginning that no traditional security measure is full-proof. Note that modern security practices are no exemptions to this statement too. So whether you’ve installed the best SSL or implemented an advanced firewall, there are still thousands of loopholes that can possibly be exploited if you’re not careful.As a proactive security measure, you should set up automated penetration testing with an integrated residential proxy server. The proxy will help a penetration tool access your SaaS network using different IP addresses and instances.While this still does not guarantee a 100% network security, it can as much push your testing efficiency beyond 99% and detect hidden, futuristic threats.

Conclusion

SaaS networks are extremely delicate since they house millions of dollars worth of customer data - and a bunch of doomsday lawsuits if leaked. So buying a static residential proxy is a must for effective network security.You can configure your proxy to screen every incoming request and alert your security nodes if there’s a suspicious request. Other use cases include handling heavy traffic monthly and automated penetration testing using different IP addresses.