Zulu analyzes URLs and assesses risk posed by suspicious Web content

Dark Reading Staff, Dark Reading

January 25, 2012

3 Min Read

Sunnyvale, California, January 25, 2012 – Zscaler, The Cloud Security Company, today announced the release of a free web portal, Zulu, that the public can access at http://zulu.zscaler.com to quickly analyze URLs and assess risk posed by suspicious web content. Unlike other free security services, Zulu analyzes web pages from multiple perspectives in order to assess risk at a content, URL and host level. An overall risk score is delivered for the queried resource, along with detailed findings. In an effort to enable all users to enjoy a safe web experience, this new service brings powerful Zscaler technology to every consumer and allows them to rapidly identify malicious content.

Developed by Zscaler ThreatLabZ, the Zulu service combines a simple, easy-to-use web interface with intelligence derived from Zscaler’s global cloud service, partner resources and public intel to calculate a comprehensive overall risk score. This unique approach permits malicious content to be identified even when the page in question is no longer available. Users can even see page histories to identify when a page first became infected or was subsequently cleaned up.

Zscaler Zulu individually analyzes the page content, URL and host, leveraging a variety of proprietary tests, with continually updated data. Separately analyzing individual components of a web resource ensures that all characteristics that can lead to risk are assessed.

Content – Page content is scoured for the inclusion of potentially malicious code leveraging proprietary Zscaler algorithms, conducting heuristic tests and querying public sources.

URL – The requested URL is tested against known suspicious/malicious patterns, public black/white lists, as well as historic risk assessments for subdomains, domain TLDs, file types, etc.

Host – Historic reputations of the host IP address, Anonymous System Number (ASN) and geographic location are analyzed, along with suspicious behaviors displayed by the host in question.

“The Zscaler Zulu service sets a new bar in protecting the general public from web-based threats,” said Michael Sutton, vice president of Security Research at Zscaler ThreatLabZ. “Zulu combines multiple data sources and builds upon the expertise that we’ve built as leaders in the web security industry to deliver a simple and free service that anyone can use to quickly and comprehensively identify malicious content.”

According to Jim Reavis, co-founder & executive director at Cloud Security Alliance, “Users on the web today are inundated with web-based threats and traditional end-user security products are failing to protect them. It’s encouraging to see Zscaler ThreatLabZ share the security knowledge that they gather by inspecting billions of web requests daily via a free web service that anyone can use.”

Dynamic web-based threats demand dynamic solutions to ensure that even the latest malicious threats can be identified. The Zscaler Zulu service ensures that continually updated content, fed from proprietary Zscaler and public sources, is combined to identify even newly deployed web-based threats.

Zscaler ThreatLabZ Zulu service is freely available via a simple web portal to everyone and can be accessed at http://zulu.zscaler.com.

About Zscaler: The Cloud Security Company™

Zscaler enforces business policy, mitigates risk and provides twice the functionality at a fraction of the cost of current solutions, utilizing a multi-tenant, globally-deployed infrastructure. Zscaler’s integrated, cloud-delivered security services include Web Security, Mobile Security, Email Security and DLP. Zscaler services enable organizations to provide the right access to the right users, from any place and on any device—all while empowering the end-user with a rich Internet experience. For more information, visit www.zscaler.com.

About Zscaler ThreatLabZ™

Zscaler ThreatLabZ is the global security research team for Zscaler. Leveraging an aggregate view of billions of daily web transaction, from millions of users across the globe, Zscaler ThreatLabZ identifies new and emerging threats as they occur, and deploys protections across the Zscaler Security Cloud in real time to protect customers from advanced threats.

Press Contact:

Paula Dunne, CONTOS DUNNE COMMUNICATIONS

Office: +1-408-776-1400, Mobile: +1-408-893-8750

[email protected]

About the Author(s)

Dark Reading Staff

Dark Reading

Dark Reading is a leading cybersecurity media site.

Keep up with the latest cybersecurity threats, newly discovered vulnerabilities, data breach information, and emerging trends. Delivered daily or weekly right to your email inbox.

You May Also Like


More Insights