Harnessing Revolutionary Tools: Lessons from the Internet and the Dawn of AI

Introduction

Thirty years ago, as the CEO of Wavecrest Computing, I witnessed the internet’s emergence as a transformative force, reshaping business operations with a magnitude that arguably surpasses Henry Ford’s assembly line. The introduction of early browsers like Mosaic and Netscape made the internet accessible to all, enabling instant communication, global collaboration, and unprecedented productivity. Today, we stand at the threshold of another revolution: the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Both the internet and AI are powerful instruments, but their potential is only realized through careful management. At Wavecrest, our products, Cyfin and CyBlock, have helped businesses navigate the internet’s challenges for decades. As AI reshapes the workplace, the lessons we’ve learned underscore the need for oversight, informed decision-making, and tailored strategies to maximize productivity, security, and compliance.

The Internet’s Transformative Impact

The internet’s arrival in the 1990s was a paradigm shift. Much like Ford’s assembly line standardized manufacturing, browsers democratized information, empowering businesses to operate globally and innovate rapidly. However, this power came with challenges. When internet access reached every employee’s desktop, businesses gained a revolutionary tool but often lacked the means to manage it effectively. Wavecrest was among the first to recognize this, developing Cyfin to provide actionable insights into employee web usage, addressing not just security but also productivity and legal concerns.

Ford’s assembly line succeeded because he trained workers, monitored performance, and iterated improvements. In contrast, many businesses deployed the internet without similar rigor. Acceptable use policies, often driven by legal departments, focused on liability but rarely harnessed the internet’s full potential. This gap—between the tool’s power and its management—persists, leaving companies vulnerable to risks and missed opportunities.

Challenges of Internet Access

The internet introduced three key challenges, each requiring careful oversight:

Security Risks: Research shows that 88% of data breaches stem from human error, such as clicking phishing links or mishandling data (Stanford Research: 88% Of Data Breaches Are Caused By Human Error). Employees, not external hackers, are often the weakest link, necessitating robust training and monitoring.

Legal Liabilities: Internet misuse can lead to lawsuits over harassment, copyright infringement, or data privacy violations. For example, inappropriate email use or unauthorized downloads expose companies to significant risks (Employment Liability Laws for Internet Usage). Legal-driven policies address these but often overlook productivity.

Productivity Losses: Studies estimate that 30-40% of workplace internet activity is non-work-related, costing U.S. businesses $63 billion annually (Employee Internet Management: Now an HR Issue). Social media, shopping, and entertainment distract employees, undermining efficiency.

These challenges highlight a critical truth: being informed is essential for effective decision-making. Without visibility into how employees use the internet, businesses cannot optimize its benefits or mitigate its risks.

The AI Revolution: A New Frontier

As we reflect on the internet’s impact, AI tools—large language models, automation platforms, and analytics engines—are ushering in a new era. Like the internet, AI promises to augment human capabilities, streamline tasks, and drive innovation. However, it also amplifies existing challenges and introduces new ones. Dropping AI onto employees’ desktops without oversight risks repeating the internet’s early mistakes, where enthusiasm outpaced management.

Security Risks: AI amplifies human error risks. A 2024 Gartner report notes that 40% of organizations faced AI-related security incidents due to employee misuse, such as inputting sensitive data into unsecured models (Gartner: AI Security Risks). Without monitoring, businesses cannot detect or prevent these vulnerabilities.

Legal Liabilities: AI raises complex legal issues, including data privacy violations and ethical concerns. Processing personal data with AI can violate regulations like GDPR, while AI-generated content may infringe copyrights or produce biased outputs (AI and Data Privacy Risks). Tailored policies are essential but must be grounded in real usage data.

Productivity Concerns: AI’s potential to boost efficiency is immense, but misuse can erode gains. A 2025 McKinsey study estimates that 20% of AI initiatives fail to deliver ROI due to poor integration (McKinsey: AI Productivity Challenges). Employees using AI for personal tasks or inefficient workflows—such as excessive prompt tweaking—can mirror the internet’s productivity losses.

Training Gaps: Effective AI use requires training, but generic programs miss the mark. Without data on how employees interact with AI (e.g., tools used, tasks performed), training cannot address specific needs, reducing its impact.

The Pitfalls of Generic Policies

Both the internet and AI suffer from a common issue: reliance on boilerplate policies. Internet acceptable use policies, often legal-driven, focused on liability but neglected productivity. Similarly, generic AI policies—such as blanket bans on public models or vague usage guidelines—fail to account for organizational nuances. A marketing team may need AI for creative content, while a finance team requires strict data controls. Without understanding actual usage, policies remain disconnected from reality, undermining productivity, security, and compliance.

The Role of Oversight: Lessons from Cyfin

Wavecrest’s experience with the internet offers a blueprint for managing AI. Cyfin addresses the internet’s challenges by transforming complex firewall logs into clear, actionable reports, enabling management and HR to monitor usage, identify risks, and optimize productivity. Unlike built-in firewall tools, which focus on traffic and security, Cyfin excels at reconstructing user actions, providing insights competitors cannot match. This capability is critical, as raw logs are voluminous and difficult to interpret, often leading IT and management to chase inaccurate data (The Significance and Role of Firewall Logs | Exabeam).

Extending this to AI, businesses need tools to track interactions with AI platforms—e.g., which tools are used, how often, and for what purposes. Cyfin’s adaptability positions it to deliver similar visibility, reporting on AI usage to inform policies, training, and security measures. For example, Cyfin could identify employees sharing sensitive data with AI models, spending excessive time on non-work tasks, or struggling with specific tools, enabling targeted interventions.

Best Practices for Harnessing Revolutionary Tools

To maximize the internet and AI’s potential, businesses should adopt these strategies:

  • Implement Comprehensive Monitoring: Use tools like Cyfin to gain visibility into internet and AI usage, providing management with data to make informed decisions.
  • Develop Tailored Policies: Base policies on actual usage patterns, ensuring they address productivity, security, and legal needs specific to your organization.
  • Prioritize Training: Tailor training to usage data, addressing gaps in skills or security awareness to enhance effectiveness.
  • Foster a Culture of Responsibility: Encourage employees to use these tools productively and safely, supported by clear expectations and monitoring.
  • Leverage Specialized Tools: Avoid relying on generic solutions like firewall logs, which lack the granularity needed for user-focused insights.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

The internet transformed business, and AI promises to take this further. However, their power is only realized through proactive management. Ford’s assembly line succeeded because he monitored and optimized it; businesses must do the same with the internet and AI. Security risks, legal liabilities, productivity losses, and training needs demand comprehensive oversight, tailored policies, and actionable data. At Wavecrest, we’ve spent 30 years helping businesses navigate these challenges with tools like Cyfin, which deliver the insights needed to harness revolutionary tools effectively.

As we embrace AI, let us learn from the internet’s history. Being informed is critical—only with the most facts can we make the best decisions. Businesses unaware of tools like Cyfin or struggling to implement oversight risk squandering AI’s potential, just as many did with the internet. By investing in visibility and management, organizations can shape a future where these tools drive productivity, security, and innovation. Join us in harnessing the next revolution.

Lean more

Cyfin v9.7.1 – Powering Scalable Enterprise Web Monitoring

At Wavecrest, we empower enterprises to monitor user activity with speed and precision, no matter how complex their network. We’re excited to introduce Cyfin v9.7.1, a release that boosts our platform’s ability to process massive datasets from today’s firewalls and gateways. With enhanced performance and trusted accuracy, Cyfin v9.7.1 delivers scalable web monitoring for businesses of all sizes.

Scalability for Expanding Networks

As network data surges, enterprises need monitoring solutions that keep up. Cyfin v9.7.1 delivers powerful performance upgrades, building on our expertise in supporting global organizations. These improvements ensure fast, reliable insights, even in data-heavy environments.

Key enhancements include:

  • Rapid Data Imports: Threading bulk inserts into our metric server accelerates processing of large log files, enabling seamless handling of enterprise-scale data.
  • Streamlined Parsing: An optimized parser with pre-configured patterns and efficient visit analysis processes complex logs quickly while preserving accuracy.
  • Faster Session Analysis: Threaded app lookups and a new timeout configuration speed up user activity reporting across your network.

These updates position Cyfin to tackle growing data demands with ease.

Precision You Can Rely On

Cyfin excels at delivering accurate user activity insights. With v9.7.1, refinements like improved doc ID handling and removal of outdated domain checks ensure your reports are dependable for productivity, security, and compliance.

Why Cyfin Leads the Way

Cyfin v9.7.1 is built to manage the rising tide of firewall and gateway data with efficiency and precision. Features like syslog SSL cert configuration by port add flexibility for enterprise needs. This release solidifies Cyfin’s place as a top solution for web monitoring.

Scale Without Limits

From small businesses to global enterprises, Cyfin v9.7.1 adapts to your network’s demands. Discover how Cyfin can elevate your monitoring—contact our team (mailto:support@wavecrest.net) or view the v9.7.1 release notes for more.

Thank you for choosing Wavecrest. Let’s drive your monitoring forward!

The Wavecrest Team

Finally—Clarity from the Chaos of Firewall Logs

How Cyfin Delivers Actionable Employee Web Activity Reports from Complex, Noisy Firewall Data

Executive Summary

Organizations rely on firewalls to secure their networks, but these tools generate logs that are incredibly complex. Every device, system update, browser tab, and cloud sync creates a connection—and every connection gets logged. For IT, HR, and management teams trying to understand actual employee behavior online, these logs present a mess of indistinguishable data. Cyfin changes that.

Cyfin is a powerful log-parsing and reporting engine that reads raw, connection-based firewall logs and delivers clear, human-readable reports focused on employee-initiated web activity. It cuts through the noise—from Windows updates to endpoint security traffic—and delivers reports designed for both technical and non-technical audiences.

Why Cyfin is Different

Most tools tell you everything that happened on the network. Cyfin tells you what your employees did.

Firewall logs don’t distinguish between a user browsing a news site and their machine syncing with a cloud service. Cyfin’s core strength is its ability to recognize and separate human-initiated actions from the flood of background traffic that is increasingly using the same web protocols and ports.

This distinction is essential. Whether you’re conducting an internal investigation, responding to a compliance request, or simply monitoring productivity, Cyfin gives you the clarity you need to make decisions based on facts, not assumptions.

Key Benefits

  1. Accurate Employee Web Usage Monitoring
    • What It Does: Filters out non-human activity to focus solely on employee-initiated web actions.
    • Why It’s a Game-Changer: Standard firewall reports lump everything together, distorting the picture of employee behavior. Cyfin ensures accuracy by isolating what matters.
    • For IT: Automates log analysis, reducing your workload and delivering precise data.
    • For HR & Management: Delivers a true view of employee web use—perfect for enforcing policies or boosting productivity.
  2. Simplified Compliance and Security
    • What It Does: Produces detailed, auditable reports to meet regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) and spot security risks.
    • Why It’s a Game-Changer: With remote work and data privacy laws on the rise, Cyfin’s reports provide compliance-ready evidence and threat detection.
    • For IT: Seamlessly integrates with your firewall setup for efficient monitoring.
    • For HR & Legal: Offers easy-to-use reports tailored to your compliance needs, simplifying audits.
  3. No Software on Employee Devices
    • What It Does: Monitors activity directly from firewall logs—no agents needed on individual devices.
    • Why It’s a Game-Changer: Cuts deployment hassle, reduces privacy concerns, and works across all devices.
    • For IT: Eliminates the need to manage software on endpoints, saving time.
    • For HR & Management: Provides monitoring without invasive tools, maintaining employee trust.
  4. Multi-Vendor Firewall Compatibility
    • What It Does: Supports top firewall brands like Palo Alto, Cisco, Fortigate, and SonicWall.
    • Why It’s a Game-Changer: Unifies reporting in mixed IT environments, streamlining management.
    • For IT: Standardizes reporting across vendors, simplifying your workflow.
    • For Management: Ensures consistent, clear reports regardless of firewall setup.
  5. Scalable for Any Organization
    • What It Does: Handles large data volumes effortlessly, growing with your needs.
    • Why It’s a Game-Changer: Keeps performance strong as your workforce expands.
    • For IT: Manages high-throughput environments without slowdowns.
    • For Management: Delivers reliable insights at every stage of growth.

Cyfin in Action

Consider this scenario: A department manager suspects excessive personal web use during work hours. The IT team pulls logs from their firewall, but what they get is a flood of technical entries—tens of thousands of lines including Windows telemetry, antivirus updates, background ad tracking, and cloud syncs.

With Cyfin, that same data is distilled into a clear, chronological report showing actual employee-initiated browsing—highlighting visits to shopping sites, video streaming platforms, and news articles. HR receives a clean PDF report that supports a productive and well-informed conversation with the employee in question.

Conclusion

Cyfin solves a problem that even seasoned IT professionals struggle with: how to turn raw firewall data into meaningful insights about employee web behavior. Its ability to separate human action from machine noise makes it an invaluable tool not just for IT, but for HR, Legal, and Management teams as well.

When accurate visibility into employee online activity matters, Cyfin is the solution that delivers clarity from chaos.

Find Out More

Understanding Employee Internet Monitoring: Insights from Cyfin

In today’s digital workplace, managing how employees use the internet is crucial for several reasons:

Network Security:

  • Why it Matters: Malicious websites can expose your network to cyber threats.
  • What Cyfin Does: Our system identifies and blocks access to high-risk sites, protecting your company’s data.

Productivity Enhancement:

  • Why it Matters: Excessive non-work-related browsing can decrease productivity.
  • What Cyfin Does: We provide insights into time spent on different activities, helping you foster a more focused work environment.

Web Application Usage:

  • Why it Matters: Unauthorized app usage can lead to data leaks or reduced productivity.
  • What Cyfin Does: Monitor and manage which applications are used, ensuring they align with business needs.

Policy Compliance:

  • Why it Matters: Clear internet usage policies protect both the company and employees.
  • What Cyfin Does: We help ensure everyone follows these policies, promoting a fair and secure online work culture.

Training & Optimization:

  • Why it Matters: Educating employees on optimal internet use can significantly boost efficiency.
  • What Cyfin Does: Our analytics tools provide data to tailor training programs that enhance digital literacy and productivity.

Key Takeaways:

  • Monitoring isn’t about mistrust; it’s about creating a safer, more productive digital workspace.
  • Data-driven insights can lead to better policies and practices.
  • Employee education on internet usage can transform how your team interacts with digital tools.

For businesses looking to balance security, productivity, and employee well-being, understanding and implementing effective internet monitoring is essential.

#EmployeeInternetMonitoring #CyberSecurityEducation #WorkplaceProductivity #DigitalWorkplace #Cyfin

Find Out More

Introducing Our Latest Update: Artificial Intelligence Category for Cyfin and CyBlock

At Wavecrest Computing, we are committed to continually improving our products to keep pace with the ever-evolving digital landscape. Today, we are excited to announce a significant enhancement to our Cyfin and CyBlock products – the introduction of a new category: Artificial Intelligence.

What is the Artificial Intelligence Category?

As AI technologies become increasingly integral to various aspects of business and daily life, we recognized the need to provide our users with more precise and relevant categorization. Our new Artificial Intelligence category encompasses websites that employ AI technologies such as machine learning and deep learning to deliver human-like services.

This category includes platforms offering:

    • Chatbots: Interactive AI-driven customer service tools.
    • Productivity Tools: Applications designed to streamline workflow and boost efficiency using AI.
    • Summarizers: Services that condense information into digestible summaries.
    • Transcription Services: Tools that convert audio or video content into written text.
    • No-Code Solutions: Platforms enabling users to build applications without programming knowledge, powered by AI.
    • Multimedia Editing: Advanced AI-driven tools for editing images, videos, and audio.

    Why This Update Matters

    AI technologies are not just a trend; they are reshaping industries and transforming how we interact with digital content. By introducing this category, we aim to:

    • Enhance Visibility: Provide detailed insights into how and when AI technologies are being utilized within your organization.
    • Improve Management: Help IT administrators and management teams better understand and control the use of AI-based tools and services.
    • Stay Current: Ensure that our product offerings are aligned with the latest technological advancements, offering you the most up-to-date solutions.

    How It Works

    The Artificial Intelligence category is meticulously designed to target sites that are actively hosting AI functionalities, rather than those merely providing information about AI. This distinction is crucial for organizations looking to manage and monitor the practical use of AI tools in their operations.

    By leveraging our advanced categorization technology, Cyfin and CyBlock can now identify and report on AI-driven activities more accurately, providing you with a clear view of how AI technologies are impacting your network.

    Continuous Improvement

    This update is part of our ongoing commitment to enhance our products and provide our customers with the best possible tools for managing and understanding their web traffic. We are dedicated to adapting to the dynamic digital environment and ensuring that our solutions remain relevant and effective.

    Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to innovate and expand our product capabilities. If you have any questions or need assistance with the new Artificial Intelligence category, our U.S.-based expert technical support team is always here to help.

    Experience the Future of Web Filtering and Reporting with Wavecrest Computing

    To learn more about our Cyfin and CyBlock products and how the new Artificial Intelligence category can benefit your organization, visit our website or contact our support team today.

    Are you leaving your small business Web-use security door open?

    There is so much to be concerned with when running a small business. Economic uncertainty, the cost of health insurance benefits, regulatory burdens, keeping mission-critical operations running–all add up to a stressful experience. Now security concerns include more than just locking the doors; it means everything digital too. And the risks? With ransomware, phishing, insider threats, unsanctioned cloud apps, BYOD . . . lets just say, the Internet usage risks are probably even higher than the front door being left open . . . wide open.

    Many small and midsized businesses (SMBs) are without full-time IT departments or even full-time IT personnel, making them a prime target for breaches. But SMBs tend to think they don’t have the resources to handle this type of security, whether it be the financial consideration, personnel needed, or when hardware is preferred, limited space constraints. Since hackers know this, SMBs have to be proactive when it comes to Web-use security–nowadays, even more so than corporations.

    The connection between the human and the Internet is a weak link, making it one of the leading access points into a system for a hacker. Whether it’s from the employee clicking a Web link in an e-mail, clicking a malicious ad, or sharing company information with a cloud service, make sure to protect the business by managing that employee-Internet connection. Find a solution that allows you to easily and proactively monitor and secure your employees’ Web activity. Your business is unique–finding a way to solve these issues and concerns will take a unique solution.

    A few tips for your Web-use security solution search:

    1. Find a vendor who will spend the time with you. The cyber world has its own language. It’s important to have a human being on the other end of the phone during the sales process, in customer service, and when you need technical support . . . yup, they still have human beings in technical support . . . go figure! Get with a company who wants to talk to you!
    2. Of course, it doesn’t help if that vendor doesn’t have what you need so make sure you list the top security priorities for your business. Do you want to filter access to certain Web sites or categories such as social media, or do you want to limit time that an employee may spend on one site? Are you are more concerned with your guest Wi-Fi and BYOD or throttling bandwidth use? Don’t get sold on something that doesn’t meet at least your primary concerns. One solution does not always fit all . . . in today’s cybersecurity world you need to focus on your specific business concerns. Just because an expensive, large scale, all-in-one network security solution or firewall has a Web-use add-on tool does not mean it will give you the pertinent, granular detail and control that you need to protect your mission-critical operations.
    3. Ask questions. The vendor should understand that you excel at what you do, not what they do. Don’t be intimidated by the security subject. Even those of us in this business spend a lot of time keeping up with the fast pace of cybersecurity. No question is unnecessary. If you think about it, then it is important to you and should be to the vendor too. Refer to Tip #1!
    4. Last tip for today . . . solutions come in many shapes and sizes. Don’t settle for something that doesn’t fit your business. Your business is special and unique. Your solution should fit and work in your environment without you constantly having to justify it and make it fit in.

    Wavecrest can, and wants to, help you!

    Wavecrest provides Filtering and User Behavior Reporting solutions that fit your business! Find out more about our Cyfin and CyBlock deployments today. As a customer-centric company, Wavecrest focuses on the needs of each customer. Let us help secure your business with a solution that fits every business size, type, and configuration.

    About Wavecrest

    Trusted for over 25 years, Wavecrest Computing, headquartered in historic downtown Melbourne, FL, has provided commercial business and government clients with reliable, accurate Web-use management and User Behavior Analytic products since 1996. Managed Service Providers, IT specialists, HR professionals, and business managers trust Wavecrest’s Cyfin and CyBlock products to manage employee Internet usage — managing and reporting on cloud services, reducing liability risks, improving productivity, saving bandwidth, and controlling costs. Wavecrest has commercial and government clients worldwide. For more information on the company, products, and partners, visit https://www.wavecrest.net.

    Take the mystery out of employee Web use and gain pertinent insight into your business.

    Employee Web usage management and reporting

    We are all seeing how business operations are continuously becoming more digitally driven. Many operations that were done on a desktop are now cloud- or app-driven. The connection to the Internet is a constant, and since your employees need that access to be productive, managing that connection should be a priority. Small businesses are finding that this access not only centralizes their operations and data but also can save them money. But they are finding that the amount of data being produced makes it impossible to find the relevant information needed. Looking at the employee-Internet relationship should be on the top of your checklist.

    There are things that a Web-use management solution should provide, such as allowing a business to easily filter and control access, use white and black lists, and set time limits. But one of the biggest benefits that many times can be overlooked is the ability to access easy-to-use smart analytics and reporting tools. A filtering solution is great, but if it lacks a way to collect and correlate useful, pertinent data, then all that it is doing is restricting employees, causing frustration and potentially reducing productivity. With detailed reporting and analytics, managers can open up the usefulness of the Internet while knowing they still have the control to keep the business running smoothly and safely.

    Look for the Web-use management solution that provides:

    • Drill-Down, Interactive, Forensic-Level Detail – A complete view of every link a user clicks, the exact search terms entered by a user, their search time, and more.
    • Ad Hoc and Scheduled Reporting – The information you need . . .  right when you need it.
    • Smart Reporting – Intelligent, timely, and cogent reporting on all aspects of employee Web usage.
    • Hits Versus Visits – Clear, uncluttered detail based on user clicks versus unsolicited traffic.
    • Manager Access – IT-controlled access for managers and HR allowing them reporting access without the need for IT assistance.

    Analytics and reporting tools allow you to take the large amount of Web-use data your employees are producing and make sense of it. This data should tell you who, where, and when about the Web usage. Allowing you to see anomalies, activity peaks, bandwidth usage, and more, this visibility helps you plan and secure your network, data, and employees.

    Don’t feel like you’re in need of tarot cards or tea leaves to know what is happening within your business.

    CyBlock Web-Use Management Suite makes more sense of all your Web-use data with CyBlock’s comprehensive monitoring and reporting features. CyBlock is available in Cloud and VM deployments to fit any business size or industry.

    Cyfin® provides advanced employee Web-use analysis and reporting for a wide variety of gateway devices and log file formats. Comprehensive yet easy to use, its customizable reporting and machine-learning analytics supply audience-specific Web-use information with reliable metrics, easy-to-read reporting dashboards, manager-ready detailed audit reports, and Smart Engine analytics. Cyfin is available in various deployment options: Cyfin VM, Cyfin Cloum and Cyfin Forensic.

    About Wavecrest

    Wavecrest has over 25 years of proven history of providing reliable, accurate Web-use management and Advanced Log File Analyzer products across various industries. Managed Service Providers, IT specialists, HR professionals, Forensics Investigators, and business managers trust Wavecrest’s Cyfin and CyBlock products to manage the human factor in business Internet usage — managing cloud services, reducing liability risks, improving productivity, saving bandwidth, and controlling costs. Trusted by large government and commercial organizations. For more information on the company, products, and partners, visit https://www.wavecrest.net.

    Really? Is it really time to think about holiday shopping? Already?!

    Manage Holiday Web Usage with CyBlock

    Yes–now is the time. The holidays are right around the corner and definitely require attention now so your business can prepare for the increase in Web usage and the associated risks. There are many reasons for your business to pay close attention to Internet activity at this time of year (and all year). But there is one primary focus that could easily help with all the cyber risks to your business–managing the natural human vulnerability that cyber thieves take advantage of.

    Did you know that most breaches are initially caused by employee error? “Ninety-two percent of all incidents are, and 84 percent of all data breaches were, unintentional or inadvertent in nature,” states an article from iapp.org. No matter what kind of data loss or breach it is, human error likely played a very important role.

    Shopping season can bring out even more human vulnerabilities than usual. Malicious Web sites can look real and carry what looks like legitimate product offerings, advertising can be more enticing with hard-to-resist discounts, and e-mails can come from legitimate e-mail addresses hacked by these talented criminals. Humans’ emotional nature can make it hard to resist when we are all looking for that special or hard-to-get gift. It is important to make sure your business–and your employees–are protected by an easy-to-setup solution that is comprehensive and proactive.

    This is easier than you think. Access to a comprehensive Web management solution will allow you to manage usage in a way that suits your unique business philosophy. This includes whether you want to allow or restrict access to certain Web sites at a particular time of day, monitor usage with reporting features by analyzing trends and tracking usage, or just meet compliance and regulation requirements.

    This time of year, it is important to spend some extra time paying attention to your organization’s Web use. But Web-use management should be part of your business process and security all year round. Find a solution that is flexible enough to grow or change with you throughout the year, and for this time of year … let them shop … and know you are still being proactive and secure.

    Cyfin® provides advanced User Behavior Analytics and Reporting for a wide variety of gateway devices and log file formats. Comprehensive yet easy to use, its customized reporting capabilities supply audience-specific information with reliable metrics, easy-to-read reporting dashboards, manager-ready detailed audit reports, and Smart Engine analytics. Cyfin is available in various deployment options: Cyfin Virtual Appliance and Cyfin Forensic.

    CyBlock® Employee Web Filtering and Monitoring Solutions provide advanced Web filtering, threat protection, comprehensive employee reporting, Smart Engine analytics, easy-to-use admin and manager portals, and more. Customers can easily configure CyBlock to monitor and manage compliance with their usage policies. CyBlock is available in various deployment options: CyBlock Virtual Appliance, CyBlock Cloud, and CyBlock Hybrid.

    Wavecrest has over 25 years of proven history of providing reliable, accurate Web-use management and Advanced Log File Analyzer products across various industries. IT specialists, business managers, HR professionals, Managed Service Providers, and Forensics Investigators trust Wavecrest’s Cyfin and CyBlock products to easily decipher and manage, and report on, real employee Web activity, manage cloud services, reduce liability risks, improve productivity, save bandwidth, and control costs. Trusted by small, medium, and large government and commercial organizations worldwide. For more information on the company, products, and partners, visit Wavecrest.

    Cyfin and CyBlock Version 966 Launch – A Milestone in Web Usage Analysis

    Wavecrest is excited to announce the launch of Cyfin and CyBlock Version 966, marking a significant advancement in our nearly three-decade journey of innovation. This release is not just an update; it’s a transformational shift in how organizations understand and manage employee web usage.

    Decoding Human Action from Data: Since our inception, our core objective has been to decode human action from raw firewall connection logs. We pioneered the focus on providing a comprehensive picture of employee web usage, going beyond the narrow lens of security and legal liability sites. Over the years, our relentless refinements have set the industry benchmark for complete web usage analysis, making our reports the preferred choice for HR and management teams.

    Introducing Session Metrics: With Version 966, we are proud to introduce our evolved smart algorithm that now generates ‘session metrics’. These metrics represent a breakthrough in monitoring and analyzing web usage. A session encapsulates a series of interactions an employee has with a website or online application within a set timeframe, beginning with the initial webpage visit and concluding after a period of inactivity or logout.

    Why This Matters: This advancement simplifies how IT, HR, and management teams interpret web usage data. Understanding how employees utilize the internet is crucial for identifying potential security threats, legal liabilities, and shaping a robust compliance policy. This policy is vital for enhancing productivity while simultaneously mitigating security risks.

    Commitment to Excellence: At Wavecrest, our commitment to excellence and innovation remains unwavering. Cyfin and CyBlock Version 966 is a testament to this commitment, offering unparalleled insights into employee web usage.

    Employee Internet activity–get the right information to the right people in the right format.

    We always think of a business’ audience as outside of the business, as in a sales or technical support relationship with a prospect or customer. But we all have an audience within the business that needs to be serviced, provided assistance, and kept happy. From an IT standpoint, these internal customers can be HR, operations, financial, legal, C-Suite, and more . . . literally everyone within the company. This is why it is important that IT be provided and supported with comprehensive, easy-to-manage tools that proactively help supply internal customers with the relevant, detailed, easy-to-consume information they need. Their focus should be on how to efficiently get the right information to the right people in the right format–especially when it is critical information like Internet usage.

    Internet usage is a leading concern for companies due to risks from employee misuse, unsanctioned cloud applications, phishing e-mails, and more. Pepper Hamilton LLP, Attorneys at Law note, “Companies often are surprised to learn that their biggest security threats come from their own employees. These risks range from the use of weak passwords to clicking on corrupt internet links to theft of sensitive data.” IT needs to not only maintain the system to keep the business’ digital environment running and secure but they also need to supply critical employee Web-use information to others within their organization. These internal customers are not prepared to dig through and interpret large amounts of technical data. They require the information be easily supplied to them for when, where, and how they need to use it. So what does “the right information to the right people in the right format” really mean?

    What is the right information?

    When it comes to Web-use risks, the human factor, that is, the employee, must be the focus. Without knowing the human behavior in the organization it is impossible to define what is normal and flag anomalies that may indicate unintentional mistakes or malicious acts, identify workforce productivity changes, or determine whether an employee is in compliance with corporate policy, and more. If there is reporting on Web traffic in the organization, it may still be inadequate in showing the relevant human behavior in the workplace. It is important to reduce the “noise” that happens in data when supplying information to the internal customers. The right information means clear, pertinent, easy-to-consume information for, more than likely, a nontechnical audience.

    Who are the right people?

    It would likely be easier to just say everyone. Most employees use some form of the Internet for work functions. If they don’t, they still likely have access to the Internet through company Wi-Fi or during their break. Even then, the business is responsible for the Web use occurring on their network at any time. Knowing this, it is understandable that many people in your organization want easy access to employees’ Web activity information. Managers may want to address productivity issues, HR personnel may want to investigate a Web-use liability issue, and IT staff themselves will want to watch network performance and security. Getting the relevant information to a specific audience in the company is important and increases overall efficiency and productivity. The right people means that the information supplied to that user is specific to their responsibility. Extraneous information not only makes the recipient’s process of deciphering the data more difficult and time-consuming, but it is also a data security issue by sharing unrelated company data with others, even within the company.

    Which is the right format?

    When you view something and it just has so much information or is just difficult to read, do you actually retain or even understand the information? With mission-critical operations looming, IT no longer has time to spend on walking a recipient through report information. Requested Web-use information should be in an easy-to-read and actionable format. Having reporting dashboards can provide important benefits especially when they can be customized to offer different types of analyses for different users and therefore serve different purposes. Customizable charts and interactive, drill-down reporting features with specifically relevant information increases understanding and ends up supporting clear business decision-making. So, the right format is about allowing for flexibility for each recipient to view information in a number of different formats.

    So then . . . what is needed to get the right information to the right people in the right format and how can Wavecrest help?

    Smart Engine analytics! Without the Smart Engine and its analytics, the reporting components could not provide the adequate information that your company needs to manage employee Web use. The Smart Engine makes technical data usable and manager-ready. Smart Engine analytics provide pertinent, detailed analysis, permitting the review or investigation of trends, policy violation, Internet misuse, security issues, and ultimately, human behavior occurring in the workplace.

    With its precise, industry-leading algorithms, the Wavecrest Smart Engine is used by charts and reports to present accurate and up-to-date Web-use data. It performs functions such as determining visits and time online from Web traffic, and categorizing URLs into logical groups based on content. The Smart Engine is the key to providing understandable, easy-to-consume, manager-ready information–more precisely, the right information for right people in the right format.

    Time is precious, especially in business. Getting the right information to the right people in the right format should be easy–especially when it is critical information like Internet usage. Let us help.

    About Wavecrest

    Wavecrest has over 25 years of proven history of providing reliable, accurate Web-use management, User Behavior Analytics, and Advanced Log File Analyzer products across various industries. Managed Service Providers, IT specialists, HR professionals, Forensics Investigators, and business managers trust Wavecrest’s Cyfin and CyBlock products to manage the human factor in business Internet usage — comprehensive filtering and Web-use reporting, managing cloud services, reducing liability risks, improving productivity, saving bandwidth, and controlling costs. Trusted by small, medium, and large government and commercial organizations. For more information on the company, products, and partners, visit Wavecrest.