Preserving the safety of collaboration across supply chains

Safeguarding communication data and maintaining control over your network traffic is of paramount importance. In this age when people are constantly connected, organisations need to fortify their internal networks against external threats, while ensuring regulatory compliance and optimal performance. Enter the Dragon Secure Border Gateway for Matrix: a powerful add-on for Element Server Suite that reinforces the security of your data by providing capabilities to address these critical needs.

Introducing the SBG

The Secure Border Gateway, or SBG for short, is a versatile software component that adds an extra layer of security and control to Matrix networks. It can also be used within airgapped networks. Our SBG consists of two essential capabilities:

1. Enforcing a private federation of servers: an SBG enables organisations to define a private federation, restricting communication only to designated homeservers. This ensures homeservers outside of the predefined private federation cannot exchange data with servers inside the federation. Our SBG accomplishes this on both the Server-to-Server/Federation APIs and the Client-Server API, providing real-time feedback to users attempting to communicate outside the established boundaries.
   
2. Enforcing client header parameters: this means the SBG examines incoming HTTP headers to the homeserver and rejects any traffic not matching a customer-specified header value. In practical terms, this means organisations can control which Matrix-based clients (e.g. Element) are permitted to communicate with their homeservers.

Next level information assurance

Organisations want peace of mind when it comes to their business information. There’s no doubt even what starts out as innocuous chit-chat can develop into a thread containing commercially sensitive data or personally identifiable information. The SBG helps fortify digital communications in a number of ways.

1 - Shield your network

The SBG acts as an impenetrable barrier between an internal Matrix network and the external internet. This barrier blocks external threats such as unauthorised access attempts and other forms of cyberattack. This minimises the risk of personal data breaches, phishing incidents and data exfiltration.

2 - Control your access

Access controls and permission settings are vital for maintaining the integrity of an organisation's internal computer systems. This is a persistent issue that remains even as technology advances. With the SBG an organisation is able to implement stringent access controls, ensuring that only authorised individuals and authorised servers can access their network(s). This level of granularity allows organisations to manage and oversee access effectively.

3 - Meet your compliance requirements

Today's regulatory landscape necessitates organisations to meet compliance requirements. In regulated sectors - such as finance, nuclear, healthcare, aviation, etc. - this is non-negotiable. The Secure Border Gateway is the mechanism through which organisations achieve regulatory compliance particularly concerning data protection and cybersecurity. By offering powerful security capabilities, organisations can demonstrate their adherence to industry-specific regulations. This protects them from legal, commercial and reputational risks.

4 - Optimise your performance

The SBG isn’t only about security, it’s also built for performance. By prioritising traffic according to specific parameters, and by managing bandwidth, the SBG ensures efficient use of your network resources. This optimisation aids scalability, allowing organisations to maintain peak performance as their user numbers grow.

5 - Customise your spending

One of the most enticing aspects of SBGs is their accessibility. This powerful tool is included in some of our price plans. Visit our pricing page to compare plans. They are an invaluable addition to any organisation's network infrastructure and are ideally suited to the larger deployments where Element is the primary method of communication across a company and/or an entire supply chain ecosystem.

Great security is a journey

With their ability to enhance network security, enforce access controls, meet compliance requirements, and optimise performance, SBGs are a versatile tool for organisations of all sizes who want the top security. When you embrace the power of Secure Border Gateways you galvanise your Matrix network against cybersecurity threats. To learn more about how SBGs can benefit your organisation, visit our SBG webpage and don't hesitate to get in touch with us. Your network's security and performance will thank you for it.