Netskope Global Technical Success (GTS)

Best Practices - Block Acceptable Use Categories 

Netskope Cloud Version - 123

Objective

This document describes the steps to Block acceptable use categories within the organization

Prerequisite

Netskope SWG license is required

Context

An Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) in an organization enforces security, compliance, and productivity by restricting access to malicious, non-work-related, or high-risk websites while monitoring and controlling internet usage.

This document will enlist the steps to block acceptable use categories within an organization.

Lab Recreate

• For demonstration purposes, we will use the below categories as acceptable use categories 

Abortion

Adult Content - Other

Adult Content - Pornography

Aggressive

Child Abuse

Criminal Activities

Drugs

Gambling

Marijuana

Piracy & Copyright Theft

• Create a Realtime Protection Policy

Path: Netskope Tenant UI >>> Policies >>> Real-time Protection >>> New Policy - Web access

When you try to access a URL which belongs to one of the above categories, you will be prompted with the below notification -

You can customize the above notification using the steps specified here

Author Notes

• One common mistake I've noticed is that customers often create a custom category that encompasses all targeted acceptable use subcategories. It’s advisable to avoid this practice, as it can obscure accurate visibility and reporting.

For example, a customer created a custom category called "Acceptable Use Categories" and included all targeted acceptable use subcategories, setting the policy action to Block. While this policy effectively blocks traffic to those subcategories, it significantly impacts visibility and reporting. For instance, if there are 1,000 blocks recorded under "Acceptable Use Categories," you won’t be able to determine whether the blocked URLs belong to "Aggressive" or "Child Abuse." The only way to get clarity is by performing a URL lookup for the predefined categories.

Note - Custom category takes precedence over predefined category

Terms and Conditions

• All documented information undergoes testing and verification to ensure accuracy.
• In the future, it is possible that the application's functionality may be altered by the vendor. If any such changes are brought to our attention, we will promptly update the documentation to reflect them.

Notes

• This article is authored by Netskope Global Technical Success (GTS).
• For any further inquiries related to this article, please contact Netskope GTS by submitting a support case with 'Case Type – How To Questions'.