More and More Work is Being Done in the Browser. Security Should Too

The Browser Has Become the Workspace, and That Changes Everything. 

Across government and education, more day-to-day work runs through the browser than ever before. Staff process cases, update systems, submit reports, collaborate with teams, access statewide platforms, and manage critical workflows inside web-based applications.

Even for agencies still operating major systems on-premises, the direction is unmistakable: each year, more essential tasks move into browser-based tools.

But here’s the problem:

Traditional browsers, like Chrome, Edge, Safari, and Firefox, were designed for consumer use, not for the demands of government work.
They were never meant to:

• enforce agency-level policy,
• prevent sensitive data movement,
• provide complete session visibility,
• support Zero Trust principles,
• or function as a secure work environment.

This isn’t about IT teams doing anything wrong.
It’s about the browser itself not being built for the job it now performs.

And that gap, between where work happens and where security actually lives, creates real consequences.

The Hidden Problem: Misaligned Security Boundaries

Most public sector security controls sit at one of three layers:

The Device – government-issued laptops, mobile devices, endpoint agents
The Network – firewalls, secure connections, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
The Application – authentication, role-based access, internal protections
But browser-based work doesn’t fit neatly into any of these layers.

The device might not be government-issued.
The network may not be controlled by the organization.
The application only controls what happens inside the app — not screenshots, copying, pasting, or local downloads.
The result?
A security model built for yesterday’s environment is being asked to protect today’s browser-based workflows. And that inherently creates friction for security and/or modernization.

This is how enforcement gaps form, even with strong policy and capable teams.

Why This Matters More for Government Than Anyone Else

Modern private-sector systems are designed around flexibility and speed.
Government systems, however, must meet a different standard:

• accountability,
• auditability,
• chain-of-custody expectations,
• privacy obligations,
• open-records laws,
• and public trust.

When a policy says:

“Do not store data locally,”
“Do not share outside approved channels,”
“Do not transfer sensitive information across systems,”
those expectations only matter if they can be enforced consistently, without slowing work down, and without pushing staff into workarounds.

That’s where legacy browser models fall short — not because policies are outdated, but because the enforcement layer no longer matches where the work lives.

The Shift: The Browser Is the New Control Point

Most of the daily public sector workflow now happens in the browser. But the traditional browser has no understanding of:

• which actions violate policy,
• which applications contain regulated data,
• which staff roles require additional controls,
• which actions should be logged, or
• when information should be blocked, masked, or restricted.

It’s just a window.
A fast one… a familiar one… but fundamentally blind.

This is the real inflection point:
If the browser is where work happens, shouldn’t security live there too?

Enter the Enterprise Browser: Policy Enforcement Where Work Actually Happens

An Enterprise Browser takes the familiar browser experience and adds the enforcement, control, and visibility layers government needs — directly into the place where staff already work.

Not by changing workflows.
Not by adding friction.
Not by forcing a new system.
But by strengthening the boundary that’s already in use.

Specifically, it enables agencies to:

1. Apply policy directly to each action
Copy/paste, downloads, screenshots, printing, data movement, and more can all be governed with precision based on role, system, and sensitivity.

2. See and understand what’s happening without invading privacy
Full session-level visibility, without reaching into personal data on the device.

3. Protect sensitive systems even on unmanaged devices
A huge challenge in the public sector, where contractors, field workers, and temporary staff often use mixed equipment.

4. Enforce rules consistently across all web-based systems
Whether an app is cloud-based, on-premises with a web interface, legacy, or modern, the enforcement layer is the same.

5. Reduce the need for rigid device or network restrictions
Instead of trying to over-secure the device or network, controls move to the browser workspace, which is exactly where risk can be prevented most effectively.

This shift doesn’t replace cybersecurity architecture; it strengthens it where the old model stops being effective.

What Happens If Agencies Don’t Solve This?
Without a way to enforce policy at the browser layer, agencies risk:

• staff unintentionally bypassing protections to stay productive,
• an expanding accountability gap between policy and practice,
• fragmented oversight across dozens of systems,
• increased exposure during audits,
• and slower modernization because of security concerns.

Signs It Might be Time to Rethink Your Approach

1. Most of your critical work now runs through the browser, but your protections don’t.
2. You rely on network or device-based security for problems that happen online.
3. New controls improve visibility for IT, but often slow down everyday work.
4. Offboarding a contractor or employee still means manually removing access across multiple systems.
5. “Shadow IT” isn’t going away; it’s just moving into browser tabs.
6. Security isn’t broken. It just might be working in the wrong place. The closer protection gets to where people actually work, the less friction users experience and the more control you gain.