Today’s enterprises are more fluid than ever. Employees work from personal devices, contractors join from unmanaged devices, and IT teams are expected to secure it all—without adding complexity or degrading performance. But most secure access tools were never built for this reality.
The Cato Browser Extension offers a better way forward.
It brings zero-trust access to unmanaged devices, BYOD, or third-party systems without installing endpoint software. It’s a lightweight option that delivers enterprise-grade security, without the operational headache.
Here’s why that matters, and how it works.
The Unsolved Challenge of BYOD and Third-Party Access
Nearly every enterprise has to deal with unmanaged devices. Whether it’s a contractor who needs temporary access or a remote employee using their own laptop, unmanaged endpoints are everywhere.
Yet these users typically connect using legacy VPNs, tools that weren’t built for selective access or consistent security enforcement. The result?
- Inconsistent security: IT can’t enforce the same policies across all users and devices.
- Poor user experience: VPNs require multiple logins and route traffic inefficiently.
- Operational overhead: Supporting non-standard devices adds a burden to IT.
- Compliance gaps: Without visibility into user activity, audits become harder, and risk increases.
Legacy access methods create friction for users and blind spots for security teams.
The Cato Browser Extension: Secure Access, No Agent Needed
The Cato Browser Extension is a native part of the Cato SASE Cloud Platform. It extends secure access to any user with a supported browser—no installation required.
For BYOD, third-party, and contractor users, it provides a seamless way to access web applications with full policy enforcement and zero-trust controls. Cato’s full security stack—including FWaaS, SWG, IPS, CASB, and DLP—inspects all browser traffic, just like managed endpoints.
That means consistent security everywhere. No exceptions. No extra tools.
Securing the Unmanaged: Zero Trust Access for BYOD and Contractors | Download the eBook
Use Case 1: BYOD Without the Burden
Enterprises are embracing flexible work models, but many users rely on personal devices. Installing full security agents on these devices is often impractical, if not impossible.
With the Cato Browser Extension, users can securely connect to specific SaaS or internal web apps from any browser. There’s no need to provision, configure, or maintain endpoint software.
IT teams gain:
- Unified policy enforcement across managed and unmanaged devices
- Full visibility into user activity and access patterns
- Reduced support load—no client, no install issues
For employees, it’s quick, seamless, and non-disruptive. For IT, it’s one less access headache. For CISOs, it closes a critical blind spot—securing access from unmanaged devices without expanding the attack surface or straining resources.
Use Case 2: Third-Party Access with Built-In Control
Contractors, partners, and temporary staff often need short-term access to critical applications. However, granting VPN access—or installing full clients—creates risk and overhead.
The Cato Browser Extension enables these users to connect securely through their browser, with access limited to specific apps. Granular policies restrict access based on identity, location, device type, and more.
This approach:
- Minimizes exposure by avoiding broad network access
- Eliminates over-provisioning, which is common with VPNs
- Simplifies offboarding: just disable access, no cleanup required
Access is secure, scoped, and auditable by default.
Why This Is Different
The Cato Browser Extension isn’t a standalone add-on;, it’s a native capability of the Cato SASE Cloud Platform. That means it uses the same global backbone, policy engine, and full security stack as the Cato Client. Every user, whether on a managed laptop or an unmanaged device, is protected with the same controls, monitored through the same console, and secured by the same global points of presence (PoPs).
With other approaches, extending access often requires separate tools, infrastructure, or management workflows. That creates silos and forces IT to reconcile policies across different systems. By contrast, Cato unifies it all: one platform, one set of policies, one consistent experience.
The result is secure access for everyone, without introducing new products to manage or separate environments to maintain.
Fast Time-to-Value, No Tradeoffs
Because it runs in the browser, onboarding new users takes minutes. IT can grant access with a few clicks and revoke it just as easily. There’s no need to worry about OS compatibility, installer conflicts, or license constraints.
Meanwhile, security policies—like app segmentation, authentication, and data protection—are enforced the same way they are for employees on corporate laptops. The user experience is simple. The IT workload is lighter. And security never takes a step back.
Better Security, Lower Complexity
With the Cato Browser Extension, enterprises can finally secure access from unmanaged devices without layering on more products. Security scales to every user without IT having to absorb new support costs, manage extra consoles, or maintain overlapping tools.
It’s straightforward: give every user secure access, without giving IT another support burden. That’s the advantage of a converged platform.
Final Thoughts
The shift to hybrid work and decentralized IT means secure access can’t stop at managed devices. Organizations need a way to extend security everywhere, without adding friction.
The Cato Browser Extension helps IT do just that. It’s fast, simple, and secure. And it brings zero-trust access to every user, whether they’re on a corporate laptop, a personal device, or a contractor’s machine.
Because in today’s enterprise, everyone needs to connect. And every connection needs to be secure.
And this is just the beginning. In the coming months, we will provide the Cato Enterprise Browser, offering an option for customers that prefer a full browser.
Want to go deeper? Download our latest eBook to learn how the Cato Browser Extension simplifies secure access for BYOD and third-party users, without the operational overhead.
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