Remote-Controlled Browser System (ReCoBS)
Summary
The BSI understands a Remote-Controlled Browser System (ReCoBS) to be a modular component of security gateways, which enables web content to be accessed with the help of specially secured terminal server systems. The browsers do not run on personal computers, but on a terminal server outside the LAN; they are controlled from personal computers remotely. All web content is executed on the browser on the terminal server, so if the relevant security requirements are complied with, active content cannot make its way into the LAN. Graphical information is instead sent to personal computers and displayed there. The processes of executing and displaying active content are therefore kept separate from one another.
This approach is just one of many ways to deal with active content on the user side. Compared to other methods, it offers a convenient and also secure way of using active content. "Secure" in this context should be understood as meaning the data in the LAN is protected because active content does not reach the personal computers, nor the LAN as a result. Technically speaking, you can use whichever active content functions you need on the terminal server. However, you should not use the web with sensitive content on a terminal server with web access, since the terminal server is still exposed to the threats associated with active content. This is why a ReCoB system is primarily intended to be used for unrestricted Internet research.
The potential technical procedures used to implement a ReCoB system should not be operated as a ReCoBS without first making appropriate adjustments. The technical and organisational requirements taken into account for reasons of security and performance are typical of a ReCoBS. Compared to other less secure or less convenient methods of accessing the web, ReCoBS does require more implementation effort. This approach is therefore aimed more towards organisations than private users.
