Whitelisting vs Blacklisting: What’s the difference? (2024)

FAQs

Whitelisting vs Blacklisting: What’s the difference? ›

Whitelisting vs Blacklisting: What's the Difference? Whitelisting and blacklisting are common methods used in cybersecurity to control access to computer systems, networks, and data. A whitelist defines approved entities that are permitted access, while a blacklist defines prohibited entities that are denied access.

Whitelisting and blacklisting are two methodologies to control access to websites, email, software and IP addresses on networks. Whitelisting denies access to all resources and only the “owner” can allow access. Blacklisting allows access to all with the provision that only certain items are denied.

A whitelist is a list of separate things, such as hosts, applications, email addresses, and services, that are authorized to be installed or active on a system in accordance to a predetermined baseline. A blacklist is a list of different entities that have been determined to be malicious.

Simply speaking, the difference is in how you treat IP addresses which aren't on the list. A “whitelist” essentially means “The following list of IP addresses are permitted to perform this action. Others are not”. A “blacklist” means “The following list of IP address are not permitted to perform this action.

So while whitelisting helps limit the attack surface by ensuring data is of the right syntactic and semantic validity, blacklisting helps detect and potentially stop obvious attacks.

Examples of effective blacklisting use cases include: Email address blacklisting of known spam or malware-sending email addresses in an email security program. IP address blacklisting of the source of malicious attacks in a firewall. Web address blacklisting of p*rnography websites on a DNS server.

Allowlist/Denylist

Instead of “whitelist” and “blacklist”, we can use “allowlist” and “denylist” to indicate approved and restricted items or individuals. These terms focus on permission and access rather than color-based associations.

Whitelisting is the opposite of blacklisting. Instead of blocking specific addresses or devices, whitelisting allows only specific addresses or devices to access data or networks. This is usually done by keeping a list of trusted users or devices and only allowing traffic from those addresses.

The term 'blocklist' is often used interchangeably with 'blacklist', but there are subtle differences between the two. While a blacklist is a list of known threats, a blocklist can include entities that are not necessarily threats but are still denied access for other reasons.

You can configure your Whitelist and Blacklist when you create a webpage or scripted behavior test. You can use the Whitelist to define allowed domains and URLs; then, use the Blacklist to block specific elements of your allowed locations.

What are the disadvantages of being blacklisted? ›

A blacklist is considered retaliatory as it is intended to create financial hardship for those named on the list. These lists can be created by different entities, including governments and individuals. Anyone who appears on a blacklist may be barred from getting funding, doing business, or getting jobs.

Application whitelisting is a great defender against two kinds of security threats. The most obvious is malware: malicious software payloads such as keyloggers or ransomware won't be able to execute if they're not on the whitelist.

The Cons: This approach prevents your users from connecting remotely. However, remote connectivity may be a business requirement (especially for a business relying on remote workers, or when employees are working from home and need to access the environment.)

Whitelisting vs Blacklisting: What's the Difference? Whitelisting and blacklisting are common methods used in cybersecurity to control access to computer systems, networks, and data. A whitelist defines approved entities that are permitted access, while a blacklist defines prohibited entities that are denied access.

This is the practice of allowing trusted applications, websites, e-mails and/or IP addresses on your pc or network. Whitelisting is considered to be more secure than mere blacklisting protocols. Whitelisting only allows a limited number of applications to run, effectively minimizing the attack surface.

While a whitelist is a list of applications or services that are explicitly permitted, blacklisted or blocklisted applications or services are explicitly denied.

Order of White/Black List Rules. Here is the order of processing within the system to give you a better understanding of how rules are applied. In short Whitelists override Blacklists and Global Lists override all.

A whitelist (allowlist) is a cybersecurity strategy that approves a list of email addresses, IP addresses, domain names or applications, while denying all others.

In employment, a blacklist or blacklisting refers to denying people employment for either political reasons (due to actual or suspected political affiliation), due to a history of trade union activity, or due to a history of whistleblowing, for example on safety or corruption issues.