Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1

How much does fraudulent hiring typically cost companies?

cside · Accepted Answer

The cost of hiring a fraudulent actor extends far beyond wasted salary expenses and, in some cases, has even bankrupted the victims. A single bad hire with the worst intentions can attempt to access anything of financial value, including attempts to gain access to the bank accounts of the business. Companies waste valuable time and resources processing often hundreds of fake applications. Making prevention much more cost-effective than remediation. Organized fraudulent candidates from foreign organized gangs perform their actions, assuming the lowest level of return is the US wage they manage to earn. But from there, access attempts are made to platforms that hold currency (including crypto), attempts to infiltrate malware into applications and internal IT, and attempts to exfiltrate sensitive information about customers that can be resold on the dark web. In the worst case, the cost can bankrupt a business. In the best case, wasted time and effort of hiring, loss of reputation, and cost of employment.

Question 2

Why are tech companies and government contractors particularly at risk?

cside · Accepted Answer

Tech companies and government contractors are prime targets because they handle valuable intellectual property, source code, infrastructure credentials, and sensitive data that foreign adversaries want to access. These organizations often have remote-first hiring practices and positions that make them attractive to state-sponsored actors. A single bad hire in these sectors can lead to massive breaches like a compromise of national security information or critical infrastructure. Making thorough applicant verification essential for protecting critical assets.

Question 3

What makes device fingerprinting effective for detecting fake job applicants?

cside · Accepted Answer

Device fingerprinting analyzes a range of technical signals from each applicant's browser and device to create a unique SHA-256 identifier with high accuracy. Cside can detect telltale signs of virtual machines, VPN usage, and headless browsers that indicate fraudulent applications. This technology goes far beyond what fake applicants can easily manipulate, providing reliable detection of sophisticated fraud attempts.

Question 4

How quickly can cside detect and flag suspicious job applications?

cside · Accepted Answer

The moment someone visits your careers page, cside starts working in real-time, analyzing device fingerprints and flagging instantly high-risk patterns to your applicant tracking system. Applications that are deemed suspicious are routed automatically to enhanced verification or blocked entirely before they consume recruiter time. With immediate detection, your recruiting team can focus on legitimate candidates and prevent fraudulent applicants from entering your talent pipeline in the first place, allowing you to save resources.

Question 5

What's the difference between regular background checks and device fingerprinting for hiring?

cside · Accepted Answer

Traditional background checks verify information provided by applicants, which can be completely fabricated by sophisticated fraudsters who create entire false identities and happen after the interview process. At this point your business would have spent hours assessing the candidate and wasting resources. Device fingerprinting, however, analyzes the actual technical environment where the application is submitted. Revealing whether it comes from a legitimate personal device or a suspicious setup like a virtual machine or bot. Security is all about layering so using device level fingerprinting on the job application in combination with rigorous steps to validate the candidate throughout the process is advised.

Question 6

What's the difference between cside and other client-side security solutions?

cside · Accepted Answer

Most solutions use outdated approaches that miss sophisticated attacks, often heavily relying on public threat feed intel. CSP-only tools don’t see the script contents firsthand and, as a result, have no idea of the script payloads that were served. Client-side hook based products inject hooks that attackers can easily bypass. Crawler solutions only check your site occasionally from data centers. Cside uses a hybrid proxy that inspects every script in real-time before it reaches your users, blocks malicious code instantly, and keeps complete forensic records of everything that was attempted. Check our in-depth approach analysis page here.

Question 7

How quickly can I implement cside and see results?

cside · Accepted Answer

Implementation is surprisingly simple and fast. For our proxy solution, you just add one script tag to your website, and you'll see live data within minutes. For the crawler option, you simply add your domain to our dashboard, and the first scan starts automatically. We offer proof-of-concept trials so you can test everything before committing if you are looking to upgrade to our enterprise plan. Most customers are fully operational within a few hours, not weeks or months like with traditional security tools. Check out the cside docs for more information on implementing cside.

Question 8

What happens when malicious scripts use legitimate APIs and domains to hide their activity?

cside · Accepted Answer

Bad actors often use legitimate services to mask their malicious activity. Making it harder to detect the malicious payloads. A popular approach is to use Google Tag Manager to inject malicious code. But popular CDNs also often use a host for malicious payloads. Since these requests appear to come from trusted, whitelisted sources, your code review tools will not flag them because they will not detect the underlying malicious intent. And the bad actor can make accounts on these platforms without sharing anything that could lead authorities back to them.

Question 9

Why is client-side security better than traditional threat intelligence tools like Snyk, Veracode, or Checkmarx?

cside · Accepted Answer

Traditional threat intelligence tools like Snyk, Veracode, Checkmarx, Spectral, JIT, GitLab, Rapid7, Tenable, Qualys, Aikido Security, and Semgrep rely on static threat feeds that are essentially obsolete by the time they're flagged. These tools only work reactively, after vulnerabilities are discovered, catalogued, and distributed through threat databases. With zero-day attacks rising dramatically (increasing 50% year-over-year), waiting for threat feeds means you're always playing catch-up. Client-side security works proactively in real-time, analyzing actual script behavior as it executes in browsers, catching unknown threats and zero-days before they're even documented. While static analysis tools scan code repositories, client-side security protects where attacks actually happen, in live user sessions.

Question 10

When is the best time to implement client-side security?

cside · Accepted Answer

The best time is before you experience a breach, but ideally, client-side security should be implemented as soon as possible. When you’re launching a new website, adding ads to a site, integrating payment processing, or adding third-party tools like marketing tools, that’s the perfect time to add client-side protection. Don't wait for compliance audits or security incidents to force your hand. The more time passes, the more exposure you accumulate, which makes it harder to manage your environment. Recovering from a client-side attack is always more expensive than preventing one and often requires platform downtime.

Question 11

Who should implement client-side security solutions?

cside · Accepted Answer

Any business that needs a strong web presence should think about client-side security. This is very important for eCommerce sites, financial services, healthcare organizations, and companies that handle sensitive customer data. If your website uses client-side scripts (and 98.9% do), you need client-side protection. This is important if you let customers share sensitive information. Even websites where users don’t enter sensitive information but that contain adverts could be a prime target for client-side attacks, as advert networks are essentially distribution networks for malicious client-side JS. It also matters if you accept online payments. You need to follow rules like PCI DSS, GDPR, or HIPAA. Any web environment that allows users to enter sensitive data is a high-value target, and bad actors will look for ways to execute attacks where security is limited, which is often the client-side.

Question 12

How much does client-side security cost compared to a data breach?

cside · Accepted Answer

Pricing varies immensely based on the site and requirements. However, a data breach can cost companies millions in fines, legal fees, and lost customer trust.Major breaches, like British Airways, resulted in hundreds of millions in damages. Client-side security is a fraction of the potential cost of an attack and, in some circumstances, prevents breaches before they happen. Many companies also save money by automating compliance processes that would otherwise require expensive manual audits and consulting fees.In some countries, laws require client-side security. While in others, there are more generic laws to keep companies accountable in case of a data breach. The financial risk of a data breach is generally a lot higher than any security solution.

Question 13

How do I know if my website needs client-side security?

cside · Accepted Answer

If your website loads any third-party scripts–analytics, marketing tools, chat widgets, payment processors, or advertising pixels–you need client-side security. Most modern websites load 100+ third-party scripts, creating massive attack surfaces. You can start by running a free client-side risk assessment to see what scripts are currently running on your site and what data they're collecting. If you handle payments, store customer data, or need to comply with regulations, client-side security is essential for protecting your business and customers.

Question 14

How do client-side attacks actually happen?

cside · Accepted Answer

Compromising a third-party service your website relies on is one common way attackers get in. Typically, your server delivers a web page, and your browser loads dozens or even hundreds of external sources such as analytics scripts, marketing tools, and payment processors. Only one of these needs to be intercepted by an attacker to replace a legitimate script with malicious code.Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks are an example of a malicious client-side executions. Once in place, credit card information and session tokens can be captured or redirect users to fake websites. Users will not notice these, and they can go undetected by traditional security tools.

Question 15

Why can't traditional security tools detect client-side threats?

cside · Accepted Answer

Firewalls, WAFs, and vulnerability scanners are traditional security tools used to protect your server, but they cannot see what's happening in your users' browsers. They monitor sanitized data, can slow down your site, or completely miss threats that change based on user location, device, or timing. Similar limitations are also encountered by Content Security Policies and JavaScript agents. CSP evasion, shadow-DOM tricks, or obfuscated code are techniques that can bypass them.

Question 16

What's the difference between client-side security and server-side security?

cside · Accepted Answer

Protecting your infrastructure with tools like firewalls, WAFs, and using vulnerability scanners is what server-side security is all about. The goal is to help harden your systems against attacks targeting your infrastructure. Client-side security focuses on where your application actually runs, which is inside your users' browsers. Applications use the browser extensively to perform certain tasks but so do bad actors.In simple terms, server-side security protects your kitchen, while client-side security protects the meal after it is served. Both are important. Because the security focus has been mostly on server-side actions, attackers are increasingly targeting the client-side because it allows them to steal directly from users without ever touching your servers. Having protection on both sides ensures your environment is secure from end to end.

Question 17

What's the difference between client-side security and application security?

cside · Accepted Answer

Application security (AppSec) is a broad category that includes everything from secure coding practices to server-side vulnerability scanning and many subjects in between. Client-side security is a critical subset of AppSec that focuses specifically on protecting applications and their dependencies where they actually execute--in users' browsers. AppSec is protecting your entire application ecosystem, while client-side security protects the most critical layer--where your app meets your users. In today's JavaScript-heavy internet, most application logic actually runs client-side, making this the most important component of modern AppSec. Web Application Firewalls and most other AppSec tools do not monitor client-side activities at all, focusing on server-side code while ignoring the browser environment where most user interactions and data processing actually occur. AppSec covers where customers interact or input sensitive information, as well as where this information is stored and processed.

Question 18

What is client-side security, and why do I need it?

cside · Accepted Answer

Protecting your website visitors from malicious JavaScript attacks that happen in their browsers is the goal of client-side security. Compared to traditional attacks that focus on your servers, client-side threats target the scripts on your actual web pages. These include payment forms, chat widgets, and analytics tools. These attacks can quietly steal credit card details and other valuable information and can go unnoticed indefinitely. If you handle payments or sensitive data, you need client-side security to protect your customers and meet compliance requirements like PCI DSS.

Question 19

What types of client-side attacks are happening right now?

cside · Accepted Answer

The most common client-side attacks include credit card skimming (like Magecart attacks). But theft of session tokens through client-side scripts, malicious redirects, or general sensitive high-value data exfiltration are on the rise. These attacks have affected major companies, like British Airways and Ticketmaster with over 380,000 documented attacks in 2025 alone so far. Client-side attacks are often highly dynamic and targeted to prevent detection. Flying below the radar by only injecting malicious payloads under certain circumstances. They only fire at specific times, request locations, or user agents, making them nearly impossible to detect with traditional security tools.

Question 20

How do client-side attacks actually happen?

cside · Accepted Answer

A typical point of entry is when a malicious actor compromises a third-party service your website uses. Here's the process: your server sends the web page, and your browser requests hundreds of external resources like analytics scripts, marketing tools, and payment processors. Then, an attacker can intercept just one of these requests and inject malicious code instead of the legitimate script. Malicious scripts can also be injected through adverts, ad networks are essentially JS distribution networks for hire. A script on an ad network can steal credit card information and take sensitive tokens like session tokens. Therefore, if you have webpages where adverts and payments cross, it is best to be extra careful and implement a strict client-side security.

Question 21

What's the difference between client-side security and server-side security?

cside · Accepted Answer

Protecting your infrastructure with tools like firewalls, WAFs, and using vulnerability scanners is what server-side security is all about. The goal is to help harden your systems against attacks targeting your infrastructure. Client-side security focuses on where your application actually runs, which is inside your users' browsers. Applications use the browser extensively to perform certain tasks but so do bad actors.In simple terms, server-side security protects your kitchen, while client-side security protects the meal after it is served. Both are important. Because the security focus has been mostly on server-side actions, attackers are increasingly targeting the client-side because it allows them to steal directly from users without ever touching your servers. Having protection on both sides ensures your environment is secure from end to end.

Question 22

What's the difference between client-side security and application security?

cside · Accepted Answer

Application security (AppSec) is a broad category that includes everything from secure coding practices to server-side vulnerability scanning and many subjects in between. Client-side security is a critical subset of AppSec that focuses specifically on protecting applications and their dependencies where they actually execute–in users' browsers. AppSec is protecting your entire application ecosystem, while client-side security protects the most critical layer–where your app meets your users. In today's JavaScript-heavy internet, most application logic actually runs client-side, making this the most important component of modern AppSec. Web Application Firewalls and most other AppSec tools do not monitor client-side activities at all, focusing on server-side code while ignoring the browser environment where most user interactions and data processing actually occur. AppSec covers where customers interact or input sensitive information, as well as where this information is stored and processed.

Question 23

What is client-side security, and why do I need it?

cside · Accepted Answer

Client-side security is about protecting your web applications right where they're being used, which is in your customers' web browsers. Traditional security tools may do a great job monitoring your servers, but they fail to protect the real attack surface where your applications run. Modern websites rely on dozens of third-party scripts for analytics, payments, ads, chat, and more. Just one of these gets compromised, and attackers can quietly steal valuable information without you or your users knowing. Client-side security gives you visibility and control over what is actually happening in the browser.

Question 24

Why can't traditional security tools detect client-side threats?

cside · Accepted Answer

Firewalls, WAFs, and vulnerability scanners are traditional security tools used to protect your server, but they cannot see what's happening in your users' browsers. They monitor sanitized data, can slow down your site, or completely miss threats that change based on user location, device, or timing. Similar limitations are also encountered by Content Security Policies and JavaScript agents. CSP evasion, shadow-DOM tricks, or obfuscated code are techniques that can bypass them.

Question 25

What is client-side intelligence, and what use cases does it cover?

cside · Accepted Answer

Client-side intelligence is the full analysis of everything happening in users' browsers, not just security threats, but all behavioral patterns, data flows, and interactions. Current use cases include fraud detection through device fingerprinting, chargeback prevention, ad fraud protection, malware detection, privacy monitoring, compliance monitoring, and user behavior analysis. As web browsers become more sophisticated computing environments, client-side intelligence will become the foundation for understanding and protecting the entire user experience ecosystem.

Question 26

What is client-side intelligence, and what use cases does it cover?

cside · Accepted Answer

Client-side intelligence is the full analysis of everything happening in users' browsers, not just security threats, but all behavioral patterns, data flows, and interactions. Current use cases include fraud detection through device fingerprinting, chargeback prevention, ad fraud protection, malware detection, privacy monitoring, compliance monitoring, and user behavior analysis. As web browsers become more sophisticated computing environments, client-side intelligence will become the foundation for understanding and protecting the entire user experience ecosystem.

Question 27

How does automated privacy monitoring work compared to manual audits?

cside · Accepted Answer

Manual cookie and tracker audits are never current and create a maze of compliance checklists across different markets. Cside's automated monitoring runs 24/7, analyzing every script payload in real-time to detect privacy violations as they happen. While manual audits only provide snapshots of your compliance status, our solution tracks changes over time and provides complete historical data, ensuring you never miss a violation that could result in regulatory penalties.

Question 28

What forensic evidence does cside provide?

cside · Accepted Answer

Because cside lives between the end user and the 3rd party, full visibility is available in case of an attack. Even in the case of a missed attack, cside can scope the incident to the impacted individual’s IP. Helping cside customers limit exposure to legal backlash and accurately understanding how the attack is executed. Client-side attacks often leave no trace, with cside full visibility is available.

Question 29

How does cside integrate with existing applicant tracking systems?

cside · Accepted Answer

Cside integrates in real-time with popular applicant tracking systems. When suspicious fingerprints are detected, the system can automatically trigger actions in your ATS, such as flagging applications for manual review, routing to enhanced verification processes, or blocking submissions entirely. Preventing fraud at the source without requiring significant changes to your current recruitment processes

Question 30

What makes cside's approach to privacy automation different from other solutions?

cside · Accepted Answer

Cside maintains its own proprietary threat intelligence specifically focused on client-side security and unauthorized data collection, giving us faster detection than solutions relying on third-party sources. We do more than just watch what scripts access what data point in time; we are actively looking for changes in behaviours.Our detection engine is vast and layered, and our AI-powered analysis continuously learns from new script behaviour patterns, staying ahead of evolving threats. Unlike generic privacy tools, our intelligence is specifically tailored to client-side privacy violations and unauthorized data collection. Making us uniquely effective at protecting user privacy.

Question 31

What types of unauthorized data collection can cside detect automatically?

cside · Accepted Answer

Cside automatically detects all forms of unauthorized data collection, including unlawful cookie injection or exfiltration, personal data exfiltration from LocalStorage or SessionStorage, payment information theft, and tracking without consent. Our system monitors every third-party script to identify when they access sensitive data or perform actions that could be indicators of compromise or malicious intent.

Question 32

How quickly can cside detect privacy violations on my website?

cside · Accepted Answer

Cside provides real-time privacy violation detection across all client-side scripts on your site. Our analysis happens instantly as scripts load, so violations are detected quickly, often preventing the script from being served again. You'll receive alerts when suspicious data collection activity is detected. Giving you visibility into privacy compliance status at all times, preventing incidents.

Question 33

Can cside prevent privacy violations before they happen?

cside · Accepted Answer

Cside is designed to prevent privacy violations before they occur, not just detect them as they are happening. Our hybrid proxy analyzes scripts before they execute in your users' browsers, blocking unauthorized data collection at the browser level. A proactive approach means privacy violations are stopped before any sensitive data is compromised, therefore preventing major incidents. Giving you true prevention rather than just after-the-fact reporting.

Question 34

What's the difference between cside and traditional privacy compliance tools?

cside · Accepted Answer

Traditional privacy solutions use crawlers that miss dynamic threats and only catch data exfiltration attempts that the vendors are willing to expose. Cside uses a revolutionary hybrid proxy approach to catch sophisticated privacy violations including user-targeted attacks, time-gated malware, geo-targeted code, and DOM-based obfuscation that requires runtime analysis. We provide complete script visibility and forensic tracking that other solutions simply can't match.

Question 35

Why should I use cside to automate privacy monitoring for GDPR and CCPA compliance?

cside · Accepted Answer

Privacy monitoring of client-side dependencies is automated by cside by providing real-time visibility into every third-party script on your website. This ensures you stay on top of regulations without manual oversight. On the other hand, our hybrid proxy architecture monitors which data scripts access and where they are sent, preventing unauthorized data collection before it even happens. Cside gives you continuous, automated compliance monitoring with instant alerts when privacy violations are detected, unlike traditional solutions that rely on periodic audits or basic scanners.

Question 36

What privacy risks do third-party scripts create for my website visitors?

cside · Accepted Answer

Third-party scripts can create massive privacy risks because they have access to everything your users do on your site. From payment details to personal information and login credentials. These scripts can be compromised through supply chain attacks, ownership changes or malicious updates. Turning them into data collection tools without your knowledge. Recent attacks like the Polyfill attack have shown how legitimate scripts can suddenly become malicious, quietly stealing user data for months before detection. Your users trust you to protect their information, but traditional security tools can't see what's happening in their browsers.

Question 37

Why can't I just rely on cookie consent popups for privacy protection?

cside · Accepted Answer

Legacy consent popups only show you what companies claim they're collecting, not what hidden scripts actually send. Many third-party scripts can quietly track users or exfiltrate sensitive data regardless of consent settings. This issue is amplified as solutions that build cookie banners often crawl the websites, and those marketing tools in question will not behave the same way they would in a user's browser as they would on a crawler. Cside monitors which data scripts actually access and where they're being sent in real-time, giving you proof of what's happening behind the scenes. We prevent cookie, local storage, or session storage access and injection from unauthorized sources. Ensuring your consent management actually reflects the reality of data collection on your site.

Question 38

What types of businesses need privacy monitoring the most?

cside · Accepted Answer

The ones facing the highest risk are eCommerce sites, healthcare organizations, financial services, and SaaS companies, but in reality, any business that handles sensitive data needs strong privacy monitoring. PCI DSS, GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA are some of the regulations that many businesses are subject to. Compliance and user protection rely heavily on continuous monitoring of client-side dependencies. You can deploy the most reliable security measures for your main application, but if third-party scripts from analytics tools or chatbots are left unchecked, your business is still vulnerable to privacy attacks. Additionally, advertising networks are the usual go-to route to inject malicious client-side scripts, allowing attackers to intercept sensitive information.

Question 39

How does cside help with GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy compliance requirements?

cside · Accepted Answer

We can monitor and prevent unauthorized data collection at the browser level with real-time privacy violation detection across all third-party scripts on your site. For GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA regulations, our platform gives you automated compliance reporting with detailed audit trails. This can serve as proof of adherence during regulatory inspections. When scripts attempt unauthorized data collection, you will receive alerts immediately. On the other hand, your compliant script versions will continue to run, even if the original sources are compromised, with the help of our hash-locking technology.

Question 40

What happens during a PCI DSS audit and how do I prepare?

cside · Accepted Answer

During the audit, your compliance documentation will be reviewed and your security controls will be tested by security assessors to verify if you're meeting all applicable requirements. For requirements 6.4.3 and 11.6.1, auditors will examine your script inventory, review authorization documentation, test your monitoring systems, and verify that you're detecting unauthorized changes. Having automated monitoring with cside means your compliance documentation is always current and audit-ready, with detailed logs, weekly reports, and clear evidence of continuous monitoring that auditors can easily review and validate.

Question 41

How does cside's pricing work for PCI DSS compliance monitoring?

cside · Accepted Answer

Cside offers flexible pricing based on your website traffic. Starting with a free plan for up to 2,500 monthly pageviews. Business plans begin at $99/month for 100,000 pageviews and scale based on your needs: $149 for 150k, $199 for 200k, $299 for 300k, and $499 for 500k pageviews. All business plans include advanced threat protection and PCI DSS compliance features. Sites exceeding 500,000 monthly pageviews move to custom Enterprise pricing with additional integration abilities, security features and dedicated support.

Question 42

How long does it take to implement cside's PCI DSS compliance automation?

cside · Accepted Answer

Onboarding is quick. If you wish to try out cside on a small scale, you can start with our free plan that covers up to 2,500 monthly pageviews and includes essential PCI DSS compliance features, but only supports up to 5 scripts in the PCI DSS dashboard view. Cside offers both enterprise-grade proxy solutions for maximum security and cost-effective crawler solutions for lighter monitoring needs, so you can choose the right fit for your business and achieve compliance quickly. Depending on your environment, implementation can be done in minutes.

Question 43

What ongoing support does cside provide for PCI DSS compliance maintenance?

cside · Accepted Answer

You will get full ongoing support from us. This includes automated weekly compliance reports, real-time alerts for any security concerns, and continuous monitoring that operates 24/7. You have complete visibility into parameters defined in compliance requirements with our dedicated PCI DSS dashboard. Plus, since our solution has been auditor-approved by Viking Cloud, you can be confident that your compliance strategy will continue meeting industry standards as requirements evolve.

Question 44

What specific PCI DSS requirements does cside automate for my business?

cside · Accepted Answer

Cside specifically addresses compliance for PCI DSS requirements 6.4.3 and 11.6.1. We automatically maintain your inventory of safe scripts, verify authorization status, and document business justification for each script for requirement 6.4.3. For requirement 11.6.1, unauthorized changes to HTTP headers and payment page content are continuously monitored with automated alerts and weekly evaluations. Cside covers both requirements through our dedicated PCI DSS dashboard.

Question 45

How does cside help me prepare for PCI DSS audits?

cside · Accepted Answer

Cside automatically generates all the documentation auditors need to verify your compliance with requirements 6.4. 3 and 11.6.1. You'll have detailed script inventories, authorization documentation, continuous monitoring logs, and weekly reports that clearly demonstrate your security controls are working. During audits, a qualified security assessor can easily review and validate your automated monitoring system. The Viking Cloud whitepaper can also help QSAs assess the implementation of cside and how it meets the requirements. Making the audit process faster compared to manual compliance approaches.

Question 46

How does cside's automated monitoring save my business money on PCI DSS compliance?

cside · Accepted Answer

Non-compliance with PCI DSS can cost your business between $5,000 and $500,000 per incident. However, more commonly, acquiring banks increase transaction fees and insurance premiums, which typically cost even more than direct penalties. The average payment card data breach exceeds $4 million in total costs. Cside's automation eliminates these risks while reducing the manual labor costs associated with compliance management. Our solutions start at just $99/month for business plans, making professional-grade compliance monitoring accessible and cost-effective compared to potential penalties and breach costs.

Question 47

Why should I choose a proxy-based solution over other PCI DSS compliance approaches?

cside · Accepted Answer

The most thorough protection is provided by a proxy-based solution by intercepting and analyzing every script request, seeing what the user gets in real-time. No other method can confidently claim that it is analyzing the same script the moment a user receives it. Our proxy approach provides complete visibility into script payload and behaviour, immediate threat blocking capabilities, and compliance reporting that captures all script variations. VikingCloud has independently audited and approved this method, giving you confidence that your compliance strategy meets the highest industry standards while providing top-notch security protection. Check out our compare page to learn more.

Question 48

What compliance requirements does client-side security help with?

cside · Accepted Answer

Several major compliance frameworks now require client-side monitoring. PCI DSS 4.0.1 specifically requires monitoring and blocking client-side script payloads (requirements 6.4.3 and 11.6.1). GDPR requires monitoring and disclosing data collection by client-side scripts. CCPA requires listing what information is collected and whether it's shared with third parties. DORA requires active monitoring of dynamic third-party dependencies, and HIPAA now explicitly calls out client-side tracking technologies. Cside's platform helps automate compliance with all these requirements.

Question 49

How does cside protect user privacy and handle data collection?

cside · Accepted Answer

We take privacy seriously and don't collect or sell any user data for advertising. We don't use external AI APIs - our threat detection runs on open-source models entirely within our environment. Script payloads are stored solely for security analysis and compliance evidence. You can find out more about our security practices on our security page, our dashboard and site Privacy Policy and for enterprise customers in your DPA.

Question 50

Why should I use cside to automate my PCI DSS 4.0.1 compliance instead of doing it manually?

cside · Accepted Answer

Manual PCI DSS compliance is incredibly time-consuming and error-prone, especially when tracking dozens of dynamic scripts that change frequently on payment pages. Maintaining CSP’s, justification lists for the scripts, security header checks, and malicious detection… client-side security is a rabbit hole.Cside automates the entire process by continuously scanning your payment pages, maintaining real-time script inventories, and generating audit-ready documentation without human error. You'll get 24/7 protection with automated alerts when unauthorized scripts appear, plus weekly compliance reports that are ready for auditor review. The cside dashboard has a view purposely built for PCI, which makes this a lot simpler to manage.

Question 51

How does cside meet PCI DSS 4.0.1 requirements 6.4.3 and 11.6.1?

cside · Accepted Answer

We fully satisfy both PCI DSS controls using our hybrid proxy approach. For requirement 6.4.3, we continuously monitor and hash every third-party script before it reaches your users' browsers. For 11.6.1, on the other hand, all changes to security headers and script contents are tracked with complete historical records. VikingCloud, one of the highest-reputation global security assessors, has independently assessed and confirmed that our cside platform, when properly configured, meets these requirements. You get automated compliance reports that map directly to PCI testing procedures, making audits much easier.

Question 52

Can cside work alongside my existing WAF without conflicts?

cside · Accepted Answer

We monitor an entirely different dimension of the application stack; hence, there is no interference. Our platform co-exists with your existing security solutions. Your main website inbound traffic is continuously protected by your WAF, while cside focuses on client-side JavaScript security. Your WAF handles incoming requests, while we handle outgoing requests from browsers to third-party scripts. We can assure that there is no conflict or overlap in functionality.

Question 53

Does cside's JavaScript proxy add latency like a WAF does to all traffic?

cside · Accepted Answer

Cside only adds 8-20 milliseconds (the blink of an eye typically lasts between 100 and 400 milliseconds) of latency to the specific, highly dynamic JavaScript files we proxy. Static scripts are cached at our edge and therefore load faster than the original source, improving the speed of your website. This is completely different from a WAF that adds latency to every single request to your website. Users won't notice any difference.

Question 54

How does cside's approach compare to the complexity of managing a WAF?

cside · Accepted Answer

Cside is much simpler because we're only handling JavaScript files, not your entire web infrastructure. With a WAF, you need to configure rules for all your traffic, manage SSL certificates, handle different content types, and worry about breaking legitimate requests. A WAF also has no overlap with cside, as a WAF monitors inbound requests, not client-side activity or server responses to the client-side. While some WAF vendors inject Content Security Policies, we built cside from the ground up to address client-side security by design and not as an afterthought. With cside, you just add our NPM package or one script tag to your pages and configure which third-party scripts you want us to analyze. There's no need to restructure your entire web architecture or manage complex proxy rules.

Question 55

What happens if cside's proxy goes down? Will my website break?

cside · Accepted Answer

Your website will continue working as intended. Cside has a fail-open design with a 99.99% uptime SLA, but if there's ever an issue, JavaScript requests automatically fall back to fetching directly from their original sources. This is completely different from a WAF failure, where your entire site becomes unreachable. We've designed the cside platform to enhance security without creating single points of failure for your website's core functionality. We knew from the start that this was an important requirement.

Question 56

Will cside's proxy approach break my website like a misconfigured WAF might?

cside · Accepted Answer

No, your website will continue working normally as we only intercept third-party scripts, which are usually not render-blocking, and we will not stop scripts from being served during an incident. Cside has a fail-open design with a 99.99% uptime SLA, but if there's ever an issue, JavaScript requests automatically fall back to fetching directly from their original sources. This is completely different from a WAF failure, where your entire site becomes unreachable. We've designed the cside platform to enhance security without creating single points of failure for your website's core functionality.

Question 57

Can I choose which scripts go through cside's proxy and which don't?

cside · Accepted Answer

Yes, that's why we call it a hybrid proxy. We designed cside as a hybrid proxy, meaning you have granular control over which scripts get proxied and which don't. Critical scripts like Stripe, PayPal, Google Pay, or Intercom can be set to bypass our proxy entirely with capture-only mode, while newer or less trusted scripts get the full proxy treatment. This flexibility means you can allow the scripts you trust and proxy the scripts you're most concerned about or have not seen before, and expand coverage as you become more comfortable.

Question 58

How is cside's hybrid proxy different from a WAF that proxies HTTPS traffic?

cside · Accepted Answer

WAF sits in front of your website and looks at everything that passes through it. cside is different. Instead of touching all your traffic, it only targets third-party scripts you choose to monitor, while the rest of your site runs as normal. We also offer an unproxied approach, an option that allows a customer to pick specific script sources it deems reliable and proxy everything else as a sandbox. Your users are not affected since they can connect directly to your website, but when their browsers request a third-party script, it gets routed through our proxy for analysis before delivery.

Question 59

How does cside solve the client-side blind spot that WAFs can't address?

cside · Accepted Answer

Cside puts itself in the middle between the 3rd party and the end user, making it easy to stop attacks by analyzing JavaScript content asynchronously and hashing a list of bad scripts, preventing them from being loaded again. Cside also analyses client-side behaviours of scripts in the browser as well as data access and exfiltration attempts. While your WAF continues protecting your web infrastructure, cside examines every third-party script for malicious behavior, hashes content to detect changes, and blocks threats before they can execute in your users' browsers. Giving complete visibility into client-side executions, creating complete protection against client-side attacks.

Question 60

Why is the browser environment invisible to WAF monitoring?

cside · Accepted Answer

A WAF (Web Application Firewall) operates at the perimeter, analyzing traffic as it crosses between external networks and your internal network towards your web servers. The browser environment is a separate execution context that happens on your users' devices, completely outside your network perimeter. Once JavaScript code reaches the browser and begins to execute, it's operating in an environment that your WAF has no visibility into or control over. By design, a WAF is ineffective against client-side threats.

Question 61

Can a WAF protect against supply chain attacks on third-party JavaScript libraries?

cside · Accepted Answer

WAFs cannot protect against client-side supply chain attacks because they don't intercept the fetch to the 3rd party endpoint and therefore have no visibility into the JavaScript files from the 3rd party sources. Even in the event of an attack on popular libraries or CDNs, the malicious payloads continue to be delivered from the same trusted sources that your WAF has whitelisted. Your WAF still sees these compromised sources as legitimate requests and allows them through, not knowing that the contents have been weaponized by bad actors.

Question 62

How do conditional client-side attacks avoid WAF detection?

cside · Accepted Answer

Sophisticated client-side attacks use conditional logic that only triggers under specific circumstances - certain geographic locations, specific times, or particular user behaviors. Since WAFs analyze requests at delivery time rather than execution time, they can't detect these conditional payloads. A script might appear completely benign when your WAF examines the initial request, but turn malicious only when specific conditions are met in the user's browser environment.

Question 63

Why do WAF logs miss evidence of client-side data theft?

cside · Accepted Answer

Only the initial delivery of third-party scripts to browsers can be captured by WAF logs. Malicious JavaScript steals user data, bypassing your infrastructure via direct browser-to-attacker communication. You can see through your WAF logs the script that was delivered successfully, but it's blind when it comes to the data collected, manipulated, or exfiltrated that happens on the client-side.

Question 64

Can my WAF see when third-party scripts change and potentially become malicious?

cside · Accepted Answer

WAFs don't perform content analysis of JavaScript files, and especially if the malicious payload originates from a 3rd party URL, the WAF would not live in the flow of the request. They only validate that the HTTP request itself to the web server appears legitimate. When a third-party script gets updated with malicious code, your WAF treats it the same as any other update from that trusted domain. WAFs lack the capability to hash, analyze, or compare script versions to detect when legitimate code becomes compromised, which is exactly how supply chain attacks like Polyfill succeed.

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