topic URL Filtering: Categories for Suicide Promotion/Self-Harm Promotion in Next-Generation Firewall Discussions

URL Filtering: Categories for Suicide Promotion/Self-Harm Promotion

MikeMeredith — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 13:43:24 GMT

Hi!

Unless I've been dumb enough to miss them, the Palo Alto URL filtering database lacks a category for suicide/self-harm promotion sites. I've now been asked for a second time if we could block such sites. As a higher education institute, we're really rather interested in such blocking such categories - who knows? It may be the tipping point for other HE institutions into purchasing the license for URL filtering.

I've already logged this as a feature request through our support channel (Khipu) but if other people could weigh in, it might encourage Palo Alto that this is a desirable feature.

Re: URL Filtering: Categories for Suicide Promotion/Self-Harm Promotion

ozheng — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 14:07:32 GMT

Hello MikeMeredith,

If you have already raised a feature request to your account team (I am not aware of Khipu), you need to wait it is implemented (unfortunately, I do not have a timeline).

Now until there is such category, you can opt for a block by default and only allow some approved category (instead of allow all minus self harm // you allow only the categories you want).

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/advanced-url-filtering/administration/url-filtering-basics/url-categories

Also, in the meantime, if you have some URLs of website, you can test the website against https://urlfiltering.paloaltonetworks.com/.

So you can block the category.

Or if there are some child protection associations which maintain a harmful URL list, you can use the EDL feature.

Not totally related, but this PANCast episode may give some ideas too.

Olivier

Re: URL Filtering: Categories for Suicide Promotion/Self-Harm Promotion

MikeMeredith — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 14:12:00 GMT

Hi!

Thanks for the response. Blocking everything but sites categorised by Palo Alto would make management very twitchy - HE is customarily not in favour of censureship except on a case by case (it's a topic for discussion with senior management and has been for 3 months at least). Yes an EDL could also function, but these are adults not children. New 18-year old students may be very young adults but they're still not children!

Re: URL Filtering: Categories for Suicide Promotion/Self-Harm Promotion

ozheng — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 01:26:45 GMT

Hello MikeMeredith,

My bad, I used the wrong word, but the idea is the same.

I guess some association preventing against self-harm/suicide may have done a URL list.

Until the category is made, I think it is something to explore (your organisation can initiate the URL list, if it is not done by someone else, so that benefits to all schools / universities).

Olivier

Re: URL Filtering: Categories for Suicide Promotion/Self-Harm Promotion

MikeMeredith — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 09:02:37 GMT

It's been accepted as a feature request.

Re: URL Filtering: Categories for Suicide Promotion/Self-Harm Promotion

simonwhyte90 — Wed, 21 May 2025 09:04:40 GMT

Hi all,

Has there been any traction with this request from Palo Alto? I can see no additional categories in their NGFW covering suicide/self-harm and our school would greatly benefit from this.

We are in the process of planning SSL decryption to capture keywords but want some reassurance that suicide promotional websites/forums are being captured and blocked. Assume these fall into the extremism category but have no confirmation for this.

Re: URL Filtering: Categories for Suicide Promotion/Self-Harm Promotion

MikeMeredith — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 09:11:36 GMT

Indeed. I came back here to query about the current status.