With employees working from home and across the globe while enterprises continue to grow, remote access solutions help organizations ensure business continuity and uphold employee productivity by allowing instantaneous and secure access to critical endpoints.
For example, a technician based out of the United States might request access to resources or attempt a file transfer process from a secondary workstation located in a different country. The user is allowed to perform this privileged action through an encrypted channel without the distance between the two endpoints being a barrier. Enterprise remote access solutions grant access to in-office resources without compromising the security of the organization's assets, offering a seamless experience for users to access their enterprise networks securely.
Enterprises use different types of remote access solutions based on their requirements. Let's delve into the traditional remote access models that help access resources within enterprise perimeters.
Virtual private networks (VPNs) are a popular and traditional method of remote access through which employees can use a secure tunnel to access private enterprise networks, even when on a public network.
SSH allows users to establish a secure connection to remote endpoints without having to enter passwords.
According to the concept of Zero Trust, user profiles are constantly validated and permissions to access enterprise assets is granted based on the merits of the requester and the requests. This also entails the concept of privileged access management (PAM), which works on the concept of access provisioning for privileged users and resources
Enables users to connect to client-server applications, the enterprise network, and other internal network services using a browser. Irrespective of whether the network is public or not, need-based secure permission is granted to users to access particular applications.
Be it privileged insiders or external vendors, it is important for IT teams to ensure secure access to critical resources. Some of the challenges IT teams face in remote work environments include:
It is vital for every enterprise to identify and employ the right remote access solution to fortify access to its resources. Failure to do so results in security nightmares like the one faced by Florida's water treatment plant. All it took for an outsider to take over the control system was the privileges of an ex-employee that the plant failed to revoke or transfer. Weak VPN restrictions made it easy for the hacker to penetrate the network.
That raises the question, "why is privileged remote access important for an enterprise?" Deploying these tools helps enterprises:
While both VPN and remote access protocols seem to operate on similar grounds of regulating inbound and outbound traffic, they are different. A VPN simply enables access to enterprise networks or the internet. This helps users access the resources through an encrypted tunnel, which is especially important when they request access to critical information from a different geographical location. However, they have their share of risks.
If a cybercriminal breaches an employee's VPN credentials, they will gain access to the enterprise network. Additionally, providing and failing to monitor VPN access for third-party vendors increases the risk of an unauthorized user accessing information. Using a VPN can offer privacy for online activity, but there are other options that are better for security.
Let's look at how a secure remote access solution can help bolster the security posture of your enterprise. With a secure remote access solution, you can:
While remote access involves reaching out to remote devices and performing tasks from anywhere, it is often confused with remote trouble shooting.
Enterprise remote access offers the convenience of accessing shared enterprise resources and function on a granular basis. The following are key ways a access solution can benefit an enterprise workflow.
Now that the importance of an enterprise remote access solution is established, let's dive into how it can help in streamlining access control strategies.
ManageEngine PAM360 streamlines enterprise remote access and monitors administrative access to IT security systems through encrypted channels. Additionally, it regulates session management from a unified console and offers centralised protection against misuse of data by capturing every aspect of user activity. The fine-grained access policies allow enterprises to adhere to their compliance requirements and ensure that users get to access selective assets based on their needs.