how to secure remote access for enterprise network system

So, you have a three-layer line of defense working to protect remote access to your network: anti-virus, firewall, and VPN. The network security team should monitor alerts from these defenses constantly. Adopting two-factor authentication for remote access through VPN further boosts your network security.

Full Answer

How do you ensure the security of your remote access network?

Make vendor information security assessments and audits and ongoing exercise, and apply enterprise-class remote access technologies to ensure all access is secure—even when it extends beyond your perimeter. For more on this subject, check out my on-demand webinar, where I cover in more depth:

How do remote workers use VPNs?

Most commonly, remote workers will use a remote access VPN client to connect to their organization’s VPN gateway to gain access to its internal network, but not without authenticating first. Usually, there are two choices when using VPNs: IP Security (IPsec) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

Does your business need network security for remote working?

However, with the rapid expansion of remote working tools and opportunities, employers and businesses need to secure their work. With distributed access to the network, one can no longer rely on traditional network security practices for their teams and businesses. So, what can they do instead?

What is a remote access VPN?

The remote access VPN does this by creating a tunnel between an organization’s network and a remote user that is “virtually private,” even though the user may be in a using a public WiFi hotspot in a coffee shop, for example.

Why is remote access important?

It is essential for these individuals to have safe, anytime, anywhere access to corporate networks and services.

What are the risks of remote access?

Many potential risks accompany vendor remote access —from introducing malware into your systems to technical and business dangers.

What percentage of Verizon network intrusions exploited weak or stolen credentials?

According to Verizon’s Data Breach Investigation Report, “76 percent of network intrusions exploited weak or stolen credentials.” Since vendors don’t need constant access to your network, they often use one remote access tool license and share generic logins and passwords across technicians. This makes the credentials easy for hackers to guess. What’s more, the vendor’s ex-employees often retain remote access to your systems.

How many factor authentication is required for a network?

For optimum protection and a clean audit trail, require everyone who accesses your network to use unique credentials and at least two-factor authentication. This will make it harder for a hacker to successfully use stolen vendor credentials.

What is the Telework Enhancement Act?

The Telework Enhancement Act requires federal agencies to have policies to govern and promote teleworking. Between teleworkers and vendors, we are challenged to enable secure access for increasingly large and diverse workforces, while simultaneously dealing with smaller budgets and tightening compliance mandates.

What happens if you give access to an outsider?

Recognize that granting system access to an outsider lowers your security level to that of the external provider. If they lack strong security controls, they become your weakest link. If a hacker compromises their system, that partner can become a backdoor into your environment .

Why is reducing network entry points important?

By reducing network entry points to the least amount that are necessary, you increase your ability to monitor and block unwanted activity on your network.

Out with the old, in with the new. The meaning of secure remote access, and how organizations achieve it, is changing. Here's what you need to know

A solid secure remote access strategy can mitigate risk, improve user experience and lend a competitive edge in today's enterprise.

Technologies that secure network connections

Secure remote access technology provides location-agnostic connectivity among enterprise users and centralized applications, resources and systems -- whether in the cloud, on premises or both.

Secure remote access includes identity and access

Secure remote access, by definition, describes the network connection between a geographically removed end user and centralized resources. That said, experts agreed a strong secure remote access strategy must also include a number of distinct but complementary identity and access management ( IAM) controls.

What is remote access?

Remote PC access methods, such as desktop sharing, connect a remote computer to the host computer from a secondary location outside of the office. This setup means the operator has the ability to access local files on the host computer as if they were physically present in the office.

How to secure work online?

Your options are using either remote computer access, virtual private networks, or direct application access. Each method has its benefits and drawbacks. Choose the method that works best for your organization.

How to protect data with passwords?

To enact one-time-use credentials, create a log of passwords in a spreadsheet acting as a “safe.” When you a single-use password for business reasons, have the user label the password in the spreadsheet as “checked out.” Upon completion of the task, have the user check-in the password again and retire it.

Why is encryption important?

As important as it is to choose an access method for your online workers , it’s equally important those methods use encryption to secure remote employees’ data and connections. Simply put, encryption is the process of converting data into code or ciphertext.

Why do businesses need to have a cybersecurity policy?

If your business allows remote work, you must have a clear cybersecurity policy in place so that every employee’s access to company data is secure. Without a strategy in place, any employee can easily become an entry-point for a hacker to hijack your organization’s network.

How does a VPN work?

A virtual private network (VPN) is software that creates a secure connection over the internet by encrypting data. Through the process of using tunneling protocols to encrypt and decrypt messages from sender to receiver, remote workers can protect their data transmissions from external parties.

Why use AES encryption?

As it stands, most businesses have the security protocol to use Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to secure data due to its compatibility with a wide variety of applications. It uses symmetric key encryption, meaning the receiver uses a key to decode the sender’s data. The benefit of its use over asymmetric encryption is it’s faster to use. Look for encryption software that uses AES to secure company data.

What is the first thing that’s required to ensure smooth remote access via a VPN?

The first thing that’s required to ensure smooth remote access via a VPN is to plan out a comprehensive network security policy.

What is remote access VPN?

The most basic form of VPN remote access is through a RAS. This type of VPN connection is also referred to as a Virtual Private Dial-up Network (VPDN) due to its early adoption on dial-up internet.

Why is IPSEC used?

This allows IPSec to protect data transmission in a variety of ways. IPSec is used to connect a remote user to an entire network. This gives the user access to all IP based applications. The VPN gateway is located at the perimeter of the network, and the firewall too is setup right at the gateway.

What are the implications of IPSec connections for corporations?

What are the implications of IPSec connections for corporations, considering the very nature of this connection? Well, your employee will only be able to access the network from a single, authorized device. Security is further boosted by the enforcement of antivirus and firewall policies.

What is IPSEC encryption?

IPSec is an IP packet authentication and encryption method. It uses cryptographic keys to protect data flows between hosts and security gateways.

Why use two factor authentication for VPN?

Adopting two-factor authentication for remote access through VPN further boosts your network security. Now let’s take a look at why you should choose a particular VPN type as a secure connection methodology instead of the alternatives.

What is the line of defense for remote access?

So, you have a three-layer line of defense working to protect remote access to your network: anti-virus, firewall, and VPN. The network security team should monitor alerts from these defenses constantly.

What is remote access?

Remote access provides end users with the ability to access resources on the corporate network from a distant location. The most common function of remote access is to enable employees who are traveling or telecommuting to connect to the company network and access resources such as internal applications, intranet, mail services and file sharing.

How to secure remote workforce?

The only way to secure your remote workforce is a secure VPN. Employees must connect from their laptops, desktops and mobile devices over a VPN connection. It’s the secure, private method for virtually entering the corporate office, so to speak. In many cases, remote workforce technology requires hardware.

How does VPN work?

The VPN will forward device traffic to and from the intended website or network through its secure connection. This allows your remote users and offices to connect securely to a corporate network or website. It also hides your IP addresses from hackers and prying eyes.

Why is VPN important?

A VPN establishes the secure connection necessary for enabling the mobile workforce.

What is VPN tunnel?

As mentioned above, a VPN creates a private connection known as a tunnel. All information traveling from a device connected to a VPN will get encrypted and go through this tunnel. When connected to a VPN, a device behaves as if it’s on the same local network as the VPN.

How does encapsulation work?

Encapsulating a packet for secure transportation on the network can be accomplished by means of the IPsec protocol. For example, in the case of a site-to-site VPN, a source host in a network transmits an IP packet. When that packet reaches the edge of the network it makes contact with a VPN gateway.

Why do people use VPNs?

A VPN makes your internet connection more secure and offers privacy online. Organizations, governments and businesses of all sizes use VPNs to secure remote connections to the internet for protection against malicious actors, malware and other cyberthreats. Personal VPNs have also become widely popular as they keep users’ locations private, safely encrypt data and allow users to browse the internet anonymously.

What happens when a VPN authenticates a user?

Once a remote user is authenticated by a VPN, s/he is considered “trusted” and is granted access to more of the network than is required, making network resources overly vulnerable and open to attack.

How many people work remotely in 2020?

With the recent changes in the remote workforce in 2020 it has been shown that over 40% of the workforce now works entirely remote.

Is VPN still used?

VPNs were introduced nearly 20 years ago, and are still the most widely accepted solution for enabling secure remote access , whether to on-premise enterprise resources or to applications hosted on public cloud networks. VPNs, however, were never designed to address today’s complex networks, volumes of remote users, and high-risk security scenarios. Consequently, more and more security and network administrators are realizing that these numerous VPN security issues simply don’t cut it anymore and enterprise VPN alternatives like secure enterprise remote access are necessary. Here are three reasons why.

Does VPN have multiple appliances?

While all of these functions can be covered by a VPN, managing all the use cases requires multiple VPN appliances, each with a policy to maintain and synchronize. In addition, there are network security appliances which need to consider VPN users as well.

Is remote access secure?

While enterprise remote access is important and growing , it is not very secure. According to an IDC brief, more than 40% of security breaches come from authorized users like contractors, vendors and employees.

Do remote workers need VPN?

To begin with, today’ s distributed networks require that remote workers have secure remote access to dozens of different servers on cloud provider instances. This means deploying, configuring and maintaining VPNs for every instance. While all of these functions can be covered by a VPN, managing all the use cases requires multiple VPN appliances, ...

Why is remote access important?

The security of remote access servers, such as VPN gateways and portal servers, is particularly important because they provide a way for external hosts to gain access to internal resources, as well as a secured, isolated telework environment for organization-issued, third-party-controlled, and BYOD client devices. In addition to permitting unauthorized access to enterprise resources and telework client devices, a compromised server could be used to eavesdrop on communications and manipulate them, as well as a “jumping off” point for attacking other hosts within the organization. Recommendations for general server security are available from NIST SP 800-123, Guide to General Server Security. Remote access servers should be kept fully patched, operated using an organization-defined security configuration baseline, and managed only from trusted hosts by authorized administrators.

Where should a remote access server be placed?

Intermediate remote access servers connect external hosts to internal resources, so they should usually be placed at the network perimeter. The server acts as a single point of entry to the network from the perimeter and enforces the telework security policy. If remote access is needed to a particular sub-network within the organization, there are generally two options: 1) place the remote access server at the edge of the sub-network, where the sub-network joins the full network; or 2) place it at the perimeter of the full network and use additional mechanisms to restrict the teleworkers to only be able to access the specified sub-network. The value of placing the remote access server at the network perimeter versus the sub-network perimeter differs for the four types of remote access methods:

What is the key component of controlling access to network communications and protecting their content?

major component of controlling access to network communications and protecting their content is the use of cryptography. At a minimum, any sensitive information passing over the Internet, wireless networks, and other untrusted networks should have its confidentiality and integrity preserved through use of cryptography. Federal agencies are required to use cryptographic algorithms that are NIST-approved and contained in FIPS-validated modules. The FIPS 140 specification, Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules, defines how cryptographic modules are validated.24 It is important to note that for a remote access system to be considered compliant to FIPS 140, both sides of the interaction must have passed FIPS 140 validation. Many remote access systems, such as SSL VPNs, support the use of remote access client software from other vendors, so there may be two or more distinct validation certificates for a particular remote access system.

What is remote desktop access?

remote desktop access solution gives a teleworker the ability to remotely control a particular PC at the organization, most often the user’s own computer at the organization’s office, from a telework client device. The teleworker has keyboard and mouse control over the remote computer and sees that computer’s screen on the local telework client device’s screen. Remote desktop access allows the user to access all of the applications, data, and other resources that are normally available from their PC in the office. Figure 2-3 shows the basic remote desktop access architecture. A remote desktop access client program or web browser plug-in is installed on each telework client device, and it connects directly with the teleworker’s corresponding internal workstation on the organization’s internal network.

What is a portal in remote access?

A portal is a server that offers access to one or more applications through a single centralized interface. A teleworker uses a portal client on a telework client device to access the portal. Most portals are web-based—for them, the portal client is a regular web browser. Figure 2-2 shows the basic portal solution architecture. The application client software is installed on the portal server, and it communicates with application server software on servers within the organization. The portal server communicates securely with the portal client as needed; the exact nature of this depends on the type of portal solution in use, as discussed below.

How does a VPN tunnel work?

Once a VPN tunnel has been established between a teleworker’s client device and the organization’s VPN gateway, the teleworker can access many of the organization’s computing resources through the tunnel. To use a VPN, users must either have the appropriate VPN software on their client devices or be on a network that has a VPN gateway system on it. In Figure 2-1, a VPN client is installed on each of the client devices, and there is a single VPN gateway that runs the VPN server software. The pipe represents a secure remote access connection (tunnel) between a client device and the VPN gateway. Through this tunnel, application client software (e.g., email client, word processor, web browser, database client) installed on the client device communicates with application server software residing on servers within the organization.8 The VPN gateway can take care of user authentication, access control (at the host, service, and application levels), and other security functions for teleworkers.

Which framework is most pertinent for securing enterprise telework, remote access, and BYOD technologies?

This appendix lists the Cybersecurity Framework48 subcategories that are most pertinent for securing enterprise telework, remote access, and BYOD technologies. Next to each subcategory is an explanation of its implications particular to enterprise telework, remote access, and BYOD security.