What is Secure Remote Access?

Secure remote access, As the name suggests secure means it secures our applications or business-related information. It prevents the loss of sensitive information or data. In this article, we will cover a brief explanation of secure remote access and how it works, What technologies are used for Secure Remote Access, what is important, what are the benefits of securing remote access, security risks, and some frequently asked questions.

What is Secure Remote Access?

Secure remote access is to prevent unauthorized activities that are hackers going on in applications and secure from hackers. Many organizations operate remotely and the companies use security tools to protect the company information or data so that hackers do not steal their information. In the COVID-19 scenario, many organizations ran remotely and organizations used various security tools and techniques to protect our sensitive data.

How does Secure Remote Access work?

In secure remote access, both parties are connected to the same network which means all remote users are connected to the company’s private network. It is helpful for businesses or organizations to secure their businesses from hackers.

Here are some points that are responsible for the working of secure remote access-

• Multi-factor authentication is the best way to secure our information or business-related data. When any third party or hackers try to log in to our system they can’t succeed because the password is generated from the user’s mobile phone or email address.

• VPN stands for Virtual private network is helpful for the organization and prevents security risks because many of the users work in remote environments and connect to insecure wifi connections. VPN is the best option for remote users that prevents security risk vulnerabilities in the system.

• In the pandemic situation, many companies run remotely. As part of the security, the company provided training to all the employees. So, that employees do not click any fake links and don’t spread the company’s sensitive information.

• Secure remote access provides various tools such as a security service edge that captures the device and if any activity goes wrong in the device, the tool flags the wrong activity.

• In secure remote access, before the user connects to the network, the admin sets the policies to which users they give permission or not. For example, if the company’s employee wants to connect with the company network, so admin permits them access to the company’s information. But if any third-party, hackers want to connect with the company network, so admin does not give permission.

What Technologies are Used for Secure Remote Access?

There are various technologies used for secure remote access that secure our organization and prevent security risks.

VPN

VPN stands for virtual private network. It is useful when users work remotely. It is a suitable way to connect company server and access the company data. VPN hides the user’s location, IP address, and identity of the hackers. Google prevents from hackers stealing the information. VPN contains two parts Remote access VPN and router to router VPN. In remote access VPN, when the website is blocked in our region but not blocked in another region. We select other IP address locations to access that website. Router-to- Router VPN is used when there are multiple branches of an organization and all are present in different locations so they securely connect the network of all locations to the organization’s private network.

Benefits of VPN

• It provides the security that secures the information between the company and remote users.
• It provides an easy way to access the blocked website.
• It protects our data from hackers.
• It uses advanced security protocols to secure the information.

SSO

SSO stands for single sign-on, it allows the user to access all the applications with a single set of login credentials. There is no requirement to put the login details again and again. Example, In a Google remotely account, we logged in one time and accessed all the applications such as email, drive, meet, etc. Multi-factor authentication is the best way to secure single sign-on for security purposes.

Benefits of SSO

• It saves time to access all the applications to log in one time.
• It provides flexibility for users.
• It provides multi-factor authentication.

Desktop sharing

It is an easy tool for IT admin that fix computer problems remotely. It provides a smooth experience for IT admins to easily switch between screens. IT admins access the computer anywhere in the world and resolve the issues remotely through Windows, Mac, or Linux.

Benefits of Desktop sharing

• It supports remote working so that IT admins resolve the technical issues remotely.
• It supports and works with various operating systems.
• It is cost-effective.

Multi-factor authentication

MFA provides security to verify the identity of the users. If the hacker or any third party tries to log in to user accounts, the code is generated in the user’s phone or email in that case hacker or any third party does not steal the user’s information.

Benefits of MFA

• It decreases the risk of stolen information from hackers.
• It is useful for big organizations to protect sensitive data.

Network Access Control

NAC helps to ensure only authorized users have access to the applications. It allows the organization to block any malware device that wants to connect with the corporate network.

Benefits of NAC

• It provides to identify devices that want to connect to the corporate network.
• It enhances the performance of network operations.
• It updates the NAC server regularly which prevents vulnerabilities.

Why is Secure Remote Access Important?

Secure remote access plays an important role in businesses or organizations whose employees are working remotely. Remote users access the company’s private network anywhere in the world. The employer is connected to the corporate network when working remotely. The company gives access to the employer to connect with the company network to access the company information and do tasks anywhere in the world. And, if companies have multiple locations, the remote users even connect to the company network and access the information securely. Secure remote access also prevents ransomware and phishing attacks. Nowadays, Remote work is also a challenging factor because there are many scams, and frauds done easily but secure remote access provides various security tools such as VPN, SSO, etc to prevent vulnerabilities in the system.

What are the Benefits of Secure Remote Access?

• It makes our system free from vulnerabilities.
• It saves the cost for the organization while working remotely.
• It allows employees to work anywhere in the world and connect to the company network.
• It prevents malware and phishing attacks.
• It resolves any troubleshooting issue in the system remotely.

What are the Security Risks of Remote Access?

• The first security risk of remote access is password sharing. Like, if we go to a fake website by mistake and enter the credentials that include a password, so can in that case hackers easily access or steal the information of our system.

• The other security risk is the malware-infected software installed in our system that violates the company’s security policies. If we install it then the sensitive information of our system and company both are at risk.

• Another security risk is forgetting to update the system timely. Updating a system provides a more enhanced version of the software we installed in our system and provides more security tools that prevent security risks.

• Many remote employees in the company have reused passwords again and again. If an employee working in the company and their company password is abc@123 and their home password for using social media accounts and accessing the accounts such as abc@123 same as the company password, in that case, the companies are at risk and hackers steal the information for our company.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Secure remote access provides flexibility to remote employees who work remotely anywhere in the world. Nowadays remote work is also a challenging factor because of scams and frauds but technology is increasing rapidly, and secure remote access provides various tools that prevent vulnerabilities in the system.

Frequently Asked Questions on Secure Remote Access-devices

How to prevent devices from security risks?

Here are the some points that prevents from security risk-

• Download any application or software from relevant sources.
• Update your device reguraly.
• Never share your password with anyone and do not open any malicious links from email.
• Always install anti-virus software in your system.
• Always protect your network by setting up strong passwords so that hackers do not steal the information.

List some of the names of tools for secure remote access.

Here are some tools of secure remote access-

• TeamViewer
• GoTo
• AnyDesk
• BeyondTrust

What is the difference in RDP protocol?

RDP stands for remote desktop protocol. In terms of companies, RDP acts as the bridge between the corporate network and remote employees network. When companies give access to remote employees to their network, then employees easily access the company information anywhere in the world.

What is the difference between VPN and zero trust?

Both VPN and zero trust provided security. VPN permits all the users to access the network anywhere in the world but zero trust as the name suggests “zero” means they do not trust, they first identify the users and then allow users to access the devices.