What is Privileged Remote Access?
Privileged Remote Access ensures secure connectivity for those with special privileges and permissions to access critical data and systems. It helps businesses secure data and protect it from unauthorised access by giving them tools to control and grant access to remote bodies and organisations. In this article, we will learn about the various features and the importance of privileged access.
What is Privileged Remote Access?
Privileged Remote Access allows external machine users, third-party contractors, off-site admins and others to manage critical data from anywhere in the world. It allows them to monitor and control features that can otherwise be accessed only by authorised people within the organisation or on-site.
By providing privileged remote access, companies create a safe environment where external devices and third-party services can access your stored data and content without the use of VPNs, passwords or any extra software.
Importance of Privileged Remote Access
Post-COVID, there has been a rise in remote work, dependence on contractors, and the transfer of critical data and infrastructure to the cloud. Providing safe and seamless access to the network for administrators, developers, DBAs and other IT assistance groups has become a paramount element in securing the operations of most organisations.
Privileged Remote Access is more secure than classic remote desktop solutions, as it allows you to use PAM tools to manage access to passwords and credentials and monitor usage sessions.
Features of Privileged Remote Access
Listed below are a few of the most distinct features of Privileged Remote Access:
- Privileged Remote Access: Privileged remote access allows you to selectively grant employees access to organisational files and data. This allows you to maintain security protocols even when working remotely.
- Privileged Session Monitoring and Management: Privileged Access allows you to exercise strong control and detailed session recording to comply with various protocols like RDP, HTTP/S and SSH for monitoring and accountability.
With Privileged access management, you can monitor session usage, data interaction and data flow. This helps maintain the level of security and improves efficiency across platforms and environments.
- Privileged Password Vaulting: With Privileged Password Vaulting, you can manage and rotate privileged passwords and integrate remote sessions. This helps improve security and streamline access management effectively.
- Audit Compliance: Getting detailed audit reports showcasing the data usage and flow helps you understand the intent for which your data is being used. This helps in the early detection of any suspicious activity and strengthens your security even more.
- Just-in-Time Access: This feature centralises tracking, approval and auditing, creating a just-in-time pathway. With Privileged Remote Access, you can grant permission to external bodies to interact with your data only when required, creating a single access pathway.
Benefits of Privileged Remote Access Solutions
- Enhanced Security: Provides you the opportunity to strengthen your security by selectively granting access as and when required.
- Improved Productivity: Third-party bodies and offshore admins can access crucial data from anywhere through efficient troubleshooting, maintenance and administration without physical presence, improving people's productivity.
- Reduced IT Costs: It brings down the cost of travel expenditure by eliminating on-site visits or dedicated hardware.
- Centralised Control: Since access is granted to people living in any geographical area, privileged access provides a centralised platform from which you can monitor and manage remote access, track user activity and effectively control privileged accounts.
- Mitigation Risk: Brings down the scope or access, thereby reducing internal threats or external breaches.
- Increased Flexibility: This supports work-from-home arrangements and geographically diversified teams by providing access to important resources from anywhere in the world.
What are the Key Challenges of Implementing Privileged Remote Access Solutions?
The biggest challenge with private access management is granting access to external users, devices and IT resources. The risk multiplies when access is granted to some sensitive data.
Any gap from the end of security in how a connection is performed or how access rights are granted can lead to major damage to your system. The challenge to overcome here is to find a way to maintain productivity and access without compromising on security.
Conclusion
Privileged Remote Access is an integral part of modern IT solutions. It provides privileged access to users while complying with security protocols.
By implementing advanced privileged access solutions, organisations can improve their productivity while maintaining security and efficiency and protecting sensitive data from exploitation. Implementing and maintaining this system is key to long-term organisational success.
At Instasafe, we also offer security solutions that allow you to integrate secure remote access for your organisation's employees. With our Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solution, you can set up secure remote access, remote collaboration applications, secure BYOD and third-party access and secure Web, SSH and RDP servers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- What are the three types of remote access?
The three types of privileged access are VPN-based remote access, privileged remote access and cloud-based remote access.
- How do you configure privileged remote access?
Configuration involves setting up access control, implementing MFA and integrating access with existing IT systems for seamless management.
- What are the best practices of privileged remote access management?
The best practices for privileged remote access involve:
- Implementing Multi-Factor Authentication(MFA) to add an extra layer of security.
- Monitoring and recording sessions.
- Frequently reviewing the privileged access rights.
- How to implement Privileged Remote Access?
Here is how you can implement privileged remote access
- Choosing a reliable privileged remote access solution.
- Defining access policies and requirements
- Integrating the solution with the existing IT infrastructure
- Setting up MFA to add an extra layer of security
- Conducting regular audits