How to Strategically Secure IT Remote Support
Without a strategic vision for remote control security, organizations will continue to fall prey to hackers who take advantage of IT support departments' growing use of remote access tools. Here, Knowledge Center contributor Nathan McNeill outlines five ways to maintain security and corporate governance policies while relying on remote access technology to support off-site computing devices.
Worker mobility and technological complexity in today's enterprise are driving the increased demand for IT support departments. Even though IT has used remote control tools to troubleshoot PC issues for some time, there is a renewed interest in the technology to provide anytime, anywhere support to both disparate users and backend systems—regardless of firewalls.
However, a significant concern has emerged around whether traditional remote access software (such as pcAnywhere and RDP) can be locked down to ensure optimal levels of security. Consider this: the Verizon Business RISK team issued a report in 2008 detailing its forensic investigation into over 500 actual data breaches between 2003 and 2007. A key area examined was the attack pathways hackers used to gain access to confidential data. The report discovered several areas of concern that IT security administrators typically expect to see (such as Website vulnerabilities and unsecured wireless hot spots).
