For many organisations, the process of adding new users or updating user access can be a complex and time-consuming process. With the rise of hybrid working and an increased need to control third-party access without granting overprivileged access, businesses need a solution that is both secure and easy to manage.
Traditional solutions like VPN connections and RDP infrastructures are costly, difficult to manage, and often extend company networks to unsecured locations. As cyberattacks become more prevalent, the risks of poorly implemented solutions increase as well.
The answer? Use a solution in conjunction with your existing setup, which provides a zero-trust access environment with additional benefits such as BYOD, fast installation, scalability, affordable, permission access and a stable connection with no bandwidth issues. It's not an all-or-nothing approach — you don't need to kick out your VPN tomorrow! But you can minimise the risks that come with VPN and, importantly, enable the business by supporting effective hybrid working.
VPNs were designed nearly two decades ago, for connecting devices with on-premises networks. Today, however, VPNs are often trying to protect the perimeter network, instead of protecting a flat network with linear access. The issue is VPNs simply aren’t consistently secure enough to protect against today’s threats, which are increasing with the remote workforce.
Alongside this, VPNs are time-consuming and, often, costly to manage. Admins must configure new VPNs by hand and scaling access means more admin work for each new VPN added – plus there are the extra licence costs to think about.
We've already highlighted the challenges of scaling multi-product remote access solutions. So how is a software-defined perimeter different? Quite simply, a solution like G/On is quick to install and provides everything users need to access company resources securely. G/On has built-in features for redundancy and load balancing, which means organisations can scale up remote working in minutes rather than weeks. And, of course, it has the security features you would expect, including two-factor authentication, authorisation, end-to-end encryption, network protection and secure application access.
Soliton's G/On solution is built on three pillars: software-defined perimeter (SDP), Identity Centric and non-intrusive. SDP network resources are made inaccessible by default and make the application infrastructure invisible from the internet. Identity centric is based on the the principle of least privilege access (need-to-know), reducing the attack surface while also increasing IT's visibility into user activity and applications. And non-intrusive ensures it promotes data protection and prevents access to personal data on devices.
An authenticated user can only access one or more specific services inside the network when explicitly authorised, rather than receiving the broad network access available when using a VPN. Therefore, a software-defined perimeter isolates the company services from the internet, stopping almost all forms of network attacks.
G/On can be used by any organisation or industry vertical. It's a single place for you to control exactly who can see what on your networks, and it works with both managed and unmanaged devices.
While the specific requirements for a law firm could be different to a manufacturer, G/On enables them both to solve the underlying challenge: Enabling full-time or temporary employees to securely access the applications required to get their jobs done from an unmanaged/unknown location and/or device. Even if 'remotely' means being in the office, G/On can still help. It supports consultants working from a customer location or external contractors and freelancers working with your company data.
Discover how you can take back control. Download your copy of the eBook: Next-Generation Access Control: Leveraging ZTNA and Flexible Authentication for Enhanced Security
Originally published. 17th March 2021, updated 9th May 2023 for relevancy