Securing Your Remote Access Solution with Better Enterprise Password Security

Remote access solutions provide the ability to manage computer systems from a remote location. When properly deployed, these solutions – like TeamViewer, LogMeIn, or others – provide significant benefits and cost-savings to organizations and managed service providers alike. As well, they allow companies to provide remote support in distributed environments and across customers. That’s all well and good, but it is crucial that these solutions be properly managed since system compromises can have such a sweeping impact. We’ve seen that, in many cases, admins of these systems choose login credentials that can be guessed in attacks. Even strong, complex passwords may not be enough to prevent breaches. Remote access solutions are often put at risk when the same usernames and passwords are used across the infrastructure – or when passwords are infrequently changed. Once credentials are compromised, attackers can access remote computers to siphon sensitive data from the organization or install custom malware. Risks stem from a simple lack of privileged access management including:

• Default or common passwords that are not configured correctly
• Shared credentials across multiple devices for management simplicity
• Excessive password ages due to fear of changing or lack of management capabilities
• Compromised or insider accounts making changes to allow exfiltration of data
• Outsourced devices and infrastructure where changes in personnel, contracts, and tools expose credentials to unaccountable individuals

How privileged password and session management can help reduce the risks to remote access solutions Two-factor authentication is now included and enabled by default with most remote access solutions. However, there is another rather simple and effective way to secure a remote access infrastructure – a privileged password management solution that:

• Ensures no device has a default password for administrative accounts
• Guarantees that each device has a unique complex password
• Automatically rotates passwords based on age and usage
• Limits administrative access and communications to authorized individuals

PowerBroker Password Safe enables you to secure your remote access solution with complete control and audit over privileged account access.

• Discover all managed and unmanaged devices, including online and offline
• Provide verification that no default passwords exist on any hypervisor or managed device
• Manage all devices automatically using Smart Rules and store a unique password per each device
• Rotate each device password automatically based on age or after each login by an administrator
• Provide a complete workflow for device access, including an approval process for when administrative access is required
• Record all or select remote sessions with playback to document and review what occurs when a device is accessed
• Offer detailed reports of all credentials used and requested when activity occurs
• Deliver patent-pending analytics for abnormal device and credential access in a wide variety of available reports

BeyondTrust solutions can provide additional security for remotely managed assets by integrating password management with least-privilege solutions to not only protect enterprise credentials but define through fine-grained policy what administrators can do with those credentials one they are in a system. If you are struggling with securing your remote access solution, check out our brief for tips on securing remote access solutions, or contact us today.