What is Secure Remote Access?

Secure remote access safeguards sensitive data transmission when applications are accessed from devices outside of the corporate network.

Secure remote access is an umbrella under which a number of security strategies reside. It can refer to any security policy or solution that prevents unauthorized access to your network or sensitive data.

With the proliferation of internet-connected devices, an organization’s workforce is no longer sequestered to a single location. Instead, an organization may have employees connecting to their internal network and accessing sensitive data from locations across the globe. Because of this, old access security measures are no longer enough and must be replaced with safeguards that allow employees and other verified users safe and secure access from anywhere, on any device, at any time.

Secure remote access is a crucial part of any healthy application stack, working with other elements such as DNS and TLS to ensure your applications are continuously secure and performant.

With the proliferation of internet-connected devices, an organization’s workforce is no longer sequestered to a single location. Instead, an organization may have employees connecting to their internal network and accessing sensitive data from locations across the globe. Because of this, old access security measures are no longer enough and must be replaced with safeguards that allow employees and other verified users safe and secure access from anywhere, at any time, from any device.

There are several types security solutions and technologies that fall into the category of secure remote access, including (but certainly not limited to):

• Endpoint security – Verifies desktop antivirus and firewall software is in place, systems are patched, keyloggers or other dangerous processes are not running, and sensitive data is not left behind in caches
• Virtual private network (VPN) – Established a connection over an existing network, typically the public Internet, that is secured through authentication and encryption methods
• IPsec VPN – Establishes a VPN over the public Internet using the standard IPsec mechanism
• SSL VPN – Uses Secure Sockets Layer protocol, an authentication and encryption technology built into every web browser, to create a secure and encrypted connection over a less secure network, like the Internet
• Single sign-on (SSO) – Allows an authenticated user to access select applications with an initial set of login credentials.
• Network access control (NAC) – Controls access to a network via a combination of endpoint security measures, user authentication, and network security policy enforcement.
• Friendly net detection (FND) – Allows a device to automatically recognize "friendly networks”
• Privileged access management (PAM) – Set of tools that secure, monitor, and manage access to an enterprise’s data from privileged accounts
• Desktop sharing – Provides a user with real-time access to files and data located on another device

F5 has a host of access security solutions purpose-built to keep good traffic flowing and bad traffic out. BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) lets you create identity-aware, context-based access policies, implement an SSO solution, and create an SSL VPN.