Beyond VPN: How TruGrid Simplifies RDP Deployment, Security, and Compliance - Related to edge, share, agencies, network, data

Amazon Redshift gets new default settings to prevent data breaches

Amazon has showcased key security enhancements for Redshift, a popular data warehousing solution, to help prevent data exposures due to misconfigurations and insecure default settings.

Redshift is widely used by enterprises for business intelligence and big data analytics for data warehousing, competing with Google BigQuery, Snowflake, and Azure Synapse Analytics.

It's valued for its petabyte-scale data handling efficiency and performance, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.

However, poor configurations and lax default settings have led to massive data breaches, like the Medibank ransomware incident in October 2022, which reportedly involved access to the firm's Redshift platform.

Last week, AWS revealed that it is implementing three security defaults for newly created provisioned clusters to significantly upgrade the platform's data safety and minimize the likelihood of catastrophic data leaks.

The first measure is to restrict public access for new clusters by default, confining them within the user's Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and preventing direct external access.

Public access must be explicitly enabled if needed, with security groups and network access control lists (ACLs) recommended to clients for restricted access.

The second change is to enable encryption by default for all clusters to guarantee that even unauthorized access will not result in data exposure.

individuals will now have to specify an encryption key, or the clusters will be encrypted using an AWS-owned Key Management Service (KMS) key.

clients relying on unencrypted clusters for data sharing must ensure both producer and consumer clusters are encrypted. Failure to adjust these workflows may result in disruptions when the changes go live.

The third change is enforcing secure SSL (TLS) connections by default for all new and restored clusters, preventing data interception and "man-in-the-middle" attacks.

people with custom parameter groups are encouraged to enable SSL for enhanced security manually.

It is critical to note that these changes will impact newly created provisioned clusters, serverless workgroups, and restored clusters, so existing setups will not be immediately affected.

However, AWS recommends that end-clients review and modification their configurations as needed to align with the new security defaults and avoid operational disruptions.

"We recommend that all Amazon Redshift clients review their current configurations for this service and consider implementing the new security measures across their applications," reads the announcement.

"These security enhancements could impact existing workflows that rely on public access, unencrypted clusters, or non-SSL connections."

people seeking guidance and support are directed to read the online 'Management Guide' or contact AWS Support.

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Cyber agencies share security guidance for network edge devices

Five Eyes cybersecurity agencies in the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the [website] have issued guidance urging makers of network edge devices and appliances to improve forensic visibility to help defenders detect attacks and investigate breaches.

Such devices, including firewalls, routers, virtual private networks (VPN) gateways, internet-facing servers and operational technology (OT) systems, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, have been heavily targeted by both state-sponsored and financially motivated attackers.

Edge devices are often targeted and compromised because they don't support Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions, allowing threat actors to gain initial access to the targets' internal enterprise networks.

In many cases, such devices also lack regular firmware upgrades and strong authentication, come with security vulnerabilities and insecure configurations by default, and provide limited logging, severely reducing security teams' ability to detect breaches.

Moreover, being positioned at the network's edge and handling almost all corporate traffic, they attract attention as targets that make it easy to monitor traffic and gather credentials for further access to the network if left unsecured.

"Foreign adversaries routinely exploit software vulnerabilities in network edge devices to infiltrate critical infrastructure networks and systems. The damage can be expensive, time-consuming, and reputationally catastrophic for public and private sector organizations," CISA mentioned.

"Device manufacturers are encouraged to include and enable standard logging and forensic functions that are robust and secure by default, so that network defenders can more easily detect malicious activity and investigate following an intrusion," the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) added.

The cybersecurity agencies also advised network defenders to consider these recommended minimum requirements for forensic visibility before choosing physical and virtual network devices for their organizations.

Over the last several years, attackers have kept targeting edge networking devices from various manufacturers, including Fortinet, Palo Alto, Ivanti, SonicWall, TP-Link, and Cisco.

In response to threat actor activity, CISA has issued multiple "Secure by Design" alerts, one of them in July 2024 asking vendors to eliminate path OS command injection vulnerabilities exploited by the Chinese state-backed Velvet Ant threat group to hack into Cisco, Palo Alto, and Ivanti network edge devices.

The [website] cybersecurity agency also urged manufacturers of small office/home office (SOHO) routers to secure their devices against Volt Typhoon attacks and tech vendors to stop shipping software and devices with default passwords.

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Beyond VPN: How TruGrid Simplifies RDP Deployment, Security, and Compliance

While the first article outlined why VPNs are risky and cloud-based RDP is a superior alternative, this article will take a closer look at what makes TruGrid SecureRDP the best choice for modern businesses.

We'll explore how it simplifies deployment, enhances security, and ensures compliance—all while eliminating the complexity of VPNs.

Simplified Deployment and Management: Less Complexity, More Control.

Deploying and managing a VPN is often complex and time-consuming, particularly for organizations with large, distributed workforces.

VPNs require complicated configuration for end customers, and are often difficult to use because of multiple steps required to establish connectivity, all of which can lead to lost productivity.

Cloud-Based RDP Simplicity & Flexibility.

Cloud-based RDP solutions, like those offered by TruGrid, simplify the deployment process by offering centralized management through a single dashboard. This allows IT administrators to control user access, manage security policies, and monitor usage from one location.

TruGrid Management & Security Capabilities.

Manage MFA: TruGrid enables the management of MFA for Active Directory clients, with options to reset or disable MFA across domains. This is done via the Security Management section of the dashboard, offering a clear, user-friendly interface for managing MFA settings, which include disabling or resetting MFA for selected clients.

Note: TruGrid does not recommend ever turning off MFA! For those using Microsoft Entra ID, TruGrid supports the use of Microsoft Entra MFA.

Geo-Blocking: Despite eliminating RDP exposure, Administrators can restrict countries where end clients can SIGN IN from by enabling the Geo-Blocking feature of TruGrid and adding trusted countries.

TruGrid RemoteApp (Role-based App Access): TruGrid allows admins to enable RemoteApp and allow access to just required apps.

This prevents the need to allow end consumers to access entire remote desktop, thereby further reducing the attack surface even for authorized consumers. This is achieved via the Resource Assignment – App section.

Figure 3: Allowing Access to Specific Applications via TruGrid RemoteApp Feature.

While security-conscious organizations will never allow BYOD devices to use VPN to connect to the corporate network (for fear of malware-traversal over unmanaged (BYOD) devices), cloud-based RDP solutions such as TruGrid are device-agnostic, allowing people to connect from any device without any possibility of malware traversal between any device and the corporate network.

"The State of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Policies and Trends" study from Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) indicates that 70% of organizations allow certain personas, like IT and executives, to choose their devices, highlighting the growing reliance on BYOD.

The 73% of organizations that give IT personnel device choice and 54% for executives, reflect the need for flexible, yet secure access solutions. Cloud-based RDP provides a secure and simple solution for organizations with BYOD policies, ensuring secure remote access regardless of device type.

Organizations relying on VPN are prone to cyberattacks over BYOD devices since BYOD devices (not owned by the organization) can contain malware or other cyber threats that can spread from the BYOD devices to the corporate network.

Figure 4: Most Organizations Allow for Some Sort of BYOD for Certain people.

Secure and Simplify Remote Access with TruGrid SecureRDP Traditional VPNs expose networks to security risks, require complex configurations, and make compliance difficult. TruGrid SecureRDP eliminates these challenges with a fully managed, cloud-based RDP solution that requires no open firewall ports. With built-in MFA, Geo-Blocking, and a Zero Trust framework, TruGrid simplifies remote access while ensuring enterprise-grade security. Try a Business Plan for Free.

Compliance and Governance: Stay Secure and Compliant.

Cloud-based RDP solutions simplify compliance by providing granular logging and built-in auditing tools. They also support cyber insurance requirements, which increasingly demand secure, no-firewall exposure solutions for remote access. This makes it easier for businesses to demonstrate compliance with standards like SOC 2, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.

The "Managing the Endpoint Vulnerability Gap" investigation by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) further reinforces the compliance benefits of cloud-based RDP. The investigation finds that 44% of organizations uncovered systems with open access and 37% identified compliance issues during endpoint monitoring.

Cloud-based RDP eliminates risks posed by vulnerable endpoints (BYOD and corporate) because it connects endpoints to corporate networks in a zero-trust fashion, whereby threats from remote endpoints cannot traverse into the corporate network.

Figure 5: Majority Have Experienced Attacks Relating to Device Management????

Direct Comparison: VPN vs. Cloud-Based RDP.

For many industries, especially healthcare, finance, and technology, where security and compliance are paramount, cloud-based RDP offers a superior solution when compared with RDP over VPN.

Cloud-based RDP ensures secure, scalable, and high-performance access to critical applications without exposing the entire network.

Feature VPN Cloud-Based RDP Security Requires open inbound firewall ports No open inbound firewall ports, Zero Trust Performance Higher latency, network congestion Low-latency, load distribution Cost High upfront and ongoing costs Pay-as-you-go, scalable Management Complex setup and management Simplified and centralized Compliance Exposed inbound ports create compliance headache Zero exposure, integrated MFA, support for Geo Blocking and Conditional Access, help meet compliance.

Table 1: VPN vs. Cloud-Based RDP Feature Comparison.

As businesses continue to adapt to a distributed workforce, the security, performance, and cost limitations of VPNs are becoming more evident.

Cloud-based RDP solutions like TruGrid SecureRDP provide a secure, scalable, and cost-efficient alternative, making them the superior choice for modern remote access needs.

Growing cyber threats underscore the urgency for businesses to adopt zero-trust solutions like cloud-based RDP.

Don't wait until your next cybersecurity audit or breach—schedule personalized demo with TruGrid and take the first step towards a secure remote access future.

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