Review Remote Access Facilities

This could be installing or upgrading a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for the organization, or installing remote desktop management tools, enabling remote connecting protocols such as the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), or by installing other remote access technologies.

SMEs should now review any remote access facilities to ensure they are secure. The following are the key things SMEs should focus on;

• Ensure all remote access software is patched and up date,
• Implement a tool or a process to ensure that remote access software will continue to be patched and kept up to date,
• Review the remote access settings to restrict access from known or trusted locations, such as restricting remote access to staff based in certain geographical locations or accessing from certain IP addresses,
• Restrict staff accessing systems remotely to only the systems and computers they need access to,
• Enforce strong passwords for remote access and where possible enable multi-factor authentication,
• Ensure monitoring and alerting is enabled to warn of suspected attacks or unusual suspicious activity.