Remote, Hybrid, Onsite – Tools To Secure Federal Networks No Matter Where Teams Work

As COVID-19 restrictions ease, federal agencies are beginning to bring employees back into the office. Whether teams are returning to the office full time, continuing to work in a remote environment, or using a hybrid approach, the top priority is to keep employees safe and the business of government running smoothly, all while protecting the nation’s most important technology infrastructure.

No matter where teams are physically located, Sirius Federal Security engineers offer these top five security tips and tools to help federal technology leaders keep their networks secure no matter where their teams work.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Attackers will often search for the weakest link in the agency’s security posture. With employees accessing your network from multiple – and potentially new – endpoints, weak passwords or lack of security on the endpoint is a perfect way for skilled cybercriminals to get into your network. 81% of breaches are caused by compromised credentials. To protect against these threats, the tools used by your workforce to get their jobs done should have strong, multi-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized access into your systems. DUO Security, which was recently acquired by Cisco, offers an impressively easy way to layer on MFA with a minimal disruption to the user while incorporating the latest methods of authentication.

Through its authentication application, DUO sits between your points of access and your network. Authentication operates via Universal 2nd Factor (U2F), a more secure means of authentication facilitating push notifications in comparison with less secure SMS (text) based methods. DUO works with PIV/CAC and meets common federal technology requirements, including NIST guidelines for authentication.

Implement Security at the Application Level, Not the User Level

Both multi-factor and zero-trust authentication offer a security model that shifts traditional, perimeter-based security where anyone with the credentials can access everything inside your network from any device to individual application security. Application-based security utilizes user identity, the trustworthiness of the device, and established security policies to grant access to that one application. It is a more scalable approach to security that protects every attack surface by validating every point of access. With employees accessing your network from various environments both inside and outside of your office, to truly protect your network and the devices connected to it, security protocols need to be set inside of the firewall at the application level to fortify your network against breaches.

Next Generation Firewalls Support and Scale VPN Access

While employees are slowly returning to work, many are still working remote. A recent survey of federal workers found that 63% of employees expected to be working remote into 2021. Older firewall technology can’t support high numbers of employees accessing your network through VPN. The best way to achieve consistent, scalable VPN access that lets employees work as though they are sitting in their office inside your agency is by upgrading to a Next Generation Firewall (NGFW). NGFWs can support not only the increasing number of users but the increased load on the device to deliver the additional services and functionality required to protect those users in times of need. NGFWs also offer additional controls including enhanced security with identity store and authentication, threat intelligence, URL filtering, and analytics.

Secure Your Cloud Apps – Including Those you Don’t Know About

Regardless of where you are in your cloud migration, employees working in the office and remotely are connecting various endpoints to some cloud based applications. In addition, remote employees are more likely to use shadow IT – those apps that may not be authorized by your team but help them get their jobs done. Fortify your cloud applications to proactively protect them against threats inside and outside threats. Cloud security tools such as Cisco Umbrella not only protect against malware and other threats, they also help you gain visibility into your cloud apps and find use of shadow IT across your environment. Umbrella also blocks malicious and unwanted domains and cloud applications before your users even establish a connection.

Automate Your Security

Cybersecurity teams were overwhelmed BEFORE the pandemic. With many employees working remote or in a hybrid environment, hackers and cybercriminals could see this new working environment as an opportunity to find weaknesses in your systems. Monitoring, maintaining, and watching for new threats is even more challenging in the current working environment. As constant vigilance is needed to watch over your network, automating your network security is critical. Scans, queries, and reports can all be automated. Leverage the latest security technology to help you, not make your job harder. There are many security technology tools that are FedRamp authorized that can automate security protocols and spot trends. By using these tools to their fullest potential, it becomes easy to identify unusual behavior that could signify a threat, allowing technology teams to stop a breach from happening.

Choose the Right Collaboration Tools

Employees who are working in a socially distanced office environment or remote must still be connected to each other. Modern collaboration tools allow employees sitting in different offices or different states to work as though they were in the same conference room. Collaboration applications such as Webex Teams and Webex Meetings offered by Cisco allow employees the ability to instant message and participate in group chat sessions regardless of physical location. Webex also offers huddle spaces where interactive meetings can take place using virtual white boards, document sharing, and other features that allow participants to collaborate in real time – from anywhere.

As a federal agency, you also have the added complexity of needing collaboration solutions that adhere to the numerous and ever-evolving compliance demands, including modernization requirements. If mission security is a concern for your collaboration tools, Cisco offers a FedRAMP Impact Level 2 (IL2) Webex tool for Civilian agencies. They also have HCS-D solutions designed specifically for Department of Defense agencies that offer DoD Impact Level 5 (IL5) certification. Remote workers using these tools can achieve the highest level of security as they do in the office environment.

Get Support When You Need It

While businesses and government work through plans on getting employees back into the office safely, securing your network no matter where your employees work is crucial to maintain the business of government. Regardless of what security protocols you already have in place, talking to a service provider about your current security landscape and how your employees are working is a good first step. The service provider can help assess your situation and recommend the right security tools to help you achieve mission success.

Sirius Federal is a technology solutions provider that has worked with the federal government providing secure technology solutions and services for over 25 years. We understand the security requirements needed in the federal space and partner with leading manufacturers. Our engineers are trained to better support the needs of our federal customers. Security is woven into everything we do. Contact Sirius Federal today and let us help your agency stay secure with a remote workforce.