Secure Remote Access for Engineers

Remote access to infrastructure and applications is more critical than ever. Efficient SSH/RDP, Kubernetes, database, and hosted application access is required by modern DevOps and Eng teams.

The Problem

As Engineering teams become increasingly distributed across the globe and enterprises frequently turn to remote contract workers to help accelerate project deliverables, the need for securing SSH, RDP, and Kubernetes remote access has never been higher. VPN (Virtual Private Network) alternatives are needed, given the sensitive nature of this work and the potential for cybersecurity breaches with VPN-based secure access. Enterprises need a better approach that delivers on Zero Trust principles that fit the modern enterprise.

The emergence of continuous authorization and principle of least privilege are critical to this approach, and VPNs simply cannot keep up with these demands. Specifically, in the case of secure SSH, RDP, and K8s access, VPNs fall short:

Poor Security

  • Broad network-level access based on long-lived certificates, with lateral movement vulnerability especially for 3rd parties who can access any server on the network or in any Virtual Private Cloud (VPC).
  • No good way to continuously authorize (not just one-time authentication) and provide least-privilege access to specific servers.

Complex Management

  • Network-level controls hard to configure, especially due to ephemeral server instances on modern clouds.
  • Painful process of updating end-point clients and VPN hardware and software patches.

Frustrating User Experience

  • Dropped connections due to network complexities resulting from constant compute environment changes with cloud deployments and enterprise growth.
  • Expensive appliances, inability to scale to cloud compute clusters.

The Banyan Security Solution for
Secure SSH/RDP and Kubernetes access

The Banyan Security Platform offers role and attribute-based access control to servers while providing integration with your existing SSO and MDM tools as well as IaaS clouds like AWS, GCP, and Azure.

With Banyan, a security team can define the privileges needed to access a particular server resource, on a per user basis. With Banyan Security Zero Trust Access you achieve direct, secure least-privilege access to your SSH/RDP and Kubernetes environments.

The Banyan Solution for Secure SSH/RDP and Kubernetes access

Banyan’s remote access solution is comprised of  three core components that together deliver a complete Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solution.

First, we offer Trust Scoring for quantification of user and device contextual factors.

Next, we provide continuous authorization of access via our Cloud Command Center.

And finally, we offer real-time access enforcement based on the principle of least privilege.

Zero Trust Access Elevates Security Posture

  • Massive reduction in visible attack surface by enforcing least privilege access and continuous authorization based on user and device trust factors
  • Short-lived certificates managed by the Banyan platform for a higher security posture

Comprehensive Solution for Diverse DevOps Environments

  • Consistent experience whether servers are deployed on-premises or via IaaS
  • Provide differentiated access based on user authentication and profile (e.g., employee vs. contractor vs. vendor), device characteristics (e.g., patch level), and relative importance of resource (e.g., PCI vs. non-PCI servers)

Seamless & Fast User Experience

  • Users enjoy direct access to servers whether in private clouds or IaaS-deployed
  • Simplified access policies tied to user and device profiles for ease of management

Banyan Makes it Easy

The Banyan Security Platform is universal in its ability to support multiple remote workforce use cases. Accessing complex infrastructure, whether on-premises, private cloud, or remote connections via IaaS, Banyan has you covered. Access to services like SSH/RDP, Kubernetes and hosted applications like GitLab and Jenkins has never been easier. A single click in the Service Catalog is all it takes to reach a desired resource.

Favorites give end users the flexibility to “bookmark” frequently accessed applications and services.

Autorun allows specified resources to automatically connect when the Banyan app is launched.

Service Bundles enable the grouping of related applications and services so end users can access the entire group with a single click.

Key Features for DevOps Environments

  • One-click access to SSH/RDP and Kubernetes environments, including hosted applications like GitLab, Jenkins, and Jira.
  • Real-time check of user and device security posture before granting access using end-user-visible Banyan TrustScore.
  • Highly secure, automated PKI infrastructure with support for X.509 certificates is maintained by the Banyan Security Platform.