Protecting Remote and Roaming Clients

The conditions surrounding the 2020 pandemic have shifted many people, especially those in IT, toward remote working models. More and more people use their home broadband or public Wi-Fi for work. There are also various groups of digital nomads who constantly travel while working remotely.
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The biggest cyber security threat for companies is neither ransomware nor spam. Rather, it is human error that constitutes the most significant threat factor for corporate networks. This becomes all the more important considering that remote working exposes corporate networks to far more cyber security threats than working in an office environment.
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First, employees must connect to the office network via a VPN to ensure security. Connecting to the corporate network via a VPN is not a sufficient security measure as it depends on an individual’s discretion. The remote employee may also forget or choose not to connect to the VPN, or the device may be used by an unauthorised person, e.g. child, spouse, friend, etc. However, even if employees use a VPN meticulously for business purposes, they may use their company-issued computers for personal reasons untroubled by not being physically present in an office. In this case, they might deliberately refuse to connect to a VPN.

Public networks are another reason why remote working is more dangerous than working from a corporate network. Unauthorised individuals can gain access to files on network-connected devices or steal information using methods such as “man-in-the-middle” and “evil twin” attacks, or other sniffing techniques that can be used to monitor incoming and outgoing packages. In addition to these risks, if the remote personnel’s computer becomes infected it will go unnoticed by the employee and the company, causing potential damage given the company’s inability to monitor and analyse the remote user’s traffic unless connected to a VPN.

DNSSense’s “Roaming Client” module is a feature of the cloud-based DNSDome solution that provides DNS-layer protection and DNS traffic analysis on the device on which it is installed, regardless of the network being connected. Roaming Client is the ideal solution for avoiding the risks associated with remote working previously mentioned. With DNSSense’s Roaming Client, cyber security threat protection and monitoring continue outside the office as if the device were in the office. Remote workers can now securely connect to the Internet at home or on public networks (cafes, airports, hotels) even when they are not connected to a VPN, thanks to the Roaming Client module.

Roaming Client’s features include:

• Protecting employees even when they are not connected to a VPN,
• Deployment in less than 10 minutes,
• Encrypting DNS traffic using a method developed by DNSSense; thus not having the drawbacks associated with DoH (DNS over HTTPS),
• Remote and easy manageability via the portal,
• Kernel-level protection that prevents Roaming Client from being stopped or uninstalled without authorisation,
• Ability to monitor traffic instantly with a maximum delay of 2 seconds from anywhere in the world,
• Ability to implement machine-based policies for monitoring and control,
• Supporting iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS operating systems.