Thinfinity Secondary Brokers: A Comprehensive Guide to Secure OT Network Access, Zero Trust Security, and Simplified Management

Thinfinity Secondary Brokers - A Technologically Advanced and Secure Alternative for Accessing OT Networks

Executive Summary

Operational Technology (OT) networks are integral to modern industrial operations. Traditional methods of accessing these networks, such as VPNs and jump servers, have become increasingly problematic due to security vulnerabilities and management complexities. Thinfinity Secondary Brokers offer a technologically advanced and secure alternative, providing a comprehensive solution that aligns with the principles of Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and Zero Trust Application Access (ZTAA). This whitepaper provides an in-depth analysis of Thinfinity Secondary Brokers, highlighting their technological innovations, security features, and practical applications in accessing OT networks.

The Challenges of Traditional VPNs and Jump Servers

All-or-Nothing Access

Traditional VPNs provide unrestricted access once authenticated, creating a risk of complete network exposure if credentials are compromised. This all-or-nothing approach lacks granular control, leading to potential security breaches.

Exposure to Vulnerable Protocols

Many industrial protocols lack built-in security, leaving them at risk for exploitation through a VPN. This exposure can lead to unauthorized access and manipulation of critical OT assets.

Complexity and Cumbersome Management

Managing traditional methods often leads to added complexity, such as intricate firewall rulesets, stale accounts on jump servers, and continuous monitoring. These complexities increase the risk of human error and administrative overhead.

Limited Visibility into Remote Activity

Traditional tools often lack end-to-end visibility during remote access sessions, making it difficult to trace back a user's actions. This limited visibility hampers effective monitoring and response to potential security incident

Thinfinity Secondary Brokers: A Technological Overview

Thinfinity Secondary Brokers are specialized components within the Thinfinity architecture designed to offload the Virtualization Server process to target networks. They enable seamless connections without the need to open inbound ports, providing a technologically advanced solution for accessing OT networks.



Secure Alternative to Jump Servers

Secondary Brokers function as a secure jump server to access target IT or OT networks on any private cloud or private data center. Unlike traditional jump servers, they don't require opening any inbound ports, providing an additional layer of control and security.

Application Pool Replacing TS Collections

Secondary Brokers can replace TS collections through the creation of Application Pools. By having multiple Secondary Brokers with the same pool name, a load balancing scenario is created that pools the applications across multiple servers, enhancing efficiency and redundancy.

Zero Trust Security

Adhering to the principles of ZTNA and ZTAA, Secondary Brokers ensure continuous verification and authentication mechanisms. This Zero Trust approach enhances security by never implicitly granting access, even within the network. Continuous authentication ensures that user credentials are verified at regular intervals, providing an ongoing assurance of the user's identity. Network segmentation further enhances security by isolating different parts of the network, ensuring that potential breaches are contained. Thinfinity's approach also allows for user-to-application or user-to-desktop mapping, with time-based access, ensuring that users have access only to the specific resources they need, and only for the duration required.

Simplified Management

One of the standout features of Secondary Brokers is the ease of installation and management. They eliminate the need for complex networking configurations, allowing IT managers to focus on other critical tasks. This simplicity reduces the risk of human error and streamlines administrative processes.

Audit Logs and Analytics

Thinfinity Secondary Brokers provide comprehensive audit logs and analytics, enabling end-to-end monitoring of remote users. These logs capture detailed information about user activities, connection times, accessed resources, and more. The analytics tools offer insights into user behavior and network performance, facilitating proactive monitoring and response. This level of visibility is crucial for compliance, security, and optimization of the remote access environment.

Scalability and Flexibility

The architecture of Secondary Brokers supports scaling according to organizational needs and allows deployment across various networks and locations. This scalability and flexibility provide unparalleled adaptability to changing business requirements, ensuring that the solution can grow and evolve with the organization.

Conclusion

Thinfinity Secondary Brokers represent a significant technological advancement in accessing OT networks. Their role in simplifying network management, enhancing security through Zero Trust principles, and providing flexibility makes them the best and more secure alternative for accessing OT networks.

Organizations looking to adopt a modern, secure, and technologically advanced approach to OT network access would benefit greatly from integrating Secondary Brokers into their existing infrastructure. The shift from traditional methods to Secondary Brokers is not just a technological change but a strategic move towards a more secure and simplified remote application access environment.