Help CenterAs organizations increasingly rely on external contractors such as software vendors and support teams to manage critical systems, it's vital to ensure secure access to workstations and servers. Whether these contractors need access to troubleshoot products, provide support, or integrate systems, organizations must safeguard against unauthorized access and potential security risks. AdminByRequest offers a comprehensive solution for managing contractor access with features like multi-factor authentication (MFA), approval workflows, and video session recording.
This article outlines how AdminByRequest enables secure contractor access, whether for workstations or servers, through a dedicated vendor portal, while providing complete visibility and control over their activities.
The Importance of Secure Contractor Access
When granting external contractors access to your organization's internal systems—whether servers or workstations—it's crucial to manage this access carefully. Contractors often require privileged access to perform essential tasks, but giving them unchecked access can expose your organization to risks such as data breaches, system disruptions, or unauthorized changes.
Two common contractor access scenarios are:
- Software Vendors: Needing access to workstations or servers where their software is installed, typically for troubleshooting, patching, or upgrading purposes.
- External Support Teams: Contractors who provide support or integrate software products and need to work across multiple systems to ensure smooth operations.
Ensuring that this access is secure, logged, and monitored is critical to protect your organization while allowing contractors to perform their work effectively.
AdminByRequest Remote Access for Contractors
AdminByRequest provides a secure and controlled approach to managing contractor access through its Remote Access feature. This solution integrates essential security measures such as MFA, approval workflows, and video recording, ensuring all access is monitored and approved through a dedicated vendor portal.
Let’s explore how AdminByRequest facilitates secure access to both workstations and servers:
1. Dedicated Vendor Portal for Access Management
Contractor access begins with a dedicated vendor portal designed specifically to manage external contractor interactions with your systems. This portal acts as a gateway, allowing contractors to request access to specific systems, whether servers or workstations.
- Contractors log into the portal using secure credentials.
- They can submit access requests to the relevant systems, providing clear details of their need for access.
- The portal ensures that all contractor activities are isolated from your internal user environments, maintaining a secure boundary between external and internal systems.
2. Approval-Driven Access Control
Access is not granted automatically. Each contractor access request goes through a rigorous approval process to ensure that only authorized individuals are granted access.
- Access Requests: Contractors submit their access requests through the vendor portal, specifying which system they need to access and the task they are performing.
- MFA for Contractors: To secure the process, contractors must verify their identity using MFA before any request is processed.
- Approval Workflows: Requests are forwarded to designated approvers within the organization, such as system administrators. The approvers can evaluate the request and either grant or deny access, based on the contractor’s role and the sensitivity of the requested system.
3. Secure Access to Servers and Workstations
Once a request is approved, contractors are granted access to the requested system. AdminByRequest ensures that this access is secure and logged, with the following controls:
- MFA for Access: Even after approval, contractors must authenticate themselves using MFA to log into the system.
- Video Recording of Sessions: Every session is recorded in full, creating an auditable trail of the contractor’s activities. This provides transparency, ensuring that any actions taken by the contractor can be reviewed.
4. Advanced Server Access Control
For servers, AdminByRequest includes an extra layer of approval and security:
- Approval for Server Access: Contractors cannot access sensitive servers without explicit approval. Server access is only granted once the designated approver validates the request.
- Video Recording of Server Sessions: All activities on servers are fully recorded, allowing organizations to review and audit contractor actions, which is particularly critical for high-stakes server environments.
5. Workstation Access Control
Contractors who need access to workstations benefit from flexible access options in AdminByRequest. Organizations can choose between two approaches:
- User Approval Access: Contractors request access to a workstation, and access is only granted after explicit approval from the end user of that workstation. This puts the control in the hands of the individual who owns or uses the system.
- Unattended Access Without Approval: In cases where contractors need pre-approved or urgent access, organizations can grant contractors unattended access without requiring end-user approval. This option is useful for time-sensitive or pre-approved activities.
In both scenarios:
- MFA for Access: Contractors must authenticate themselves using MFA before gaining access to the workstation.
- Video Recording and Monitoring: All workstation sessions are fully recorded, providing visibility into the contractor’s actions for post-session review and auditing purposes.
6. Comprehensive Audit and Compliance
AdminByRequest ensures that all contractor activities are logged and recorded, helping organizations stay compliant with internal policies and external regulations. The audit trail includes detailed logs and video recordings, providing full transparency:
- Session Reviews: If any suspicious or unauthorized activities occur, organizations can review the video recordings and logs to investigate the contractor's actions.
- Compliance Reporting: The ability to generate comprehensive reports on contractor activities helps organizations meet regulatory compliance standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS.
Key Benefits of AdminByRequest Remote Access
- Granular Access Control: Contractors only gain access to specific systems after rigorous approval, with options for user approval or unattended access.
- Enhanced Security with MFA: Multi-factor authentication ensures that only authorized individuals can access systems, and access is subject to approval workflows.
- Complete Transparency: Video recordings of all contractor sessions provide an auditable trail, ensuring that all actions are traceable and reviewable.
- Centralized Vendor Portal: The dedicated vendor portal isolates contractor interactions, ensuring that all access requests and activities are managed securely.
Conclusion
Managing contractor access is a critical aspect of modern IT security. By leveraging AdminByRequest Remote Access, organizations can provide contractors with secure, managed access to workstations and servers, complete with MFA, approval workflows, and session recording. Whether contractors need access to servers or workstations, AdminByRequest ensures that all activities are monitored, controlled, and recorded through a secure, centralized vendor portal.
This approach not only protects your organization from potential risks but also provides full visibility into contractor actions, ensuring compliance with both internal and external security policies.