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October 21, 2020

Thin Clients for Zero Trust Security - What Is It All About?

Thin Client Zero Trust Security

Zero Trust Security: What is it and are you protected?

There is a new adversary afoot and it is hiding amongst BYODs, remote set-ups, and more...

An Introduction to Zero Trust Security

As if security wasn’t already a big enough concern prior to 2020, we now find ourselves surrendering to the fact that as this year and its global pandemic marches on – more and more breach issues are potentially waiting to attack, lurking in today’s modern computing environments. The enemy at hand is potential lack of security and its consequences due to the rise of remote workforces, BYODs, Cloud applications, and the like. One timely call-to-battlefield action IT Admins are implementing in their organizations is a Zero Trust Security model.

You see, the more standard security perimeter is simply no longer enough – as now, points of access into your organization are more often coming from outside of its physical location(s). Data and applications are flowing into hybrid and Cloud environments, connected to (and as a result of) the remote-working movement. On premise, perimeter-based security architecture with traditional network firewalls and VPNs is just not adequate. Your organization will not be protected with just that and may lose the fight when it comes to security.

Thin Client Zero Trust Security

Thin Clients - Endpoint Devices for Zero Trust Security

In the game of security, Zero Trust takes all! Zero Trust means trust no one and nothing coming in, always assumes breach, and always verifies – no matter where the request originated or what it tries to access. Whether identities, devices, applications, data, infrastructures, or networks, every single access request is strongly authenticated in a Zero Trust architecture. Security protocols are put into place for users based on criteria like identity, time of access, and device behavior. Zero Trust Security architecture is armed to prevent malware, data breaches, and other attacks on sensitive information. Not everyone’s Zero Trust Security model will be the same, but it should extend throughout the entire digital environment with enforced controls and policies for a winning outcome.

As an endpoint vendor, we are here to focus on devices, particularly Thin Clients and Zero Clients, and device management when it comes to your Zero Trust Security model. There are a lot of different endpoint devices out there and some of your organizations may even have a mixture of devices – whether in-office or remote. In today’s remote world with BYODs and at-home working set-ups, these devices are often owned by the employee, not the employer. An unmanaged, un-strategized network configuration will defeat your Zero Trust Security model, leading to unexpected attacks.

Remember, Zero Trust never trusts and always verifies, and that means always verifying every network request. In a Zero Trust strategic approach, the same security policies are applied regardless of whether the device is corporate or personally owned, and whether the device is fully managed by IT or only its apps and data. This applies to all endpoints – whether PC, Mac, tablet, thin/zero clients, smartphones, or IoT devices – wherever they connect, be it the secure corporate network, home broadband, or public internet.

Thin Client Zero Trust Security

10ZiG Endpoints & Management for Zero Trust Security

THIN & ZERO CLIENT HARDWARE

10ZiG endpoints have the ability to support multi-factor authentication for user access and 802.1x for network access. Our endpoint firmware creates the minimum attack surface possible to keep users’ access secure. Users are restricted to working within the confines of the remoting services – remotely configured and nothing more. This includes restricting the ability to install any 3rd party software, both knowingly and unknowingly. The latter, a defense against malicious software.

Furthermore, users are restricted against storing data locally and can very simply be controlled to restrict access to external storage such as USB mass storage on a granular basis. This makes it very simple for compliance where users may be permitted access to mass storage, but only using approved encrypted devices. 10ZiG endpoints connect to the remoting environment via secure SSL based tunnels and additionally, the management plane used to manage and configure the endpoint is secured via SSL. This includes secure tunneling to the endpoint for purpose of shadowing the user’s endpoint and remote session.

CENTRALIZED MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

The 10ZiG Manager™ endpoint management software remotely controls any 10ZiG endpoint running on a 10ZiG OS via one centrally managed and easy-to-use platform. IT Administrators can easily configure, deploy, and manage large volumes of VDI endpoints located in multiple cities across the world – regardless of where the Admin is located. It is equipped with features including Cloud enablement, power management, task-scheduling, automatic configuration, distributed firmware versioning, role-based access, reporting, secure deployment, shadowing, and more.

Our management software has the ability to securely automate push updates, keeping endpoint devices protected without end user intervention. The 10ZiG Manager has the ability of secure remote configuration, including identity verification (authentication mechanisms) and network access control (NAC). Access within The 10ZiG Manager is ACL-driven, to provide only the necessary access to ensure that nobody has more permissions than they should have. And, it is always FREE – with an unlimited number of users or licenses.

10ZiG offers Thin & Zero Clients for VMware, Citrix, and Microsoft, as well as other leading VDI vendors using Linux and Windows 10 IoT based platforms on x86 Intel/AMD hardware. Add in The 10ZiG Manager™ Server, and remote-working for your organization is a success!

We are an endpoint provider that provides top-quality VDI endpoints, enterprise software, service, and warranties. You can reach us at sales@10zig.com or +1 (866) 865-5250 for a no-cost consultation and/or get your FREE demo.