Critical infrastructure management and control over the remote access and sharing of unstructured data is achieved via a zero trust data access platform to improve security, increase productivity, and simplify file management and control, making it an attractive option for critical infrastructure organizations and businesses of all sizes.
Critical Infrastructure Management Over Remote Access and Sharing Using Zero Trust Architecture
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Unstructured Data Stored by Critical Infrastructure Organizations
Critical infrastructure organizations may store various types of unstructured data, depending on the specific sector and function of the organization. Unstructured data is data that does not have a predefined structure or is not organized in a specific way, such as text documents, images, videos, or audio recordings. Examples of unstructured data that may be stored by critical infrastructure organizations include sensor data, maintenance logs, incident reports, images and videos, emails and other communications, engineering diagrams and plans, project plans, accounting and financial data, customer data, medical files, legal files, social media data and general office files used in everyday activities such as MS Office, Adobe and CAD files.
Critical Infrastructure Management Mechanisms Enabled by a Zero Trust Architecture
A zero trust data access architecture provides mechanisms that provide the IT department of critical infrastructure organizations management and control over the remote access and sharing of their unstructured data. Using a management console, IT can administer users, groups, access and permissions of storage repositories, file sharing and security. Administration capabilities include:
Centralized control
IT departments can centrally manage and control all remote access and file-sharing activities. This includes setting user permissions, creating access policies, monitoring file activity, and revoking access when needed.
Secure remote access
Security protocols protect remote access to files stored on company servers, SharePoint or in cloud storage accounts. This reduces the need for employees to download and store sensitive files on their local devices, thereby reducing the risk of data breaches and cyber-attacks.
Activity Logging
Since all user activities are controlled via the zero trust policy server, IT is provided an activity log of who accessed which files. The activity log can be exported to the organization’s SIEM where it can be used as a data source to flag suspicious behavior and aid in forensic investigation to help identify and respond to potential security risks.
Integration and federation of existing storage investments
The zero trust architecture integrates with and federates existing file storage systems, such as server-attached storage (DAS, SAN) network-attached storage (NAS) devices, SharePoint, OneDrive, Azure, Amazon and Google allowing IT to extend their security controls to the remote access and sharing these systems and provide a consistent security posture across the organization.
User Management
IT can set user permissions and control access to the storage and files they each user can access.
Secure, Controlled Storage and Sharing Management
IT can restrict file sharing of sensitive documents, and control permissions and user access over storage repositories such as view-only, editing not permitted, downloading not permitted, and uploading not permitted.
Decentralized Enforcement
The management console allows IT administrators to provide subsidiaries, partners and supply chains to add their storage repositories and users as siloed tenants while the centralized IT administrator maintains control, visibility and access over all tenants.
Interoperability
It can be integrated with existing investments in IAM, U2F, and SSO as well as your existing storage to minimize disruption and maximize efficiency.
Scalability, Reliability and Performance
A high-availability server cluster ensures that the solution can scale to meet the needs of the organization, is reliable, available to users, has adequate performance and does not slow down or impede user productivity.
Cost Effective
Flat fixed pricing per user with no cost creep, that leverages your existing storage investments, infrastructure and IT resources, and can reduce the use of VPNs and cloud storage.
The Benefits of FileFlex for Critical Infrastructure Management Over Remote Access and Sharing
FileFlex Enterprise is built on a zero trust data access architecture providing administration capabilities of centralized control, secure remote access, activity tracking, integration and federation of existing storage, user management, sharing management, decentralized enforcement, interoperability, scalability and cost-effectiveness. The benefits of FileFlex for IT control over access and sharing of critical infrastructure include:
Improved security
FileFlex Enterprise uses a suite of security protocols to enable remote access to files stored on company servers or in cloud storage accounts. These reduce the risk of data breaches and cyber-attacks.
Reduced Risk of Ransomware
User authentication, micro-segmentation, activity logging, reduced use of attachments virtual data rooms and security features reduce the risk of ransomware.
IT management
IT departments can centrally manage and control remote access and file-sharing activities, including setting user permissions, creating access policies, monitoring file activity, and revoking access when needed. This helps ensure that only authorized personnel have remote access to sensitive data, reducing the risk of data breaches and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
Granular permissions
With FileFlex Enterprise, IT can set granular permissions for individual users or groups, controlling who can access which files and folders, and what they can do with them (view, edit, download, etc.). This also helps to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive data, reducing the risk of data breaches and aiding compliance with regulatory requirements.
Improved productivity
With FileFlex Enterprise, users can access and share files from anywhere, at any time, on any device, without the need for a VPN or other remote access tools. This can save time and improve productivity, as employees can work from anywhere, on any device, without having to transfer files between different platforms or use multiple apps.
Simplified management
FileFlex Enterprise simplifies file management and control for IT departments by integrating with existing file storage systems, such as network-attached storage (NAS) devices, SharePoint, and cloud storage, SSO and IAM investments, and SIEM platforms. This can help to reduce the risk of data breaches and aid compliance with regulatory requirements.
Summary
The Zero Trust Data Access architecture of FileFlex Enterprise provides IT departments with unprecedented IT management and control over the remote access and sharing activities of the unstructured data of critical infrastructure organizations. It helps organizations improve security, increase productivity, and simplify file management and control, making it an attractive option for critical infrastructure organizations and businesses of all sizes.
Tom Ward is the VP of Marketing for Qnext Corp. He is an expert in the technology industry with a history of achievement. Tom holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University.
