The Three Pillars of Secure Remote Support

Pillar 2: Zero Trust & Least Privilege—Drawing Reference from OT/Architecture Needs

The most common security failure in remote access is relying on tools that operate on an outdated model of network trust. Traditional solutions like VPNs and basic RDP portals grant broad access based only on network location or initial login, creating a massive vulnerability that allows for lateral movement—the ability for an attacker to pivot from a single compromised machine to critical assets elsewhere on the network.

VPNs were designed to connect a person to a network, granting an implicit level of trust once inside the perimeter. As Cloudflare notes, VPNs are "not well-suited for least-privilege approaches to authorization," as a successful login often gives the user access to the whole connected network segment. This is the antithesis of Zero Trust. If a support contractor only needs to patch a single server, a traditional VPN may inadvertently give them visibility to the entire data center.

The RemoteCall Solution: Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Least Privilege

Secure remote support must operate on the foundational Zero Trust principle of Least Privilege, ensuring that every user is granted the bare minimum access rights required to perform their specific job function, and nothing more.

RemoteCall implements this through sophisticated Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), fundamentally changing what a support professional can see and where they can go once authenticated.

Granular Authorization:Instead of accessing a network, a technician accesses a specific resource. RemoteCall uses RBAC policies to ensure:

→ Technicians Only See Pre-Authorized Devices: A Tier 1 help desk agent might only see user workstations, while a specialized OT engineer only sees the specific control systems they are authorized to manage.

→ Access is Defined by Role, Not Location: Permissions are based on the user's validated identity and defined role, independent of their physical location or network IP.

→ Just-in-Time (JIT) Access: Access permissions can be granted only for the duration of a session or task, automatically expiring once the work is complete, adhering to the principle of ephemeral access.

Reference Tie-in: OT Environments and the Definitive View

The Zero Trust approach, particularly Least Privilege via RBAC, is not just a best practice for IT; it is critical for Operational Technology (OT) and Critical Infrastructure environments. These systems—which control physical processes like energy, water, and manufacturing—are often the primary targets of sophisticated threat actors.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) guidance emphasizes that for OT systems, organizations must "create and maintain a definitive view of your organization's Operational Technology (OT) architecture" to effectively manage third-party cyber security risks. This definitive view must extend to access permissions.

The ACSC explicitly recommends that remote access solutions for OT environments utilize Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) alongside phishing-resistant MFA to protect critical infrastructure assets. RemoteCall’s inherent RBAC architecture directly addresses this guidance, ensuring:

1. Strict Segmentation (Micro-segmentation): By limiting a technician’s view and control to only their designated endpoint or system, RemoteCall effectively micro-segments the network. An attacker who compromises a single session is immediately contained, preventing lateral movement into more critical OT control systems or SCADA platforms.

2. Explicit Verification: The platform requires explicit verification not only of the user's identity (Pillar 1) but also their authorization (Pillar 2) to interact with that specific asset, thereby eliminating the blanket trust that traditional remote access protocols rely upon.

This strategic application of Zero Trust ensures that when a RemoteCall session begins, the system assumes the network is hostile and the technician is potentially compromised, limiting the blast radius of any potential breach to a single, authorized resource.

Pillar 3: The Definitive Audit Trail—Accountability and Forensics

In a Zero Trust environment, verification is continuous, and every interaction must be recorded. If an incident occurs, the ability to reconstruct the exact sequence of events—what was accessed, what was changed, and who was responsible—is paramount to rapid incident response, regulatory compliance, and post-mortem analysis.

The third pillar of Secure Remote Support is the creation of a definitive, tamper-proof Audit Trail that captures the totality of every remote interaction.

A) Mandatory Session Logging: Video, Text, and Command Capture

Compliance mandates (HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, NIS 2) and best practice security frameworks (NIST, ISO 27001) all require comprehensive logging for systems that handle sensitive data or manage critical operations. RemoteCall's logging capabilities are engineered for forensic quality.

✓ Video Recording: Every remote session is recorded end-to-end as a searchable, high-fidelity video file. This visual record is essential for verifying adherence to procedure and understanding the actions taken by a support agent during a breach investigation.
✓ Text and Command Logging: Beyond video, the platform captures a detailed text log of all activity, including every file transfer, application launch, and, most critically, every command entered into a terminal or command prompt (PowerShell, Bash, etc.). This granular command-line auditing provides irrefutable evidence of administrative actions.
✓ Time-stamping and Metadata: All logs are automatically timestamped and correlated with critical metadata, including the technician's validated identity, the time of access, the endpoint's device health status, and the duration of the session.

B) Monitoring and Control: Real-Time Governance

An audit trail is only effective if it can be monitored in real time and acted upon immediately. Security operations teams require the ability to govern sessions as they occur, not just after the damage is done.

RemoteCall provides administrators and security teams with sophisticated session governance tools:

✓ Real-time Session Monitoring: Authorized administrators can view a live stream of any active remote support session, providing instant visibility into sensitive interactions, whether they involve financial data, proprietary code, or critical industrial control settings.
✓ Enforced Session Timeouts: To mitigate the risk of abandoned, open sessions, RemoteCall enforces automated, policy-driven session timeouts. Idle sessions are suspended or disconnected after a predetermined period, such as the 15-minute standard recommended by the ACSC for jump host sessions.
✓ Administrative Termination: In the event of a suspected policy violation, risky behavior, or confirmed malicious activity, the security administrator has the immediate, unilateral authority to terminate the session instantly, severing the connection and containing the threat before it can spread.

By implementing mandatory, forensically detailed session logging and real-time governance, Pillar 3 ensures that every remote access event is traceable, accountable, and subject to immediate intervention, transforming a high-risk activity into a managed, auditable business process.

Securing the Digital Perimeter with RemoteCall

The perimeter has dissolved, and the threat landscape is defined by stolen credentials and lateral movement. Secure Remote Support is no longer about managing complexity; it’s about establishing absolute trust, verification, and accountability at the point of access.

The RemoteCall architecture is built to meet the demands of this modern, Zero Trust world by delivering these three critical pillars:

1. Identity and Authentication: Mandatory, phishing-resistant MFA and seamless integration with corporate IdPs (SSO/AD/LDAP) to ensure only verified, trusted identities can enter.

2. Zero Trust & Least Privilege: Enforcement of granular Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to limit technicians to only the specific, pre-authorized devices required for their task, preventing dangerous lateral movement and directly addressing the security needs of modern IT and critical Operational Technology (OT) environments.

3. The Definitive Audit Trail: Mandatory, tamper-proof session logging (video and command capture) and real-time administrative controls for continuous monitoring and rapid incident response.

In the era of hybrid work and sophisticated supply chain attacks, relying on outdated remote access protocols is an untenable risk. Secure your digital perimeter, protect your critical infrastructure, and ensure compliance with a platform engineered for resilience.