Making RDP More Secure

The purpose of this post is to explore common methods for securing internet-accessible Microsoft remote desktop systems (RDP & RDS); explain associated drawbacks or vulnerabilities; and present a simpler and more secure method for remote computer access.

Microsoft recently discovered a serious new security flaw related to its Remote Desktop Protocols (RDP), which is being tracked as CVE-2019-0708. In the security bulletin that Microsoft published about the flaw, it made reference to last year’s WannaCry attack, which swept around the globe and hit older Operating Systems especially hard.

The good news is that Microsoft has already addressed the issue in their latest security patch, and of special interest, the company took the highly unusual step of providing patch protection to older Operating Systems that haven’t had support for years, in hopes of preventing another WannaCry style incident.

Concurrent with this event, the FBI has also recently issued a bulletin, warning that hackers around the world are making increased use of RDP exploits to target businesses with ‘wormable’ attacks. In a nutshell, these are attacks that can execute automatically, with no user input required. Pair this with the recent wormable RDP security flaw, which allows hackers to exploit unpatched RDP pre-authentication, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

All a hacker would have to do is hack your RDP, gain access to one machine on your network remotely, drop the worm into your network, and it would spread like wildfire from there. Given the steep price of data breaches (an average of $3.86 million per incident in 2018 and growing rapidly), this is the kind of threat that all businesses, regardless of size, should take seriously.

If your network is breached, it can cost you more than money. If you are a publicly traded company, you can expect your firm’s stock price to plummet in the days following your announcement and reporting of the attack. How long it takes to recover is anyone’s guess.

On top of that, there’s the loss of reputation to consider. Depending on the severity of the breach, you may find yourself losing customers and even longstanding business relationships, which can have lingering impacts on your business that will be felt long after you fully recover from the breach itself.

Taking RDP security seriously means finding ways to better secure RDP. Therefore, what can be done on that front, in addition to Microsoft’s latest patch? The answer to that question depends on the tools that you choose. While there are several tools on the market to secure RDP, they vary in their cost and complexity.

One off the shelf, simple and robust solution to consider is TruGrid Secure RDP. TruGrid Secure RDP is a proven security solution that offers a number of compelling benefits, including, but not limited to:
• Not requiring any open ports on your firewall for an RDP connection, which is one of the main things that makes RDP vulnerable
• Built-in, fully integrated dark web scanning feature so you’re made aware in something close to real time when stolen credentials appear on the underbelly of the web
• Integrated and mandatory MFA (multi-factor authentication)–also called 2FA, or Two-Factor Authentication–by default, which makes logins more secure
• Obscuring your network so the hackers don’t know that you exist in the first place

Don’t take any chances where securing your company’s network is concerned You can sign up for TruGrid Secure RDP solution for FREE at https://www.trugrid.com/home#Features.

Click here to setup your free trial of TruGrid today and secure your own Microsoft RDS environment.

Reference: How To Secure Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Remote Desktop Services (RDS)