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Remote Work » RDP Security and Password Management

RDP security and password management

Remote administration has become the norm for IT administrators today as organizations increasingly adopt remote work. The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) in Windows is the go to tool for it. This tool enables administrators to connect to remote users’ desktops for administration activities, and troubleshooting. It is essential remote desktop connections are secured since they almost always have elevated privileges to perform administration tasks and are mostly internet-facing, making them vulnerable to security attacks.

Passwords are the first line of defense for securing remote desktop connections. A compromised password could result in a malicious party establishing a remote connection, and then invading the entire network. However, the Active Directory (AD) domain password policy neither has strong password policy settings nor the flexibility to apply different levels of password complexity for users with different levels of privilege.

Improving RDP security with strong password rules and multi-factor authentication (MFA)

ADSelfService Plus, an integrated self-service password management and single sign-on solution, can be used to enable strong password complexity rules for AD users, and enable MFA for both local and remote desktop logons.

  1. Custom password policy enforcer: Prevent users from setting weak and breached passwords for their accounts through dictionary rule, and Have I Been Pwned? integration.
  2. OU and group-based password policies: Create multiple password policies and assign them based on OUs and groups.
  3. RDP MFA: Add an extra layer of security to user accounts by enabling YubiKey, biometric, Google Authenticator, and other strong authentication methods for local and remote desktop logons to Windows, Linux, and Mac endpoints.

Simplify password management with ADSelfService Plus.

Self-service password management and single sign-on solution

ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus is an integrated self-service password management and single sign-on solution for Active Directory and cloud apps. Ensure endpoint security with stringent authentication controls including biometrics and advanced password policy controls.