IT policy for remote interface connections

[Daniel Lee]

I just wanted to get a feel for where the industry is at.  What are you’re current pollicies on communication protocol outside your organizations network?

In the past our IT department used VPN tunnels so we could easily set up TCP/IP interface just as we currently do.  Now they are backing away from VPN because it exposes our network to an aditional node outside our Firewall.  We are instead putting a lightweight server on their office that they do not have access to and creating a VPN tunnel to it.  We’re also sending SFTP transactions.

What is everyone else doing?

Topic

[Russ Ross]

We have used SSH/SFTP which has performed nicely.

We have also used VPN tunnels which has been a royal pain and not performed all that well.

I would like to get secure courier and see if that would be another viable alternative but so far haven’t got the green light to buy it.

One of my team mates (Jim Kosloskey) started working on an interface to UHC but they shelved it.

He might of been using a HTTP protocol but I’m a little fuzzy on that right now.

I too have become concerned about finding something secure and robust to communicate otuside the 4 walls with.

Russ Ross
RussRoss318@gmail.com

[herm ernst]

Has anyone had further experience in replacing their VPN tunnels?  Here at my hospital we are once again searching for an alternative to VPNs and the exposure it creates to a node outside our network. We use VPNs for our TCP/IP interfaces but are still looking for an elegant alternative to the VPNs they utilize. Have experimented Cloverleaf Secure Courier and also with TLS connections. Neither have proven to be a completely satisfactory replacement due to a variety of reasons.  Any advice would be appreciated!

[Matthew Brophy]

Daniel Lee wrote:

We are instead putting a lightweight server on their office that they do not have access to and creating a VPN tunnel to it.

“server on their office” as in at the client that would have been receiving multiple VPN connections or as in a server in your DMZ (i.e. CSC)?

[Author]

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