Telework Exchange

Recognizing the potential risk that remote access work arrangements can present for Federal organizations, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in June released a new set of guidelines to help agencies more effectively secure a variety of telework and remote access technologies.

NIST Special Publication 800-46, "Guide to Enterprise Telework and Remote Access Security," is intended to assist Federal agencies in mitigating the vulnerabilities and threats associated with enterprise technologies used for telework, including remote access services; telework client devices, such as laptops and storage devices; and remote access communications.

The publication recommends that agencies take a number of key steps, including the following:

• Define within the telework security policy which forms of remote access the organization permits, which types of telework devices are permitted to use each form of remote access, what type of access each type of teleworker is granted, and how user account provisioning should be handled
• Document the security aspects of telework and remote access solution design in the system security plan
• Periodically reassess policies for telework devices (based on cost considerations and whether or not sensitive data is being used). Consider changing which types of client devices are permitted and what levels of access teleworkers using those devices may be granted
• Regularly perform operational processes to maintain telework and remote access security, such as deploying updates, verifying clock synchronization, and detecting and documenting anomalies within the remote access infrastructure
• Periodically perform assessments to confirm that the organization’s remote access policies, processes, and procedures are being followed properly
• Put in place a policy that ensures that all telework client devices, remote access servers, and storage devices are scrubbed of all sensitive data

To download a copy of NIST Special Publication 800-46, visit http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-46-rev1/sp800-46r1.pdf.