Glossary

Remote Access Compliance

Compliance and Regulations

What is Remote Access Compliance?

Remote access compliance refers to the set of regulatory, security, and operational requirements that govern how users, whether internal employees, contractors, or third parties, connect to systems and networks from outside the organization’s physical or logical perimeter. These requirements ensure that remote access is controlled, auditable, and aligned with risk-based cybersecurity policies across IT, OT, and hybrid environments.

Why is Remote Access Compliance Important?

Remote access introduces unique risks, especially in critical infrastructure sectors where remote connectivity can impact physical safety, operational continuity, and regulatory status. Uncontrolled or poorly monitored remote access can expose organizations to unauthorized activity, insider threats, supply chain vulnerabilities, and audit failures.

Traditional solutions such as VPNs, jump servers, or remote desktop tools without auditing often lack granular access controls, session visibility, or policy enforcement, making them insufficient for meeting compliance standards like NERC CIP-005, IEC 62443-3-3, TSA SD02E, NIS2, and NIST 800-53. These frameworks require documented, technical safeguards to govern secure remote connectivity, including:

Authentication and authorization controls (e.g., MFA, RBAC).
Session logging and auditing.
Protocol segmentation or isolation.
Time-based or just-in-time access.
Access approval workflows and revocation policies.

Achieving remote access compliance is essential for avoiding penalties, ensuring operational resilience, and maintaining trust with regulators, stakeholders, and customers.

How Does Xona Help with Remote Access Compliance?

Xona enables secure, compliant remote access by enforcing access policies that align with regulatory standards across IT and OT environments. Through its hardened access gateway, Xona isolates protocols like RDP, VNC, SSH, and WEB, within browser-based sessions, eliminating the need for VPNs or jump servers and minimizing attack surface.

The platform supports multi-factor authentication, credential injection, session recording, and role- and time-based access, ensuring that every remote connection is tightly controlled, monitored, and fully auditable. All activity is logged and exportable to SIEM or compliance systems for streamlined audit readiness.

Xona helps organizations meet the full scope of remote access compliance requirements without compromising usability, operational continuity, or system integrity.

Frequently Asked Questions

What regulations govern remote access compliance for critical infrastructure?

Key regulations include NERC CIP, IEC 62443, TSA SD02E, NIS2, and NIST 800-53, all of which require secure remote access controls such as MFA, logging, session auditing, and protocol isolation.

Why are VPNs and jump servers often non-compliant with modern remote access standards?

Legacy tools like VPNs and jump servers typically lack session-level controls, auditing, protocol isolation, and dynamic access enforcement, all of which are requirements mandated by remote access compliance frameworks.

What are the essential components of a remote access compliance program?

A compliant program should include multi-factor authentication, role-based access control, session recording, protocol isolation, just-in-time access, and documented approval and revocation workflows.

How does Xona support secure, compliant remote access for OT systems?

Xona enables browser-based remote sessions through protocol isolation for RDP, SSH, VNC, and WEB, enforces MFA and time-based access, and captures all session activity for audit reporting, thereby meeting the needs of OT and IT compliance alike.

Can Xona replace VPNs and jump servers to help meet remote access compliance mandates?

Yes, Xona replaces VPNs and jump servers with a browser-based, protocol-isolated access platform that offers granular control and full visibility, reducing attack surfaces and aligning with modern compliance mandates.

How does Xona simplify audit preparation for remote access compliance?

Xona automatically logs every remote session, including metadata and optional video recordings, which can be exported to SIEM or GRC tools to streamline audit readiness and reduce manual reporting burdens.