# Case Study: A VPN Alternative for Securing Remote Access to Legacy Applications

- Link: https://www.agilicus.com/case-study/vpn-alternative-for-access-to-legacy-applications/
- Published: 2020-12-24T14:35:40+00:00
- Author: Drew Armstrong

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CASE STUDY

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## VPN Alternative for Securing Remote Access to Legacy Applications

A municipality in Southern Ontario was seeking a method of securing remote access
to legacy applications – responsible for the treasury, billing, and permit functions.
Cyber insurance requirements mandated that all remote access must have multi-factor
authentication and privileged access management. The IT team was challenged with
meeting these new requirements but keeping the user experience simple.

Their current VPN required the addition of two separate solutions for multi-factor
and privileged access management. This was not acceptable due to the added complexity
for their user base and the combined added costs.

[CONTACT](https://www.agilicus.com/contact-us/)

## Objectives

The municipality set out to meet 4 main goals:

[⌊pam-multi-factor-authentication⌉⌊pam-multi-factor-authentication⌉[

Implement multi-factor authentication and privileged access management to achieve
cyber insurance requirements

[⌊third-party-access⌉⌊third-party-access⌉[

Meet budget constraints for buying, implementing, and operating the systems

[⌊role-based-access-controls⌉⌊role-based-access-controls⌉[

Simplify the user experience for a non-technical user base

[⌊weak-vpn-server-security⌉⌊weak-vpn-server-security⌉[

Ensure access to critical application currently not accessible remotely due to the
requirement of a thick client

## Zero Trust Network Access With Agilicus AnyX

The municipality selected Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) with Agilicus AnyX which
comes complete with multi-factor authentication and privileged access enforcement.
The Agilicus AnyX platform provides a Zero Trust and clientless experience for users
to connect to their work securely from anywhere, on any device.

By choosing Agilicus, the municipality was able to leverage ZTNA which pairs their
user specifically to the legacy application rather than to the network. Upon a connection
being made, the user is challenged for a second factor of authentication and admitted
through privileged access management.

The municipality achieved the following results:

[⌊identity-aware-web-application-firewall⌉⌊identity-aware-web-application-firewall⌉[

Simplified access allowing users to connect to legacy application from any device
or location

[⌊cyber-security-policies⌉⌊cyber-security-policies⌉[

Met cyber insurance requirements by seamlessly integrating multi-factor authentication
and privileged access management

[⌊detailed-auditing⌉⌊detailed-auditing⌉[

Enhanced session security achieved via an outbound only connection not visible on
the public internet

[⌊role-based-access-controls⌉⌊role-based-access-controls⌉[

Improved user experience by simply connecting as they would in the office while 
using their existing employee credentials for single sign-on

As a result, the costs and extra steps to connect to a VPN were avoided by the municipality.
This allowed them to achieve their cyber insurance requirements while remaining 
within the limited budget and avoiding added complexity. Deployment was achieved
company wide in under an hour.

## Business Impacts

Through implementing Zero Trust Network Access with Agilicus AnyX, the municipality
achieved secure remote access to their legacy application without the use of a VPN.
The Agilicus AnyX platform provided robust security while remaining light, simple,
and qualifying them for cyber insurance through extra layers of protection. The 
municipality was also able to simplify their administrative process by choosing 
a solution that could be quickly installed without the necessity of network changes
or added hardware.

Since deploying the Agilicus AnyX platform was for securing their legacy application
for remote users, the Muncipality expanded adoption of the platform to enable access
to all city resources for employees whether remote or not. With the ease of bringing
on new users, the municipality was able to improve the security of their entire 
organisation with a frictionless deployment and deliver an invisible IT security
experience for their end users.

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Ready To Learn More?

Agilicus AnyX Zero Trust enables any user, on any device, secure connectivity to
any resource they need—without a client or VPN. Whether that resource is a web application,
a programmable logic controller, or a building management system, Agilicus can secure
it with multi-factor authentication while keeping the user experience simple with
single sign-on.

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