Build a highly secure network with no global IP address and no open ports: what is remote.it?
Mar 23, 2023
As IoT spreads, there is growing demand to access sensors and devices from remote locations to configure them and view information. Industries and uses vary widely, for example remote monitoring and maintenance of factory production equipment, security systems with network cameras, and operating signage systems for restaurant and retail chains with many stores. With the spread of remote work from home and on the go, people can now access company information from outside and work, which reduces constraints of time, distance, and place and is greatly changing how people work.
In work that involves operating devices in remote locations or accessing company systems from outside, information security is a major issue. As access from outside increases, so does the risk that important internal information will be stolen or systems damaged. Remote devices are also connected to networks, so they too may be attacked. With conventional security measures, it has become hard to deal with threats that arise both inside and outside and with the ever-growing number of access routes and amount of traffic.
This is where remote.it (Japanese) draws attention. It is a P2P connection service that enables secure remote access over the internet to devices with private IP addresses. With remote.it, you can build a highly secure network that needs no global IP address and no open ports, without advanced networking skills. This article explains the overview and features of remote.it and examples of its use.
Features of remote.it
remote.it (Japanese) is a remote access service from remot3.it, Inc. of Palo Alto, California, USA. It enables secure connections for any device and communication environment. It is designed on zero trust principles and provides an SDP (software-defined perimeter) using a trusted P2P network.
Existing technologies, such as connections through global IP addresses and open ports like VPNs, and port forwarding, have unavoidable security holes. As a result, the cost of countermeasures against DDoS attacks and other threats cannot be avoided. remote.it needs no global IP address and no open ports (patent pending). It hides ports completely from scans and lets devices establish one-to-one communication over private IP addresses, eliminating security risks that existing technologies cannot avoid.
remote.it is software-based and establishes the remote access path with software alone, so no application changes are needed. It works in any environment, regardless of device or platform, and can be added to existing devices and environments.
No network design is needed other than internet access, and it supports various connection patterns such as P2P and proxy connections. No settings need to change depending on the network environment, so devices can be installed and moved freely, and end-to-end communication can be established even over mobile networks. For operations, you can see the status of all devices in one place on a web portal and run scripts on multiple devices at once, which greatly supports centralized operation.
How remote.it works
A typical firewall lets traffic from inside pass and blocks traffic from outside. Alternatively, as with browsing websites, it lets responses from the destination of outgoing traffic pass.
With remote.it (Japanese), the connecting PC or other device authenticates its account with an application in the cloud run by remot3.it, Inc. and indicates which target device it wants to connect to. The connecting side is then told the global IP address and port number of the gateway nearest the target device. At the same time, the target device is told the global IP address and port number of the gateway nearest the connecting side. When the target device sends information to the connecting side, the connecting side sends its data to the target device as if it were a response to the target device’s packet. As a result, P2P connections can start as long as both sides can connect to the internet through NAPT, without dedicated global IP addresses or open ports on either side.
Examples of remote.it use
remote.it (Japanese) is software-based and works in any environment, regardless of device or platform. It can be used for any communication that needs high security, such as secure communication for network cameras, communication between alarm devices and monitoring centers, communication between payment terminals and intermediate servers, data collection from factory production equipment, remote maintenance of gateway servers, remote work environments, and remote monitoring systems for large plants. Without engineers with advanced networking knowledge and without complex settings, users can easily build highly secure remote access networks at low cost.
For example, consider a surveillance camera system that installs a network camera together with an LTE router with remote.it preinstalled, using an LTE connection from a mobile carrier. Because it uses LTE, the installation location is not limited, and you can use it as soon as it is installed, with no network design or configuration changes. It has no global IP address and no open ports, so there is no risk of the network camera being hacked, and you get high security and confidentiality. Of course, because it is a networked system, you can build a security camera system that lets you view video from your own smartphone, PC, or other device.
For a monitoring system that used a VPN server at the monitoring center and communicated over VPN, replacing it with remote.it removes the global IP address, eliminates network security risks, and reduces management workload and upkeep costs. It can also reduce line costs.
Summary
As new ways of working that do not depend on time, distance, or place increase, information security becomes even more important. We are no longer in an era where strengthening perimeter defenses alone is enough. remote.it (Japanese) lets you build more advanced network security quickly and at low cost, without deep networking knowledge. Use remote.it to achieve remote control of industrial equipment and other devices that was previously hard because of security, technical, or cost issues.
The remote.it service is also explained clearly on the amnimo website below.
You can download a document explaining remote.it below.
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