The rise of remote and hybrid work has been a boon for employees, but also a headache for IT security teams. Employees can work while on the go, often from their own devices in BYOD environments, giving unprecedented flexibility and accessibility. However, this means employee devices aren’t always on the corporate network, even though they still need to comply with company security requirements.
If IT can’t verify device status, apply controls, fix issues, and maintain visibility, written policies aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. So, how can companies enforce security policies remotely?
With the right tools, companies can strengthen endpoint security, support compliance efforts, and maintain better visibility across remote work environments. With that in mind, let’s explore the policies IT teams have to enforce, what makes remote devices difficult to manage, and how to enforce security policies across employee endpoints.
What Does It Mean to Remotely Enforce Security Policies?
Remote policy enforcement allows IT to apply and verify security requirements for remote endpoints without physically accessing the devices.
Having a written IT policy is one thing. Enforcing it is another, which requires visibility, automation, proper configurations, remediation, and reporting. This is an ongoing process that should consistently maintain security standards, not a one-time setup.
Common Security Policies IT Teams Need to Enforce on Employee Devices
While individual security needs will vary, there are several universal needs that IT teams will enforce across companies. Common security policies include:
Password and screen lock requirements.
Operating system update requirements.
Third-party application update requirements.
Firewall and antivirus status.
Approved and/or blocked software applications.
Device inventory and ownership status.
Remote access permissions.
Encryption and data protection settings.
User access and least privilege controls.
Wi-Fi, VPN, and proxy settings (when applicable).
Why Remote Employee Devices Are Harder to Keep Compliant
There are several factors that contribute to the operational challenges, especially when compared to in-office devices, including:
1. IT Has Less Direct Access to Each Device
When employees work on the go, their endpoints are often disconnected from the corporate network. This means it’s harder for IT teams to access them as needed, and they may miss maintenance windows, making manual checks challenging and unreliable.
2 . Device Status Can Change Between Checks
IT compliance is not a static condition. Devices can become outdated, miss patches, change settings, install unauthorized software, or otherwise fall out of compliance. As such, continuous visibility is essential to ensure compliance is maintained at all times, rather than relying on point-in-time audits.
3. Manual Follow-Up Does Not Scale
When you need to manage multiple remote endpoints, expecting employees to manually update and manage their devices is unreliable at best. Sending reminder emails and manually tracking issues leads to inconsistent enforcement and risks human error; the key is to use tools that reliably scale with repeatable processes.
4. Different Tools May Handle Different Parts of the Workflow
Organizations often use several tools in their workflows, including Mobile Device Management (MDM), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM), antivirus software, remote support, and patch management software. However, getting them to work together can be a challenge. IT agents must be able to identify issues and act quickly, so using a unified platform can help reduce complexity and improve responsiveness.
How to Remotely Enforce Security Policies on Employee Devices
If you want to enforce security across remote employee devices, it can be done, but there are a few key steps to follow. Follow these steps to create a more consistent, repeatable approach to enforcing security policies across remote endpoints:
1. Inventory Every Managed Endpoint
IT teams need to know what devices they need to manage before they can enforce policies. This means an up-to-date inventory is essential, preferably with automatic inventory updates. This should include device ownership, OS version, installed software, user assignment, location, and management status to facilitate sorting and management.
2. Define Security Baselines
Once the devices are all known, it’s also important to establish their security baselines. These should translate company requirements into enforceable settings, including patch status, approved software, firewall status, access requirements, and so forth.
3. Apply Policies Through Endpoint Management Tools
Once policies are defined, they also need to be applied from a central location rather than left to end users. Tools such as MDM or RMM software, Microsoft Intune, and endpoint management tools can help enforce security policies across endpoints.
4. Monitor Compliance Continuously
IT teams should be able to see which devices are compliant, which are out of compliance, and why. This is best done through centralized dashboards, automated alerts, reporting, and device-level status information.
5. Patch Operating Systems and Third-Party Applications
Patching is one of the most important aspects of endpoint policy enforcement. Devices across your endpoint environment must remain up to date, as outdated software risks exposing vulnerabilities. Patching should include both operating systems and third-party applications to support security requirements, reduce avoidable exposure, and maintain audit readiness.
6. Automate Remediation for Common Issues
Automation is a powerful tool for keeping devices secure without requiring manual work. With good automation, you can automatically perform common tasks, including triggering updates, restarting services or devices, running scripts, applying changes, and so on, thereby maintaining security while freeing up agents.
7. Use Remote Support When Automation Is Not Enough
If automation alone isn’t enough for certain endpoints or issues, remote support software helps technicians investigate problems, troubleshoot devices, and apply fixes from anywhere. This makes support faster and more readily accessible, no matter where the agents are.
8. Keep Records for Audits and Reviews
Enforcement should include evidence that supports audits, reviews, and compliance reporting. This can include logs, patch status reports, inventory reports, and policy results, all of which help IT teams show what was checked, what was changed, and what needs attention, and demonstrate commitment to security.
Where MDM, UEM, Intune, and Endpoint Management Fit
Now let’s look at some tools commonly used to enforce device security. There are several ways that IT teams can manage device security remotely, including:
MDM and UEM Tools
Mobile Device Management and Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) tools are commonly used to enroll devices, apply configuration policies, manage mobile devices, and enforce access requirements. This makes them helpful tools for managing inventories and enforcing security, so they’re good baselines for remote security.
Microsoft Intune
For Microsoft-centric environments, Microsoft Intune is a widely used endpoint management tool. It can help apply security policies, manage device compliance, and support conditional access, although teams may still need additional tools for faster patching, deeper endpoint visibility, and remote remediation.
Endpoint Management and Remote Support Tools
With endpoint management and remote support tools, IT teams can maintain visibility, patch devices, and troubleshoot endpoints from anywhere. Using software like Splashtop AEM (Autonomous Endpoint Management), IT teams can define and enforce policies across endpoints, with automatic inventory, patching, and alerts to maintain cybersecurity.
How Splashtop AEM Helps Enforce Endpoint Security Policies
When employee devices are spread across locations, Splashtop AEM helps IT teams centralize visibility, automate patching, and take remote remediation actions from one place. This helps make policy enforcement more consistent across distributed endpoint environments.
With Splashtop AEM, you can:
1. See Endpoint Status from One Place
Splashtop AEM empowers IT teams to monitor their endpoints and inventory from a single console, including endpoint health, inventory, patch status, and security posture. This provides the visibility that IT teams need to manage devices and enforce security across endpoints.
2. Patch Devices in Real Time
Splashtop AEM’s automated patch management helps IT teams update operating systems and third-party applications across devices, without needing users to manually install them. With it, IT teams can keep endpoints patched and up to date, thus enforcing policies across devices while adhering to patching schedules.
3. Identify and Prioritize Vulnerabilities
With Splashtop AEM’s CVE-based insights, IT teams can better understand the vulnerabilities affecting their environment and prioritize which to remediate. This helps organizations prioritize remediation work and support security and compliance workflows with clearer vulnerability context.
4. Automate Remediation Workflows
Splashtop AEM brings the power of automation to IT teams, making workflows faster and more efficient. This includes policy-based automation, alerts, scripting, and remediation actions, designed to fix common issues across endpoints. This reduces repetitive manual work and helps enforce policies and settings across distributed environments.
5. Support Devices Remotely When Issues Require Investigation
When automation isn’t quite enough, Splashtop also provides remote access and support, allowing IT agents to troubleshoot devices directly from anywhere. With Splashtop, it’s easy to access and manage remote endpoints across devices, improving troubleshooting and IT workflows.
Best Practices for Building a Repeatable Policy Enforcement Workflow
While there are several factors and variables to consider, we’ve compiled a list of best practices for cybersecurity enforcement. Best practices include:
Start with the policies that manage the greatest risks.
Use device groups to apply policies by role, department, or risk level.
Continuously monitor policy results, rather than relying on periodic checks.
Automate common fixes for situations where the remediation path is clear.
Keep users out of routine enforcement (wherever possible) so IT can handle it.
Review failed actions and recurring issues to identify what went wrong and improve the workflow.
Maintain logs and reports to demonstrate IT compliance and maintain audit readiness.
Revisit policies as devices, applications, and work models change.
Enforce Security Policies Across Remote Devices with Splashtop AEM
Remote security policy enforcement can be challenging without the right tools, and written policies are only useful when they can be consistently applied across endpoints. This requires visibility, robust automation, patch management, reporting, and more.
With Splashtop AEM, IT teams can simplify endpoint management with real-time patching, CVE-based security insights, endpoint inventory, alerts, and remote remediation. This helps teams manage remote devices more consistently, reduce manual enforcement work, and strengthen endpoint security and audit readiness.
Ready to enforce device security across your endpoints with automation, insights, and remote remediation? Get started with a free trial of Splashtop AEM today.
