Critical infrastructure systems, from power plants and water facilities to manufacturing, transportation, and utilities, rely on remote connectivity for monitoring, maintenance, and vendor support. Yet every new remote connection introduces potential exposure.
As these operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) environments become more connected, organizations face a dual challenge: maintaining the uptime and efficiency that remote access enables, while ensuring that every connection is authenticated, authorized, and auditable.
The question isn’t whether critical infrastructure should allow remote access, but how to enable it securely, with identity verification, least-privilege controls, and full visibility into who is accessing what, when, and for how long.
This article explores what secure remote access means in critical infrastructure, the unique risks it poses, and how a zero-trust, identity-based approach helps safeguard operations without sacrificing productivity.
What’s at Stake When Critical Infrastructure Is Compromised
Critical infrastructure supports essential services that millions of people depend on every day. Power grids, water treatment plants, transportation systems, and manufacturing facilities all rely on operational technology that must remain available and secure. When these systems are exposed through weak or uncontrolled remote access, the consequences can be severe.
1. Large-Scale Disruptions
A single compromised system can create ripple effects across entire regions. An attack on a power grid can lead to widespread outages. A disruption at an airport can halt flights and logistics. A cyber incident targeting a water system can endanger public health. These are not isolated business interruptions; they are large-scale operational breakdowns that affect communities and economies.
2. Economic Consequences
Extended downtime in critical infrastructure can quickly translate into financial loss. Recovery costs, system restoration, and lost productivity can reach into the billions. For organizations that manage public utilities or essential services, these costs are magnified by the impact on customers and dependent industries.
3. Public Safety Risks
When critical infrastructure goes offline, the safety of people can be put at risk. Interruptions to transportation can lead to accidents. Power outages can affect hospitals and emergency response systems. A contaminated water supply can cause long-term harm. The connection between cybersecurity and physical safety is direct and unavoidable.
4. National Security Threats
Adversaries often target critical infrastructure to create instability or gain a strategic advantage. A successful attack can compromise sensitive operational data, disrupt communications, and weaken confidence in essential services. Protecting remote access pathways is a fundamental part of national security.
5. Operational Continuity
Critical infrastructure cannot afford downtime. Continuous availability is essential for public trust and safety. To maintain that continuity, organizations must ensure that every remote connection to their systems is verified, monitored, and secured.
Key Barriers to Secure Remote Access in Critical Infrastructure
Implementing secure remote access for critical infrastructure is not as simple as enabling remote connectivity. These environments are complex, often built on decades of legacy systems and strict operational requirements. OT teams need to ensure that maintenance, monitoring, and vendor support can continue without exposing their systems to unnecessary risk.
Below are the most common barriers organizations face when adopting secure remote access for critical infrastructure:
1. Legacy Systems and Compatibility
Many critical infrastructure networks rely on legacy systems that were not designed with remote connectivity in mind. Upgrading them is difficult because any change to production systems can disrupt essential operations. As a result, these systems may not support modern remote access protocols or security controls, which creates vulnerabilities that must be mitigated with strong identity verification and network segmentation.
2. Separation Between OT and IT
OT environments prioritize availability and safety. IT environments focus on data integrity and confidentiality. Connecting the two safely requires careful planning. Remote access solutions must respect this divide by providing brokered, policy-driven access that does not expose control systems to the broader corporate network.
3. Distributed Sites and Assets
Critical infrastructure often spans multiple facilities and remote sites. These distributed environments create a large attack surface for cybercriminals to exploit. Remote access must allow authorized users to reach systems across many locations while maintaining centralized control, real-time monitoring, and a consistent security policy.
4. Third-Party and Vendor Access
External vendors, contractors, and service providers frequently need third-party access to maintain or troubleshoot systems. Every new connection increases risk if not properly controlled. Organizations need the ability to grant time-limited, role-based access that requires multifactor authentication, device posture checks, and complete session auditing to ensure accountability.
5. Evolving Cyber Threats
Critical infrastructure has become a prime target for advanced, persistent threats. Attackers are well-funded and often use sophisticated methods to infiltrate networks through weak or unmanaged access points. Defending against these attacks requires adopting a zero-trust approach where every connection is continuously verified, monitored, and logged.
Securing remote access for critical infrastructure depends on more than just connectivity. It requires a unified access model that combines identity verification, least-privilege access, and continuous oversight to keep essential systems safe and operational.
How to Enhance Secure Access for Critical Infrastructure Systems with Splashtop Secure Workspace
Operational technology environments require strict security controls, reliable uptime, and full visibility into every remote connection. Splashtop Secure Workspace delivers a zero-trust, identity-based approach to remote access that helps critical infrastructure teams maintain security, compliance, and continuity.
Here’s how Splashtop Secure Workspace supports secure remote access for critical infrastructure:
Identity-Based Access Control: Every user and device must authenticate through single sign-on (SSO) and multifactor authentication (MFA). Access is granted only to approved users with verified identities, helping prevent unauthorized entry and credential abuse.
Least-Privilege and Just-in-Time Access: Administrators can create granular access policies that grant time-limited, task-specific permissions. These permissions automatically expire, ensuring users and contractors only have access when it is needed.
Brokered, Encrypted Connections: Remote sessions are brokered through secure gateways, which means control systems are never directly exposed to the internet. All connections are encrypted, reducing risk across OT and IT environments.
Session Monitoring and Recording: Real-time session oversight allows administrators to view active sessions, record user activity, and receive alerts on unusual behavior. Recorded sessions can be used for auditing, training, and compliance reporting.
Comprehensive Audit Logs: Detailed logs capture every access attempt, connection event, and action taken within a session. This ensures full accountability and supports compliance with security frameworks such as ISO/IEC 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI, and IEC 62443.
Third-Party Access Management: Vendors and contractors can be granted secure, temporary access to specific systems without permanent credentials. Approval workflows, IP restrictions, and device posture checks ensure that only authorized users on trusted devices are permitted.
Fast Deployment and Minimal Downtime: Splashtop Secure Workspace can be deployed quickly, without complex infrastructure changes. Organizations can start securing access across sites and assets within minutes while maintaining operational continuity.
By combining identity verification, least-privilege access, and complete visibility, Splashtop Secure Workspace helps critical infrastructure operators protect remote access points, reduce cyber risk, and ensure continuous, safe operations.
When Armexa, an operational technology company, needed remote access for its distributed infrastructure and critical systems, it chose Splashtop. By using Splashtop for efficient and secure remote access to OT systems, Armexa improved its security, streamlined access, and supported its IT compliance efforts to ensure efficient operational continuity.
Strengthen Critical Infrastructure Access Security with Splashtop Secure Workspace
Securing remote access for critical infrastructure is a complex challenge. It requires protecting operational systems from external threats while ensuring that employees, contractors, and vendors can perform their work efficiently and safely. Splashtop Secure Workspace gives organizations a single platform to achieve both.
With Splashtop Secure Workspace, you can:
Enable identity-based, least-privilege access across OT and IT systems.
Grant Just-in-Time and approval-based access to specific assets and sessions.
Monitor all remote activity with real-time visibility and detailed audit trails.
Maintain compliance alignment with common industry and government frameworks.
Reduce downtime by deploying a secure, zero-trust access layer quickly and easily.
Splashtop Secure Workspace helps critical infrastructure operators stay resilient against evolving threats while keeping operations continuous and secure.
Experience how Splashtop Secure Workspace simplifies secure remote access for critical infrastructure. Start your free trial today.
