Fast mobile working - without compromising on security

Digital transformation in administration with SINA Workstation S: Modern working in the office and from home, with the highest requirements for data protection and IT security.

Written by Armin Wappenschmidt

Man in blue suit with briefcase in his right hand — Mobile and secure work

Authorities that want or need to provide their employees with mobile workplaces quickly and widely are faced with a dilemma: From the perspective of information security, a large number of measures need to be implemented - which, however, runs counter to rapid implementation. This challenge is intensified for those organizations whose employees regularly handle information that requires a high level of protection or is even classified. In March 2020, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) published a collection of tips for secure mobile working on its website.

In order to implement the necessary security requirements, a large number of components are usually required, each of which must be administered individually. If this exceeds the specified time frame but reducing security is not an option, authorities can fall back on a proven solution: the SINA Workstation S. It is part of the SINA crypto system which secunet developed on behalf of the BSI. For years, SINA Workstation S has been the standard workstation in numerous federal and state authorities, including several federal ministries. Thanks to its mobility and flexibility, it has revolutionized working in public authorities. To date, more than 100,000 devices have already been delivered.

Person taps pin on number field on a monitor — Smart card-based 2-factor authentication

The solution allows existing systems to be easily migrated into the secure SINA environment. Users can then continue to work without restrictions in their familiar environment, for example in MS-Windows, and access the public authority network securely. Thanks to a large number of interlinked security measures such as IPsec-secured VPN connection, hard disk encryption, two-factor authentication and interface control, sensitive data is protected at a high level at all times - regardless of whether the employees are in the office, at home or on the road. The SINA Workstation S can also replace the desktop telephone by enabling secure calls via Voice over IP (VoIP). Automated tools are available for fast rollout and easier administration.

The SINA Workstation S is available in various form factors - desktops, laptops, tablets - all of which are approved for handling classified documents of classification VS-NfD. Depending on requirements, a slim terminal server solution (thin client) is also available as an alternative to the fat client with a full PC workstation. Even slimmer is the purely software-based solution secunet Terminal powered by SINA, which can be installed on any standard Windows PC and enables secure access to terminal servers. Common to all variants is that the user can also work at home or on the road as if he were sitting at his usual office desk - and that without endangering information security.

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Author

Armin Wappenschmidt

Leiter Netzwerk- und Client-Sicherheit

secunet Security Networks AG