Blog post: secure remote access makes remote work a win-win (#2642)

Review & approve

---------

Signed-off-by: Jeff S. <148512665+jefferenced@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Jamil Bou Kheir <jamilbk@users.noreply.github.com>

website/src/app/blog/page.tsx

@@ -19,10 +19,27 @@ export default function Page() {
             Blog
           </h1>
           <p className="text-neutral-900 text-lg sm:text-xl ">
-            Announcements, tutorials, and more from the Firezone team.
+            Announcements, insights, and more from the Firezone team.
           </p>
         </div>
         <div className="grid divide-y">
+          <SummaryCard
+            title="Secure remote access makes remote work a win-win"
+            date="November 17, 2023"
+            href="/blog/secure-access"
+            authorName="Jeff Spencer"
+            authorAvatarSrc={gravatar("jeff@firezone.dev")}
+            type="Insights"
+          >
+            <p>
+              The number of employees working remotely is accelerating, so
+              secure remote access should be a large part of any organization’s
+              cybersecurity strategy. Secure remote access lets remote and
+              hybrid employees work from anywhere in the world, on any device,
+              without compromising your organization’s network, data, and system
+              security.
+            </p>
+          </SummaryCard>
           <SummaryCard
             title="Firezone 1.0"
             date="July 15, 2023"

website/src/app/blog/release-0-5-0/page.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import Image from "next/image";
 import Post from "@/components/Blog/Post";
 import Content from "./readme.mdx";
 import { Metadata } from "next";

website/src/app/blog/release-0-6-0/page.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import Image from "next/image";
 import Post from "@/components/Blog/Post";
 import Content from "./readme.mdx";
 import { Metadata } from "next";

website/src/app/blog/secure-access/page.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import Post from "@/components/Blog/Post";
+import Content from "./readme.mdx";
+import { Metadata } from "next";
+
+export const metadata: Metadata = {
+  title: "Secure remote access • Firezone",
+  description: "Secure remote access makes remote work a win-win",
+};
+
+export default function Page() {
+  return (
+    <Post
+      authorName="Jeff Spencer"
+      authorTitle="Interim Head of Marketing"
+      authorEmail="jeff@firezone.dev"
+      title="Secure remote access makes remote work a win-win"
+      date="2023-11-17"
+    >
+      <Content />
+    </Post>
+  );
+}

website/src/app/blog/secure-access/readme.mdx

@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+The number of employees working remotely is accelerating, so secure remote
+access should be a large part of any organization’s cybersecurity strategy.
+Secure remote access lets remote and hybrid employees work from anywhere in the
+world, on any device, without compromising your organization’s network, data,
+and system security.
+
+In this blog post, we’ll explain what remote access is (even if employees are
+working onsite), why it matters to business leaders and employees alike, and
+lots more.
+
+#### Secure remote access
+
+Secure remote access, in a zero-trust world, is a set of solutions, platforms,
+and policies designed to prevent unauthorized network access and limit the
+potential harm if a malicious individual gets unauthorized access to an
+organization’s network and/or data. Every organization’s approach to secure
+remote access differs based on their needs, but most include a combination of
+strategies — that taken together — reduce their attack surface and prevent
+malicious actors from gaining access to their network.
+
+It’s also useful to keep in mind that secure remote access and
+[remote desktop](https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterprisedesktop/definition/remote-desktop/)
+(RDP) are entirely different concepts. [Firezone](https://www.firezone.dev/)
+provides secure remote access.
+
+#### Benefits of secure remote access
+
+There are many benefits of using a secure remote access solution, including:
+
+**Universal access:** With a secure remote access solution in place, authorized
+users can access a company network, resources, and shared services on any
+supported device. This means employees who are traveling, at home, or working
+from the coffee shop down the street always have access to the resources they
+need to do their job.
+
+**Device protection:** Employees at most organizations use lots of different
+devices — whether it’s email or meetings on a smartphone, writing code on a
+desktop, or reviewing PR’s on a laptop. An effective remote access solution can
+help protect all their devices by securing how they connect to these company
+networks and resources.
+
+**Security awareness:** The shift to remote has given organizations an
+opportunity to review & modernize their security systems and processes, but
+unlike in an office, those changes may be less obvious. Remote access solutions
+are often visible, and can help raise awareness about cybersecurity — reminding
+users that the systems and information they’re accessing may be sensitive.
+
+**Safer browsing:** Not only are employees working remotely, but more of their
+daily workflows include accessing third party services over the internet. Secure
+remote access systems can also help protect employees from common cybersecurity
+threats like malware and phishing attacks.
+
+#### Benefits of remote work
+
+Remote work (made possible by secure remote access, which helps employees get
+their work done safely) benefits everyone:
+
+**Save money:** Securing remote access benefits employees and employers alike,
+with cost savings across the board for supporting remote employees according to
+a Global Workplace Analytics (GWA)
+[report](https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/resources/costs-benefits). This
+report indicates that compared to onsite employees, remote employees save
+thousands per year, and employers save around $10,000 for each remote employee.
+
+**Increase productivity:** Perhaps unintuitively, there are lots of surprising
+productivity improvements related to remote work (working from home). According
+to an aggregated
+[report](https://www.apollotechnical.com/working-from-home-productivity-statistics/)
+by Apollo Technical, remote workers are generally 13% - 77% more productive than
+their in-office counterparts.
+
+**Improve morale:** More than half (55%) of remote employees would prefer to
+work from home at least three days per week, which means remote work is here to
+stay according to
+[PwC’s US Remote Work Survey](https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/business-transformation/library/covid-19-us-remote-work-survey.html).
+Remote work lets employees avoid long and stressful commutes, take better care
+of their families, and exercise more frequently — resulting in improved mental
+health,
+[less stress](https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/exploring-the-impact-of-remote-work-on-mental-health-and-the-workplace/),
+and better
+[work-life balance](https://resources.owllabs.com/blog/remote-work-life-balance).
+
+#### Secure remote access at work
+
+One of the most popular ways to get secure remote access today, is to add
+authentication to existing access solutions (like a VPN). Other solutions
+include
+[zero trust network access](https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/zero-trust-network-access-ztna-/)
+(ZTNA), using an identity provider (IdP) with
+[multi-factor authentication](https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/multi-factor-authentication-mfa)
+(MFA), and
+[software-defined firewalls](https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/understanding-firewalls-home-and-small-office-use).
+The important thing to note is that VPNs (or at least VPN protocols), and ZTNA
+are not mutually exclusive solutions. Organizations can get secure remote access
+using a business [VPN](https://www.firezone.dev/) that adheres to zero trust
+architecture. Secure remote access and ZTNA come together in
+[Firezone](https://www.firezone.dev/) to give your organization better security,
+reliability, and control.
+
+#### Get started with secure remote access
+
+If you’re like most companies, and statistically you are, then you’ve probably
+set up an OpenVPN or WireGuard® server that your employees are connecting to
+with their personal devices (e.g. mobile, laptop, tablets, and more). While
+there’s no single process that works for everyone, and some of these may be part
+of your compliance audit, here are a few steps to get started with secure remote
+access:
+
+- Do a [security audit](https://www.auditboard.com/blog/what-is-security-audit/)
+- Settle on a
+  [security policy](https://www.varonis.com/blog/what-is-a-security-policy), and
+  security processes
+- Restrict sensitive resource access to only those who need it (ZTNA)
+- Train employees on cybersecurity best practices (we recommend
+  [NINJIO](https://ninjio.com/))
+- Use a secure remote access solution like [Firezone](https://www.firezone.dev/)
+- Repeat these steps on a regular basis
+
+#### Challenges of secure remote access
+
+You’ve got lots of choices when it comes to secure remote access, but that also
+means each solution likely comes with its own set of challenges, including:
+
+- Reliable clients on a wide range of platforms like Windows, MacOS, etc.
+- Ensuring devices are secure, and clients are correctly configured
+- Managing user roles, access policies, and permissions
+- Keeping users up to date
+- Logging traffic to help detect and prevent unauthorized access or breaches
+
+When you do choose a secure remote access provider, keeping things like security
+features, reputation, compatibility, scalability, and cost can help you make the
+best choice for your business.
+
+Solutions like [Firezone](https://www.firezone.dev/) take all the guesswork out
+of secure remote access, and provide a great experience for your employees.
+
+#### Get started now
+
+Replace your current VPN with a modern remote access solution that combines the
+best of WireGuard® and ZTNA.
+[Request early access to the beta](https://www.firezone.dev/product/early-access),
+and get started with up to 10 free users.