Reduce risk by finding every internet-reachable VPN gateway and application delivery appliance, removing public access that is not operationally necessary, and hardening the devices that must stay reachable. For those remaining, restrict exposed services and management paths, keep software supported and patched, require phishing-resistant multifactor authentication for access, and monitor logs and traffic. The exact settings depend on the appliance, vendor guidance, and the services it supports.
1. Find and verify what is exposed
Start with an inventory of appliances that can be reached from the internet. Record each device’s owner, business purpose, public address or hostname, exposed services, software or firmware version, support status, and management path. Include application delivery devices as well as VPN gateways: the risk-reduction principles apply to internet-facing edge appliances, but product-specific hardening instructions differ.
Use external scanning or asset-discovery services to identify possible exposures, then reconcile the results with internal inventories and system owners. A scan can reveal an unknown or forgotten endpoint, but do not assume any one discovery platform finds every asset or confirms ownership. CISA lists Thingful, Censys, Shodan, and Shadowserver as discovery resources and says that inclusion is not an endorsement. CISA also describes its Cyber Hygiene Services as free vulnerability scanning in its Internet Exposure Reduction Guidance, published June 4, 2025.
What to record for each appliance
- Who owns it, what business function depends on it, and whether external access is still required.
- Which ports, protocols, and services are reachable from outside.
- The current software or firmware release, vendor support status, and applicable security advisories.
- How administrators reach its management interface and which internal systems it can reach.
- Whether it supports remote access to operational technology (OT), production systems, or other sensitive environments.
2. Remove public access that is not needed
For each exposed service, establish whether there is a current operational need for it to be reachable from the public internet. If not, remove that exposure or restrict access through an approved network path. Check dependencies and coordinate changes with system owners before changing access, so that reducing exposure does not interrupt an essential service. CISA’s exposure-reduction guidance recommends identifying internet-accessible assets and removing exposure when there is no operational need.
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If external access is required, document why, who needs it, and how it is controlled. Limit the appliance’s externally reachable ports, protocols, and features to those required for that function. Do not use a universal port list or copy settings from another product: the correct configuration depends on the appliance and its deployment. CISA specifically advises limiting VPN-gateway exposure and exposing only necessary ports and protocols in its Enhanced Visibility and Hardening Guidance for Communications Infrastructure.
3. Keep the appliance supported, patched, and hardened
Follow the vendor’s current hardening instructions and security advisories for the exact appliance and software release. Apply security updates promptly, change default credentials, and disable unused services, features, and accounts. Monitor vendor vulnerability and end-of-life announcements; replace devices that no longer receive security updates rather than leaving them in service without a supported remediation path.
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There is no single patch interval, firmware version, or cryptographic configuration that fits every vendor and exposure. Use the applicable vendor advisory and organizational change process to determine urgency, validate dependencies, and schedule deployment. CISA’s communications-infrastructure guidance covers prompt patching, strong cryptography, and disabling unused VPN features; the NSA’s February 4, 2025 summary of joint edge-device guidance also emphasizes knowing the edge, hardening and patching devices, disabling unneeded features and ports, and securing management interfaces.
4. Isolate administration and limit what the appliance can reach
Do not manage network appliances from the public internet. Restrict administration to trusted networks and, where feasible, dedicated administrative workstations. Use monitored jump hosts when appropriate, and separate the management path from ordinary user access.
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Place exposed appliances in a network segment or DMZ designed for their role. Apply segmentation and default-deny access controls so that a compromised edge device cannot freely reach user, server, or OT networks. Permit only the internal destinations and flows the appliance needs to perform its documented function. Review those rules against the actual architecture rather than assuming a particular network layout.
5. Strengthen access and monitor activity
Require phishing-resistant multifactor authentication (MFA) for accounts accessing the appliance and the systems behind it, especially for administrators. CISA gives hardware-based PKI and FIDO authentication as examples. Select an authentication method compatible with the organization’s identity provider and the appliance’s access path; a security key alone does not establish compatibility.
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- Use least privilege for administrative and remote-access accounts.
- Review accounts regularly and remove dormant or unnecessary accounts.
- Centralize appliance logs so security staff can correlate access with activity elsewhere in the environment.
- Monitor ingress and egress traffic and investigate unexpected access, destinations, or patterns.
These controls complement exposure reduction; they do not make an unnecessary public service safe to leave exposed. CISA recommends MFA where possible, monitoring traffic, and routine exposure assessment in its June 4, 2025 guidance. In a February 2025 NSA statement, cybersecurity vulnerability analysis subject matter expert Eric Chudow said: “Edge devices act as boundaries between organizations’ internal enterprise networks and the Internet; if left unsecured, even unskilled malicious cyber actors have an easier time finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in their software or configurations,” as quoted in the NSA release.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.6. Treat OT remote access as a scoped case
If a VPN or application delivery appliance enables remote access to operational technology, first assess whether that access can be provided without exposing OT assets to the public internet. For essential OT remote access, CISA recommends private IP connectivity to remove OT assets from the public internet. Secure any remaining remote access with VPN, strong passwords, phishing-resistant MFA, least privilege, and removal of dormant accounts, as described in its Primary Mitigations to Reduce Cyber Threats to Operational Technology fact sheet, marked May 6, 2025.
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7. Reassess the remote-access design and repeat the work
Traditional VPN access may be appropriate for some environments, but it should be assessed for its configuration and risks rather than treated as a default answer. CISA’s June 18, 2024 announcement on modern network-access security names Zero Trust, Secure Service Edge (SSE), and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) as approaches organizations should understand. These are strategic options, not universal replacements; compare them against operational needs, integration requirements, security controls, and implementation complexity.
Repeat the exposure assessment routinely and after changes such as new deployments, network redesigns, acquisitions, or vendor support changes. Assign an owner to review discovered assets, confirm business need, verify patch and support status, and resolve unexpected public reachability. CISA’s guidance calls for routine exposure assessment; it does not prescribe one cadence for every organization.
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