Hopefully you also put your RDG server behind a VPN with MFA, enabled MFA directly on RDG, implemented a least privilege authorization scheme, properly segmented your network, put all RDP-enabled servers behind a properly configured firewall, and centralized logging and alerting. RDG is developed by Microsoft and as such is a common high value target for hackers. RDG (and RDP) are easy to turn on and use, but not easy to properly secure Many of the troubles with RDP and RDG stem from two key factors:

Even when properly implemented, RDG can still be vulnerable to attack. Organizations and their IT professionals must ensure that security and implementation best practices are followed, if the benefits of RDG are to be realized. Implementing RDG alone does not solve any of the previously mentioned risks. It also incorporates (optionally) Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and encrypts RDP traffic using Transport Layer Security (TLS). Introduced in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Home Server, RDG addresses some of these concerns by enabling organizations to keep their RDP endpoint servers behind a firewall by exposing just the RDG server to the internet in order to forward the RDP connections. Microsoft provided a solution to the numerous RDP-related security woes by releasing a service called Remote Desktop Gateway (RDG). We covered in detail many of the reasons that RDP itself presents such a high risk when exposed directly to the internet. The Challenge of Securing Microsoft’s Remote Access Solutionsįor decades, Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) has been used to connect to Windows computers remotely.

Rd gateway mfa