The connection is locked until you prove who you are

Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP) for Remote Desktops is the fastest way to secure access without relying on fragile VPN tunnels or perimeter-based trust. It forces every session to authenticate through an identity check before a single packet reaches the desktop. This approach blocks unauthorized access, reduces attack surface, and gives you fine-grained control over who can connect, when, and how.

IAP works by intercepting traffic between the client and the remote desktop host. It uses strong identity verification, often integrated with SSO, MFA, and role-based access policies. Once identity is confirmed, the proxy tunnels the session through HTTPS, adding TLS encryption to every stream. This means no open ports exposed to the public internet, no broad network access for anyone who passes a weak VPN check, and no hidden lateral movement inside your environment.

For engineering teams, Identity-Aware Proxy Remote Desktops solve three problems at once: secure onboarding for new users, safe remote work for distributed teams, and compliance-ready logging for every session. You can grant granular access to specific desktops or applications, instead of full network rights. Because the proxy enforces authentication at the application edge, permissions remain tight even under constant change.

Unlike traditional remote desktop gateways, IAP integrates with cloud-native infrastructure. It is built to scale with ephemeral instances, containerized apps, and hybrid deployments. Policies can be updated instantly, applied across regions, and tied into CI/CD pipelines for rapid iteration without sacrificing security. Centralized auditing makes session records easy to search and export for incident response or regulatory review.

Running remote desktops behind an identity-aware proxy allows you to apply Zero Trust principles without rewriting existing apps. You simply deploy the proxy, connect it to your identity provider, and define the rules. The desktops remain invisible until the correct identity passes through.

See it live in minutes: deploy secure Identity-Aware Proxy Remote Desktops with hoop.dev and lock down your access the right way.