How Wirelab Ditched Shared Credentials and Leveled Up Security with Border0

Wirelab, a full-service digital agency in the Netherlands, delivers branding, marketing, UX/UI, and development services to a diverse range of clients. With a technical team responsible for over a decade’s worth of websites and web apps, they faced mounting challenges in managing infrastructure access securely and efficiently especially as their team scaled and evolved.

‍

The Challenge: Shared Access and No Real Offboarding

Wirelab’s development team of eight manages a large and growing portfolio of client environments. With a mix of shared servers, dedicated machines, and managed Kubernetes clusters, traditional access control methods were no longer sustainable.
‍

Before Border0, access was managed via shared credentials stored in 1Password. While this method granted engineers access, it lacked auditability and control. When an employee left the company, there was no guarantee that credentials hadn’t been copied to a personal environment.
‍

"It worked, until it didn’t. There was no reliable way to revoke access, and that posed a serious risk."
Technical Lead, Wirelab

The Search for a Smarter Solution

The team was already moving towards centralizing authentication via Google Workspace SSO for other services. However, the major gap remained: SSH and database access.

After researching solutions, including Auth0’s SSH integration, the Wirelab team found Border0 through a search for "SSO SSH access." Border0 stood out immediately:
‍

• No need for root access or low-level PAM integration.
  
  
• Lightweight deployment via a server-side daemon.
  
  
• Ideal for their environment especially since they don’t directly manage server infrastructure.
  ‍

“We don’t get root access on our hosted servers, so Border0’s drop-in daemon approach was exactly what we needed.”

Implementation: Quick, with Solid Support

Rolling out Border0 was straightforward on dedicated and shared servers. The only complexity came with their Kubernetes environments, which required cooperation from their hosting provider.
‍

Even then, the Border0 team provided direct support and helped explore alternatives. Ultimately, Wirelab’s preferred setup worked perfectly.

Impact: Better UX for Engineers, Stronger Security for the Org

Border0 immediately improved visibility and control without adding friction. “Both the CLI and client portals are really easy to use, and make it much easier to find and get access to the environments we need.”

‍

Senior developers use the CLI with fast search and even custom TablePlus integration added “within a few days” at the team’s request while junior engineers stick with the browser-based portal.

‍

The access request feature, initially overlooked, quickly became essential. “We were able to restrict access to production environments to only 2 engineers... interns have no access at all, but can also request access as needed.” Project managers, while not technical users themselves, were added to Border0 just to approve urgent access in emergencies.

‍

Results: Streamlined, Centralized, Secure

The team now manages over one hundred active Border0 sockets, replacing the previous sprawl of 150 credentials in 1Password. “It used to be really difficult to find what you needed, and Border0 really made that much easier.”

Final Word: A No-Brainer for Agencies

“Further improving our security stack has been a major focus for us over the past few years. Border0 fits in well with this progress. It enables us to improve security, while also making our daily work easier. That’s a rare combination to see.”

‍

Wirelab's advice for others? “I would definitely recommend Border0 to other agencies... the combination of ease of use and level of control that Border0 offers makes it a pretty unique solution.”