VPNs are primary tools for cybersecurity and hiding your personal information when utilizing the internet. But are they safe?
In a 2023 VPN report, statistics say businesses perform 24% of VPN usage, 29% is for personal use, and 15% is for both business and personal usage.For Usherwood, VPNs are an essential part of business security. With VPNs, your network is cloaked from potential waiting cyber threats when browsing the internet.
VPNs are just as worthy of being a company priority as cyber-insurance or multi-factor authentication. However, some may question what VPNs are typically used for and whether they are generally secure. In this article, we'll highlight all the details of VPNs and why we believe businesses should be more involved in securing their networks with VPNs.
What are VPNs, and What Are They Used For?
A VPN is a virtual private network. It's an encrypted tunnel from point to point on a public network. The primary use for them in businesses is to gain access to internal land infrastructures, such as remote access to an enterprise network. In this case, this would be a client-server-based VPN.
Typically, internal land infrastructures are needed to access certain factors from remote locations, such as servers and specific files. VPNs create a virtual tunnel to allow individuals or businesses to work remotely. Most times, a lot of resources someone may need from their company are available only in the office and the office's network. With VPNs, the materials located on protected infrastructures in a company's home base can be accessed remotely in a secure fashion.
Are VPNs Safe?
As far as security goes, VPNs are generally very secure. Depending on the encryption level and protocols used, they're nearly unbreakable. However, for corporate structures, Cloud VPNs may not be the best. Cloud VPNs are cloud services provided by third parties, the cheaper options of VPN, but less security and speed. A VPN is only as secure as the company or entity providing it because, often, those VPNs connect you to an insecure network in the cloud, and you're opening yourself up to potential hackers.
The cloud blocks all the corporate security for protection to ensure malicious cyber wares don't get past. It allows users in an organization to bypass the policies placed to protect them. So Cloud VPNs are essentially an insecure path teetering on the potential of getting hacked or compromised. It can be terrible news if you get into the wrong one. In the best-case scenario, you won't use an insecure network and can avoid getting caught in a hacker net.
In a corporate environment, users may utilize Cloud VPNs to bypass particular blockages. For example, a user may use a VPN to access Facebook because the company blocks the website. This would defeat the whole purpose of what the organization is trying to do to protect itself. All the layers of security put into place for prevention against potential malicious activity can go to waste if someone opens that door and lets those malicious activities into their workstation.
Weighing the Pros and Cons
Pros
Using a VPN from a reputable provider can promise internet security due to its prominent use of hiding your local IP address. It blocks hackers from accessing your endpoint when utilizing the internet. It essentially is another block of security in your network. As a business, you should already have cybersecurity software and hardware in your infrastructure. VPNs can further back those securities up while helping you maintain a high level of invisibility from potential threats.
Cons
VPNs are only as good as the vendors giving them to you. There are VPNs out there that allow hackers to come across their wire and be capable of going after your network. If you're an end user, chances are you're unfamiliar with technology and, therefore, wouldn't know how to differentiate a shady VPN from a legitimate one. So if you want to add a VPN to your security, consult an IT provider to advise which VPNs you should invest in.
Partnering Cybersecurity and VPNs Together
If you don't have cybersecurity, VPNs are then irrelevant. If a VPN creates a secure walkway from one building to the other, then not having a good defense is like having all your windows open. It may be able to protect people when they're on that walkway, but anybody can get in all the other holes in your system. Strong cyber security and VPN are part of a holistic structure. You can't have one piece and not the other and still be fully protected. Cybersecurity creates the backbone of a business's secure infrastructure and network, while the VPN keeps the IP address hidden while permitting easy access to the network. Having one without the other creates insecurity and difficulty in managing your business when it should be no strenuous task.
We Have the Experts to Help
Usherwood, as a whole, invests a lot of resources into working with vendors that are the marketplace's core. We discuss and invest a lot of time and money into being involved with security organizations leading the worldwide security trend. Going to conferences and learning all the new things that are out to threaten businesses are essential to us and help us build a team of experts knowledgeable of how to help our clients stay protected.
Usherwood turns experience and knowledge into being capable of creating a best-in-class infrastructure for security. We strive to play an active role in defense for our clients. Whether we conduct vulnerability testing on their external and internal networks, create incident responses, or help create easy remote accessibility, our clients' infrastructure security is vital to us.
