Find out what the business benefits of a virtual private network are and how it works.
We’re becoming more and more reliant on the internet and, as we do, securing the information we receive and send becomes even more important – that’s where VPN’s come in. But what is a VPN?
What is a VPN?
A VPN is also known as a virtual private network and it’s simply a super secure way of sharing information between devices. The difference with a VPN is that it allows you to be as secure on an open public network as you would be on a private one. Think of it like a tunnel running between your device and a server but it’s only accessible by you and your workers – it makes communicating between the two as secure as you would be if you were on a private network.
VPNs usage by businesses, allows remote workers to securely access central systems. There are also several public VPN services that are increasingly popular with users wanting a more secure way of connecting to the internet. Remote access is the most common use for VPNs but site to site communication and to connecting two different locations together are also popular uses.
Security and privacy
Using a VPN doesn’t make communication anonymous, but it does make it possible to substantially increase security and privacy. However, using one means that if data packets are intercepted, the hacker would only see encrypted data. VPNs also come with sender authentication which prevents unauthorised access and gives you control of message integrity to prevent data being tampered with in transit.
Before a VPN can be established, the tunnel endpoints must be authenticated but remote access VPNs can use a number of methods to do this. The most common way is a password but you can use biometrics or two-factor authentication as well.
Although VPNs are in use by businesses, there’s an increasing number of individuals using them to safeguard privacy. Signing up to a public VPN service allows an individual to secure their communications to and from the internet and they can also be used to connect to proxy servers so they can mask their individual identity and location.
Utilising it in this way allows users to get around geographic restrictions too. However, some websites choose to block access to known VPN technology to prevent the circumvention of these restrictions.
How to set up a VPN
Setting up a VPN can be relatively easy for businesses and individuals. There are several online services that will provide a VPN connection to the internet but, for businesses, it’s slightly different.
For the most secure, robust option, businesses may opt to purchase a VPN server system to guarantee a secure, private connection.
Business benefits
VPNs are popular with businesses for multiple reasons. However, the main reason is that VPNs allow employees to securely access a corporate intranet system whilst working away from the office. This makes VPNs a great choice for businesses that have staff in the field or people working from home. These users are then able to connect to the corporate intranet wherever they are but with added security benefits.
A VPN can also be used to connect offices or sites together, creating a single network for every user. When using mobile, this also allows for roaming seamlessly between WiFi and cellular networks without the secure connection dropping out.
VPN limitations
Although there are plenty of benefits to utilising a VPN, they do have some drawbacks.
Firstly, it’s important to understand exactly what a VPN can do and what level of protection it’s able to provide. A business needs to undertake careful consideration before proceeding with installation to ensure security, especially if using public internet connections.
Secondly, if you’re using a VPN over an internet connection, not all of it is under your business’ direct control. Instead, you’re heavily reliant on the internet service provider and its quality of service as well as the reliability of its connection.
In conclusion, we understand several businesses question ‘what is a VPN’ and hopefully this article goes someway into explaining that. However, there are plenty of different technologies which haven’t always been compatible because of the different technology standards used. It’s not advisable to mix equipment and systems as you’re likely to end up with technical problems. Choosing from a single provider is likely to be more reliable but it also might be more costly.
