More and more companies are choosing to install VPN networks. As we already know, cybersecurity and data protection have become a first-order necessity due to the digital environment where business is carried out, and this is where VPN networks can offer a wide range of advantages that we will present during the development of this article. Keep reading this post to learn more about vpn’s.
What is a VPN, and Why do Companies Use it?
We start with what is basic. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. A VPN is an Internet security service that generates an encrypted connection between a user’s devices and one or more servers. Virtual Private Networks can securely connect users to a company’s inner network or the public Internet.
Companies often use a Virtual Private Network to give remote workers access to internal applications and data or to create a single network shared between multiple offices. In both cases, the main goal is to prevent web traffic, especially private data, from being exposed on the open Internet.
Why are VPNs necessary to achieve this? Take remote employees as an example. When staff work on-site, they can connect their computers and mobile devices directly to the company’s internal system. However, if workers work remotely, their connection to that internal network must be over the public Internet, potentially exposing their traffic to en-route attacks and other methods of spying on sensitive data. Encrypting that traffic with a business or commercial VPN or other security service keeps it safe from prying eyes.
What are the different types of business VPNs?
There are two categories of enterprise VPNs: remote-access VPNs and site-to-site VPNs.
Remote Access VPN
A remote access VPN generates a connection between individual users and a remote network, usually the company’s internal network. Remote access VPNs use two key components:
- Network Access Server (NAS): a specific server, or a software application on a shared server, that is connected to the company’s internal network
- VPN client: software installed on the user’s computer or mobile device
Users who want to access the company network trigger their VPN client, which establishes an encrypted “tunnel” to the Network Access Server(NAS). This encrypted tunnel permits the user to access the inner network without exposing their traffic, a critical security advantage for remote workers.
Site-to-site VPN
Site-to-site Virtual Private Network’s create a single virtual network shared across multiple offices, each of which can have numerous specific users. In this model, the Virtual Private Network client is hosted on each workplace’s local network, not individual users’ devices. This way, users in each office can access the shared network without using a VPN client alone. But if they leave the workplace, they lose this access.
How are Business VPNs Dissimilar from consumer VPNs?
Enterprise VPNs and consumer-facing VPNs work similarly in that they both create an encrypted connection to a remote network. The main difference is in the way they are used.
A business VPN allows users and computers to connect to your company’s internal network. Instead, a commercial VPN connects the user to a remote server, or set of servers, that interact with the public Internet on the user’s device.
What limitations does a business VPN have to ensure remote employee access?
When a VPN is used properly and uses up-to-date cryptographic protocols, it can excellently encrypt traffic between remote employees or computers and your company’s internal network. Additionally, VPNs are cheaper and easier to manage than legacy solutions, such as purchasing a secure “leased line” from an ISP or manually “whitelisting” individual IP addresses belonging to remote workers.
However, VPNs also have limitations. Below, we will summarize some. For more information, read these articles on VPN security and VPN speed.
-
Security Risks:
If an attacker manages to access a remote employee’s VPN credentials, that attacker can access all apps and data on the matching network.
-
Latency Penalties:
If a corporation uses a cloud-based VPN, its NAS is located in a data center in a different physical location than the company’s internal network. This additional step adds latency to each request between staff and the network.
-
Cloud& Hybrid Cloud Difficulties :
Many business applications are hosted in the cloud rather than on the company’s internal network, making them unsuited with VPNs. Those applications naturally use their own security tools to ensure safe access. But IT teams can’t fully control those tools and can have difficulty understanding who is accessing those applications, both critical security factors.
-
Setup costs:
If a company uses an on-premises NAS to connect to its employees VPN clients, it must periodically replace that hardware to ensure it is capable of dealing with the latest cyber threats. Something similar occurs if employee VPN usage exceeds the NAS’s ability to handle traffic. The company must replace that Network Access Server, or it could become overloaded and stop working.
-
Management time:
It takes a lot of effort to maintain a VPN, especially if a company uses more than one VPN to provide different types of access to various employees. For example, IT teams should install the appropriate VPN client on each remote employee’s computer and ensure that employees keep that software up-to-date.
Conclusion:-
We hope this article explains the difference between a regular VPN and a business VPN. We have also described the types of virtual private networks that are used in a Business and their importance in your business.