Exploring VPN alternatives for business: enhancing security & efficiency
As work dynamics, technology, and threats rapidly transform, traditional VPNs struggle to keep pace, leaving businesses vulnerable. Embrace VPN alternatives that precisely authenticate users, ensuring unmatched security, blazing-fast connections, and seamless scalability for your hybrid IT ecosystem. Step into a new era of efficiency and protection, perfectly suited for the demands of a hybrid workforce.
OVERVIEW
Legacy VPNs: limitations & evolving needs
While VPNs were once effective for individual security, their limitations are now evident in the modern business landscape. Cloud-based resources and remote work have outpaced traditional VPN capabilities, leaving critical security gaps. To enhance security and efficiency, businesses must explore alternatives that address these evolving challenges – relying solely on VPNs is no longer sufficient to protect sensitive company data and mitigate a wide range of cyber risks. Embracing innovative approaches is vital to meet the demands of today's dynamic environment.
DRAWBACKS
What are VPNs security risks & disadvantages?
Slow speed & performance
VPNs depend on external servers operated by a VPN service provider, introducing intricacies to network operations. This increased complexity may affect the connection speed, and additional features could cause additional performance issues.
Limited authentication
Most VPNs lack robust multi-factor authentication systems, making them vulnerable to credential theft and unauthorized access.
Challenges with scaling
VPNs don't scale well, and adding remote access workstations or contractors requires labor-intensive procedures. Managing & controlling user access becomes difficult as the number of users increases.
Attackers accessing internal networks
Certain VPN protocols have critical vulnerabilities, enabling hackers to access internal networks using stolen login credentials.
No third-party coverage
VPNs aren't suitable for corporate networks that involve connections to third-party organizations and contractors, resulting in little control and limited monitoring capabilities.
Increased threat surfaces with little oversight
Each additional VPN client on a distributed network expands the threat surface available to attackers, raising security and compliance risks.
Poor functionality with cloud-based resources
VPNs are suboptimal for securing cloud resources, which becomes a significant weakness as businesses increasingly rely on cloud access.
Separate security stacks needed on the network side
While VPNs offer end-to-end encryption, they still require a security stack for traffic inspection and authentication, making it vulnerable and inefficient compared to better alternatives.
SOLUTIONS
The best VPN alternatives for secure remote access
Explore these VPN alternatives to reinforce the security and efficiency of your business operations. Each solution offers unique benefits, enabling you to tailor your approach and stay ahead in the ever-evolving landscape of secure remote access.
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
Embrace the "never trust, always verify" principle with Zero Trust Network Access, a security architecture that treats all devices as suspect until thoroughly authenticated. By restricting access to critical systems and enforcing least-privileged access, ZTNA significantly reduces the scope of data theft and breaches. With added features like multi-factor authentication and cloud-native capabilities, ZTNA is an excellent fit for businesses expanding their remote work operations.
Indetity & Access management Priveleged Access Management
Robust your user authentication with Identity & Access Management and Privileged Access Management solutions that create better control over network access. IAM assesses login attempts and compares credentials to authorized user lists, ensuring only valid users gain entry. PAM complements IAM by allowing network managers to define user privileges, monitor accounts in real time, and police secure passwords. Together, IAM and PAM become integral components of broader VPN alternatives like Zero Trust Network Access and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE).
Secure Web Gateway
Prevent unsecured and malicious data traffic from infiltrating your network with Secure Web Gateway. Acting as an interface with the external internet, SWG applies access control policies, blocks unauthorized access requests, and enforces web visibility and URL filtering to stop malicious content. Additionally, SWG ensures confidential data remains within network perimeters, bolstering security across remote workstations, office resources, and cloud assets.
Cloud VPN
Create encrypted tunnels between remote users and corporate networks, safeguarding business applications, data, and files, whether they're cloud-based or hosted on-premises. Leveraging data center infrastructure through VPN gateways, Cloud VPN ensures your network remains protected and accessible.
Virtual Private Gateways
Establish a secure and reliable VPN connection to transport encrypted data between devices, the cloud, and enterprise servers across the internet. Benefit from enhanced security with features like DNS filtering, access controls, and deep packet inspection, which analyzes application network usage behavior and helps identify malicious code.
Network Segmentation
Divide large networks into smaller sub-networks, enabling precise security controls. This practice minimizes the impact of breaches, repels insider threats, and enhances overall network security. Network segmentation simplifies monitoring, identifies inefficiencies, and allows for better management of security protocols for each subnetwork.
Security Service Edge
Adopt the Secure Service Edge framework to combine multiple network security solutions into a single, cloud-native service. SSE enhances business agility and capacity to prevent, identify, and respond to online threats. With tools designed to secure cloud assets and dynamic network perimeters, SSE complements Secure Access Service Edge networking features, providing flexible cloud security solutions.
START NOW
How to begin?
Simple – start with NordLayer! Utilize Security Service Edge (SSE) framework for your network to improve your organization’s ability to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats & reduce costs.
Start implementing the SSE framework today, or contact our cybersecurity specialist for advice.
SSE FRAMEWORK
Why choose NordLayer as an SSE vendor?
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
Zero Trust is a ‘never trust, always verify’ approach to network access — authentication is needed prior to access being granted. NordLayer provides these ZTNA capabilities:
- Enhances network security
- Safeguards data in transit
- Improves protection against new & existing threats
- Reduces impact from breaches
- Enhances compliance & visibility
- Potential cost reductions
OUR INSIGHTS
More on VPN alternatives
Additional info
Frequently asked questions
The answer here is simple: if you have a business or organization, you need more than a legacy VPN. While VPNs may serve individual users adequately, for any size business, they fall short as a comprehensive security solution. The growing threat of cyberattacks, especially targeting small and medium-sized organizations in recent years, necessitates stronger measures. Implementing robust cybersecurity solutions, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and advanced threat protection, becomes crucial to safeguard sensitive data and maintain business continuity in the face of evolving cyber threats.
Yes, a VPN is crucial for businesses as it creates a secure tunnel for remote employees to access company resources, ensuring protection and anonymity. However, relying solely on a VPN is not enough. Given the increasing cyber threats targeting businesses, implementing additional robust cybersecurity measures & strategies becomes essential to enhance business security and efficiency effectively.
In a way – yes. SASE can be a viable replacement for legacy VPN, offering a robust approach to security for businesses relying on third-party contractors and remote work. By combining ZTNA access management, next-generation firewalls, and software-defined perimeters, SASE provides a comprehensive solution for complex and expanding corporate networks. However, for smaller organizations, simpler lightweight security options may be more suitable as SASE and ZTNA can be complex solutions.
Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP), Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions emerge as viable options to replace legacy VPN. SDP uses software tools to authenticate users and control access to internal network resources, while SD-WAN replaces traditional routers, handling authentication and managing network traffic. Both approaches cater to cloud users and accommodate third-party access, offering a significant improvement over standard VPN solutions. Additionally, VDI provides another option, allowing users to connect to network resources via virtual machines. While VDI may offer benefits for certain use cases, SDP and SD-WAN are often preferred due to their efficiency and ease of deployment in modern remote work scenarios.