VPN security explained: Are VPNs secure enough for your business?

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are often seen as the cornerstone of remote security, crucial for both protecting data and controlling access to your organization’s internal systems. In essence, they allow employees to connect securely, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches. However, VPN security isn't guaranteed. Some providers use weak encryption, allow IP leaks, or log data, creating significant risks.

In this blog post, we’ll explore how VPNs protect your data, when their flaws create risk, and when alternatives like Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) or Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) can make more sense for your business.

Key takeaways

• A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel for your data, protecting it from cybercriminals and ensuring your online privacy, even on public network connections.
• VPNs also help control who can access your internal systems and data, adding an important layer of network security for organizations.
• The most secure VPNs offer top-notch encryption, such as AES-256, IP address leak prevention, a no-logs policy, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to improve network security.
• While VPNs provide significant protection, they are not perfect. Risks like credential theft, flaws in VPN configuration, and poor vendor practices may still compromise security.
• NordLayer offers flexible VPN solutions to protect your business data and enable secure remote access, helping to reduce the risk of data breaches.

What is a VPN and how does it work?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) conceals web traffic from external observers by creating a secure, private tunnel between your device and the internet. This tunnel masks your location and prevents cybercriminals from snooping on your activity.

VPNs use tunneling protocols to encrypt your data from the moment it leaves your device until it reaches its destination. Operating on top of existing networks, VPNs route data through private servers, which assign new IP addresses. This process not only protects your data but also helps mask user identity and enhances online privacy.

Common VPN security weaknesses

Traditional Virtual Private Networks have been a go-to for securing network access, but they often leave your valuable assets exposed to modern threats. While they offer a basic layer of protection, here’s why conventional VPN security can fall short of enterprise-level needs:

• Vulnerability to intrusion. Attackers with an employee’s access credentials can gain access to critical network resources. A conventional VPN is great at protecting the network perimeter, but once an attacker is inside that perimeter, it offers little control. This means they can move freely to access critical resources, potentially leading to significant data loss.
• Impractical and slow. Trying to segment your corporate network effectively using a standard VPN is complex and inefficient. Users might have to connect to multiple VPNs just to access different applications, creating frustrating slowdowns. All that data moving back and forth between remote workstations and central data centers can seriously slow things down.
• Limited access control. Different employees need different levels of access. Your marketing team needs access to certain documents, while your finance team needs something else entirely. Traditional VPNs often lack the ability to manage access at a detailed, granular level. This makes it incredibly hard to customize permissions based on an individual's specific role, leading to over-privileging and unnecessary risk.

5 essential features for VPN security

Here’s a list of the 5 best features for strong VPN security:

• Best-in-class encryption: AES, or Advanced Encryption Standard, with 256-bit keys, is also known as AES-256. This is the same strong encryption used by the U.S. government and trusted by security experts globally to protect classified information.
• IP address leak prevention: A VPN’s main function is to hide your IP address and protect your online activity from being tracked. However, some VPNs might have flaws that can leak your IP address. Always choose a VPN provider that prevents IP leaks and check reviews to ensure they have a solid track record.
• No information logging: No-log VPNs don’t collect or store data about your online activity, log in details, or browsing history. This is crucial for privacy, even if someone gains unauthorized access to the VPN. Always verify if a VPN logs any data and how it handles user information.
• VPN kill switch: If your VPN connection drops, your internet access could revert to your regular connection, exposing your data. A VPN kill switch prevents this by automatically closing certain programs to avoid data leaks when the connection fails.
• MFA: Using a VPN with MFA enhances security, ensuring only authorized users can access the network. After entering your username and password, you might receive a code or a notification on your phone. This extra step makes it harder for threat actors to gain access.

How does a VPN protect data?

When your organization uses a VPN, it establishes a secure connection between your employees' devices and your network. VPNs use strong encryption protocols like IPsec or SSL/TLS to protect your data. Each device connected to the VPN uses special keys to encrypt and decrypt the data it sends and receives, ensuring secure business communications.

Even if your company’s data passes through the public internet, the encryption keeps it safe. For instance, if an employee works remotely and connects to the company’s VPN to access a database, their data might travel through public internet networks. Even if cybercriminals tap into this network, they will only see encrypted information, not the actual business data.

By using a secure VPN, you can protect your business from data breaches and ensure that sensitive information remains confidential, protecting your business operations and client relationships.

How do VPNs help with access control?

Encryption and anonymization are the most familiar aspects of VPN technology. However, VPNs also focus on access management, ensuring that only authorized users can access sensitive resources.
Access management is the process of admitting users to network resources. Users make access requests and provide credentials. Access management systems compare these credentials with individualized security profiles. If the two match, security controls allow access to network resources.

VPNs add more functionality to this basic process, as:

• Companies can create secure VPN networks for each department or team
• Users access the relevant VPN when logging onto the company network, adding another layer of authentication to exclude attackers
• Inside the network, users can access the assets they need, while VPN encryption hides other resources from view
• A remote secure access VPN suits home workers and travelers, wherever they are

Are there any risks when using VPNs for security?

No security system is flawless, and VPNs are no exception. While VPN security offers significant protection, there are some risks to be aware of:

1. Credential theft: If attackers steal an employee’s authentication details, they may access critical network resources.
2. Attackers can exploit VPN encryption: Just like regular users, malicious actors benefit from VPN encryption and IP anonymization, making it harder to detect their activities.
3. Misconfigured VPNs: Incorrect VPN setups can undermine the effectiveness of VPN security, and some solutions may not offer strong protection, especially if updates are missing.
4. Vendor issues. Some VPNs keep logs that compromise user privacy or recycle IP addresses, weakening IP address anonymization.
5. VPN updates. Not all VPN providers offer updates for new security risks. When networks use multiple VPNs to manage access requests, security managers have to navigate a complex updating schedule. If they miss updates, it could leave the networks vulnerable.

Despite these risks, the benefits of using VPN security to protect critical data generally outweigh the potential drawbacks. Companies should follow cybersecurity best practices, manage updates carefully, choose suppliers wisely, and employ access management tools. VPNs work well within a robust security setup, mitigating many of the abovementioned risks.

Are there alternatives to VPNs?

While VPN tools are powerful for securing network communications and protecting sensitive data, they aren't the only security option. Other methods, such as ZTNA or SASE, can also provide strong protection for corporate networks and control access to critical resources:

Identity and Access Management (IAM)

IAM can function as a VPN alternative. IAM, along with Privileged Access Management (PAM), helps control access to network resources. Employees use sign-in portals at the network edge, where IAM tools compare their credentials with centrally stored data, allowing access only to authenticated users.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) further strengthens an IAM setup by requiring users to supply two or more credentials, such as biometric scans or access cards. This additional layer of security generally ensures that only legitimate actors gain access.

Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)

ZTNA tools authenticate users but apply more detailed protections as users move within the network. In a ZTNA setup, users can only access resources according to strict permissions. East-west movement across the network is radically restricted, making it harder to execute data thefts.

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

SASE is another VPN alternative. SASE secures every network endpoint. Next-generation firewalls and software-defined perimeters define the resources available to every user. As with ZTNA, SASE setups tightly control movement across the network.

SD-WAN

Software-defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WAN) can be found in SASE and ZTNA systems and stand-alone setups. They apply over networks like VPNs, routing traffic, authenticating users, and governing access to third-party SaaS resources.

While alternatives like SASE and ZTNA offer advanced protections, they are complex to implement. VPNs remain a practical, secure, and easy-to-manage option for many small and medium-sized businesses.

Secure your online privacy with NordLayer

Securing sensitive data and ensuring private browsing are essential for businesses of all sizes. A VPN protects your data from cybercriminals and helps control access, preventing unauthorized access from entering your network. By using a secure VPN with strong encryption, MFA, and reliable VPN protocols, businesses can greatly improve their security.

NordLayer provides flexible VPN solutions for businesses focused on security. Our VPN services protect data flows between remote workstations and company servers. With NordLayer, you can set up a secure VPN that helps reduce the risk of data breaches.
Get in touch today tod explore VPN solutions that fit your business needs.