Though it would be rare to find, there are businesses out there who are skeptical about the use of a VPN. Whether that be for their remote employees, or any sort of security, there are organizations who refrain from the use of these tools. That said, they may use some other form of online security tool for the sake of their business. Because while it’s true that secure VPNs can help provide organizations with ample privacy from security risks such as hackers, data breaches and various surveillance, they do have their downfalls as well. No tool can be foolproof, but the wrong VPN could actually put your organization under more risk from lack of security. This post will detail the ways in which VPNs can fail and different types of alternatives.
When COVID-19 struck, the traditional workplace landscape was changed forever. Organizations around the world found ways to enable their employees to work entirely remotely, mostly through the use of these security tools such as a VPN. Though some organizations have had their employees return to their workplace since, security remains an important part of maintaining a business. Which is why investing in the strongest VPN is an investment your business will continue to find value out of even after employees return to the office. Selecting the wrong VPN could lead to your organization’s data being put into jeopardy.
The information found below includes a few of the risks associated with poorly chosen VPNs:
Sub-Optimal Encryption: the encryption that the VPN provides is meant to help keep your organization’s data private and secure. Without a proper configuration, hackers have a much easier time accessing an organization’s data with their established skill set. In order to combat this, your VPN must have a strong encryption.
Inability To Combat Against Malware: any VPN selected should be capable of detecting and protecting malware. This software is commonly used to steal financial information and other personal data from infected machines. When an organization’s data is left vulnerable, it’s possible that all of their data can become encrypted. Which requires the organization to pay ransoms to these cyber-attackers in order to regain access to their data.
Failure To Keep Hardware Logs Secure: your organization’s hardware could be at risk if your VPN has any chance of leaking the hardware’s logs. Choosing a VPN with a zero-log policy is the best choice for organizations. As with any security, regardless of its sophistication, your VPN may still be susceptible to a data leak. It’s true that your VPN will assist in hiding your IP address and the work your organization does, it’s still possible that information may become leaked as a result of the VPN provider.
Shady Partners: every organization should read between the lines when signing deals with their VPN providers as there could be clauses in place that allow them to secretly collect your data to sell to third parties. Whether this be advertisers or more unethical parties, it seems to go against everything that a VPN is meant to provide to organizations. Prior to making any decision regarding a VPN provider, be sure to read their privacy policies.
For more information on the different risks associated with poor VPN providers, in addition to more alternatives your organization can look to for its network security purposes, be sure to consult the infographic coupled alongside this post. Courtesy of Invisily.