What Are VPNs Used For?
A VPN is an adequate means of securing branch or remote employees on a smaller scale. When a few employees were on the road or connecting from a coffee shop, companies could leverage a VPN service to deploy VPN client software that would let a remote user establish a secure connection from an endpoint sitting outside the network perimeter.
Back when everyone went to the office, companies would even employ site-to-site VPNs as a means of connecting two networks, such as a corporate network and a branch office network. In this way, VPNs can serve a variety of use cases, particularly as they pertain to keeping remote and branch office users away from internet traffic. As the remote workforce has taken shape, however, more and more companies are realizing that VPNs aren’t as secure as they need to be.
How Businesses Use VPNs
In professional settings, companies use VPNs as a means of securing users who are working remotely and using mobile devices or other endpoints that may not be deemed secure. For example, businesses may issue Windows or Mac laptops to enable their employees to work from home when necessary. Of course, this notion is now widespread in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Businesses deploy VPNs to let remote users securely access corporate resources through their home networks. Most internet service providers (ISPs) have good security protocols in place to protect non-sensitive data flowing through home networks. However, when it comes to sensitive data, home Wi-Fi security measures aren’t strong enough to protect it on their own, necessitating the use of VPN protocols by businesses to keep this data secure.
By leveraging a VPN provider, companies will use these protocols to shut off the default flow of traffic from router to data center and will instead send the traffic through an encrypted tunnel, which protects data and secures internet access from users working remotely, reducing the company’s attack surface—albeit on a smaller scale.
