Remote access 3min de Leitura - 10 de March de 2017

VPN server, understand the benefits and applications

Cabos conectados em servidor para distribuir a VPN

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[rev_slider alias=”ebook-tudo-sobre-firewall-360-280″][/rev_slider]Keeping connected is a latent need for most people. This is related to the most varied personal and professional purposes. When it comes to the corporate world, it is visible the continuous insertion of technologies, and other resources, dependent on the Internet. Businesses are becoming virtual, bringing numerous facilities and great challenges.

This new reality demands technologies to be created and densely used to enable connectivity between companies and their employees, partners and suppliers. Much of what is trafficked through the internet does not need confidentiality or integrity, but the same communication structure is used for very valuable transactions, thus, security is a prerequisite.

To understand this, one can make an analogy with e-commerce, which is already well established in the world and in Brazilian market. There are several frauds, but users are increasingly aware, and security features implemented by companies are more advanced. Would you make a purchase on a website that does not have a secure connection (HTTPS)? Certainly not.

The internet is public, formed by the interconnection of millions of devices that lead connection to end points, where companies and users are. It is common that information sent from one company to another, go through tens, hundreds and even thousands of devices. Based on this scenario, we ask the following question, “How can we guarantee safety at each of these points?” In addition, the most pertinent answer is that the task borders on the impossible.

Some end-to-end security mechanisms have been created to ensure secure communication between the parties involved, even using the internet infrastructure. VPN solutions are typically used to ensure the security of this type of communication, along with the intensive use of encryption. The structuring of a VPN server brings many benefits to the organization, and the goal of this post is to delve into some of them.

VPN server for secure connection and range between different networks

Companies with business units, branches or some remote demand, that need to be connected to the head office to use systems and other facilities for daily work, have demand for the structuring of a VPN service, including VPN server and other technologies involved in the process.

In addition to allowing the interconnection of networks, as if they were literally a single structure (although operating at different speeds because they use the internet), this ensures that all communication between these units is secure.

Reach is very important for the operation of some systems. Anyone, regardless of the unit they are in, can access the head office systems in exactly the same way, transparently. Shared files and folders, printers, and other resources will also be accessible, facilitating the development of corporate activities.

Ease for home office

One of the main points of companies that allow home offices is to ensure the employee has a secure environment and are connected to the company to carry out their functions. VPN is one of the means by which the employee can connect to the company through the internet in a secure way, anywhere, as if they were in the company.

This is not only valid for home office, but also for users in transit, at an airport, road or other place that does not have a secure connection to the internet. The structuring of a VPN server will provide security for employees to access the corporate environment in a secure manner whenever necessary.

Protection against attacks and ransomware

There are many ways to access data and systems in your company, from other locations, using the internet, and many of them without needing a VPN. The risk lies in the fact that in order to do so, a door needs to be released to the internet indiscriminately (everyone can access it).

Although the application, remote terminal service or similar, has protection criteria (usually based on user and password) nothing prevents a vulnerability from being exploited, or even a brute force attack trying to break fragile passwords.

This is what happens in companies facing data hijacking. Often, for lack of knowledge, they end up opening a door for external access to the company, compromising their environment. With VPN, it is still necessary to open a port to allow external access, but the port in question is not the service port to be accessed, but the VPN itself.

Because there are numerous security criteria associated with authentication of a VPN service, in most cases, this is a risk-free procedure, or in the latter case the risks are very small compared to port redirection for internal services in the organization.

Information Exchange or Information query

Institutions that offer some kind of data query, or even information exchange, whether it is for query of defaulters, price list, inventory management, or are using their own system with integrated security, or either chose to use a VPN between the parties for exchange information.

This situation is quite common in large companies, which need to relate to partners or clients in more specific contracts, and the best practice for these communications is using VPN, specifically the IPSec suite.

There are many other benefits associated with using VPN; much will depend on the need of each organization. The fundamental point is that the VPN solves a very interesting problem of connectivity and security, be it fixed, for interconnecting business units, or for users in transit and home office. To deepen your knowledge about VPN, access Main protocols of VPN communication.

 

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This post is also available in: Português English Español