Network technologies have come in handy to allow businesses to share their data and resources over a network with their workforce. Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a network technology that allows internet security and separates traffic across the open internet by creating an encrypted connection between the server and the user device as the users share and access data and digital resources. VPN is used for various purposes in a company, including data security when handling remote connections.
Functions of VPN (Bullet points)
- Heightening the company’s security by creating a secure connection for the users to log in.
- Offers remote access where remote workers can use VPNs to access the business network, data, and resources.
- Offers Access control to regulate those who use some resources and who do not to ensure the right identity for all users.
- Helps Avoid data breaches and cyber-attacks by preventing highly sensitive company information from being viewed or accessed by outsiders.
- Provision of peace of mind for customer relations where customers can freely share personal information without fear.
- Geo independence in cases of business travels to locations or countries with strict internet access laws to ensure access even in these areas.
Functions of VPN
VPN uses information systems to allow businesses and institutions to share and send data and share digital resources internally. Computer system software and hardware are required to manage networks in various organizations. Network technologies make it easier for employees to transmit information, which increases the productivity and efficiency of the firm, is cost-effective, storage efficient, flexible, and ensures data security.
VPN as a form of network technology refers to Virtual Private Network, a technology used to ensure internet security and separate traffic across the open internet. The VPN creates an encrypted connection between the server and the user’s device. There are two types of business VPNs: the remote-access VPN that connects users and a small business’s internal network (Aung & Thein, 2020). The second type is the site-to-site VPN, which is essential for creating a virtual network shared across multiple office locations by multiple individual users. For example, Amazon Company uses VPN in its business operations for various functions, including:
Heightening Security
Amazon, a large company, has resources stored in the cloud, such as business data or business apps. VPN services keep the data secure with no need for huge investment to purchase data center-grade routing hardware (Aguado et al., 2018). Using a VPN in the company creates a secure connection for the user’s devices to whichever resource the user needs to log into, such as files stored in the Dropbox business or suitable apps. VPN services offer security measures and ensure that corporations stay safe.
Offers Remote Access
Amazon Company has a business network in which its workforce can access printers, perform data transfer, connect to information technology resources, and more. In addition, the networks protect and secure the team from questionable websites. The company has remote workers who use VPNs to access the business network. The company uses a remote access VPN to allow employees who are working remotely to log in to the office network wherever they are working (Curran, 2020). The VPN ensures that everyone has access to the internet and the resources they need to carry on with their work and secure business data.
Offers Access Control
Access control is the act of controlling who gets access to what resources and who does not. Without access control, the right people would not be able to retrieve the proper resources (Ding et al., 2019). Conversely, others would get resources they are not supposed to assess. Other users would have more access than they are supposed to. VPN as an entry control system is significant for the Amazon Company to ensure that the right users get their right entry. VPN authorize and authenticate users by the art of credential evaluation to verify that a user or an application is what or whom they claim to be. The service is configured to authorize permissions and access levels using the user’s IP address and username.
Avoiding Data Breaches and Cyber Attacks
The VPN services, in addition to preventing unauthorized access to user activities and company data but helps the company to avoid being a victim of cyber-attacks and data breaches. Then highly sensitive company information is viewed or accessed by cyber attackers due to insecure connections. The data can be used as a springboard to allow attacks. Other instances, such as opening clients’ emails, can cause the spread of malware (Saxena & Soni, 2018). Therefore, the employees need to be kept out of public connection to help in the reduction of chances data being used to foster r cyber-attacks or data breaches.
Provision of Peace of Mind for Customer Relations
Amazon uses VPN services to offer a secure encrypted connection for its workforce which is advantageous to its clients as it secures clients’ information. In addition, the clients feel secure when VPN is used as they feel their information is free from being stolen (Namara et al., 2020). As a result, customers can freely provide personal information over a digital channel without fear of unauthorized access to their private information.
Geo Independence
When business travels to places or countries with strict internet access laws, there might be situations where users may be gridlocked from access to business resources through the open internet. The company uses VPN, which assumes the user is in their home country. The user can essentially access the work resources even under restriction laws in cases where the country in question blocks access to particular services or websites.
References
Aguado, A., López, V., Martinez-Mateo, J., Peev, M., López, D., & Martín, V. (2018). VPN service provisioning via virtual router deployment and quantum key distribution. In 2018 Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exposition (OFC) (pp. 1-3). IEEE. Web.
Aung, S. T., & Thein, T. (2020). Comparative analysis of site-to-site layer 2 virtual private networks. In 2020 IEEE Conference on Computer Applications (ICCA) (pp. 1-5). IEEE. Web.
Curran, K. (2020). Cyber security and the remote workforce. Computer Fraud & Security, 2020(6), 11-12. Web.
Ding, S., Cao, J., Li, C., Fan, K., & Li, H. (2019). A novel attribute-based access control scheme using blockchain for IoT. IEEE Access, 7, 38431-38441. Web.
Namara, M., Wilkinson, D., Caine, K., & Knijnenburg, B. P. (2020). Emotional and Practical Considerations Towards the Adoption and Abandonment of VPNs as a Privacy-Enhancing Technology. Proc. Priv. Enhancing Technol. 83-102.
Saxena, S., & Soni, H. K. (2018). Strategies for ransomware removal and prevention. In 2018 Fourth International Conference on Advances in Electrical, Electronics, Information, Communication and Bio-Informatics (AEEICB) (pp. 1-4). IEEE. Web.