The recent increase in the deployment of virtual private network services among businesses uncovered some major concerns and risks in its implementation. In fact, a report by Grand View Research says that the demand for VPN services and solutions will have an annual growth rate of 17.4% from 2020 to 2025.
Before you decide on introducing one to your organization, it is best that you learn more about how VPNs work and the common issues relating to its implementation. Without proper knowledge of these issues, you might find your organization even more vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks.
With that, here are some of the major concerns when it comes to implementing VPN services in your business and how to resolve them.
1. Beware of shady privacy policies
One of the most significant benefits of a VPN for business is that it ensures your privacy online. It can mask your IP address and encrypt your data, making it harder for hackers to track you. But have you ever wondered what happens to all your data in the hands of your VPN service providers?
You might not know it, but some VPN services tend to keep all your data in their system. Worse, some sell all your data to third-party groups. This can be true for free VPN services. After all, they have to find other means of getting money if they want to remain free. Advertisers will pay handsomely to get their hands on your data.
To avoid this, you must make sure to read your VPN service’s privacy policy. It needs to clearly state that your data will be fully secured, private, and will not be used for other purposes. Likewise, you might also want to stay clear of free VPN services just to be on the safe side.
2. Data leaks are still possible
According to Accenture, an organization faces an average of 22 security breaches in a year. Even with a VPN in place, it doesn’t automatically protect you from all these cyberattacks. In fact, many hackers can find a way to get around a VPN’s security features.
For one, your traffic, IP address, or DNS address can leak through the VPN tunnel. This happens when your VPN provider fails to configure their connections well. Some can even have poorly configured encryptions in place, making it easier for hackers to intercept your web traffic and decrypt it. Before you know it, you will be fighting off malware infections in your system.
It is important that you choose your VPN providers well. Only select those from reliable and reputable companies. Likewise, it is best to research feedback from past and current customers to check how it is.
3. Watch out for logging policies
The whole point of using a VPN is to hide your browsing activities online. But if your provider is the one who keeps all the logs instead, your privacy would still be at risk. You might even become even more vulnerable to other security risks because you no longer have control over your own data.
There are different types of logs and usage logs where your provider tracks all information on your internet activities while using a VPN. There is also the connection log that simply gathers data about the connection itself. In the end, these VPN providers collect and keep all your logs and might use it for their own benefit.
When selecting a VPN service, you must make sure that your provider has a “zero-log” or “no-log” policy. This means the VPN doesn’t save any records of your activities while using their services. One great example is VPN Proxy Master.
4. VPN slows down the internet connection
While using a VPN, you might notice a decrease in your internet connection speed or application performance. This can affect your overall productivity and efficiency in the process.
Several factors could contribute to this. For one, your VPN might be consuming a lot of bandwidth to secure and encrypt your connection. Another possible reason for this is that a large number of VPN services remain outdated. These VPNs are not engineered to cope with superfast internet connections. As a result, your network speed might suffer.
If you find yourself struggling with this issue, it might be high time you start looking for a different VPN provider. There are many options that offer smooth and fast connectivity while ensuring your security and privacy.
5. VPN prevents you from accessing certain sites or apps
There are many restricted apps or websites on the internet. Sometimes, these are blocked due to geographic reasons. Others are blocked for political or censorship reasons. This can be a hassle, especially if you or your employees need to access the app or website for work.
To demonstrate the use of VPNs for business needs, you can use it to bypass restrictions and evade blockages from anywhere. Since it masks your IP address, you can change servers and choose the ones that will give you access to the app or website.
Unfortunately, many channels have started safeguarding their systems against such techniques. As a result, many apps or websites can detect VPNs usage and ban you from using one. You would need a more sophisticated and hi-tech VPN to get around such blockages.
6. Scaling up can become complicated
Often, companies with successful VPNs deployments only have a small subset of staff who use the VPNs. This is because it is difficult to provide a pool of IP addresses for each of your employees—especially if your company continues expanding. And if you are using a centralized VPN service, the large jump in the number of active users can put a strain on your servers.
Thus, one of the business considerations for VPNs deployment is its scalability. What you can do to ensure this is to provide VPN points close to where your employees live. These points will serve as backbone connections to the main system.
You can also get around by providing different VPN servers for each of your teams rather than sharing a common access point.
7. High-quality VPN can get costly
Investing in a good and reliable VPN service can sometimes cost you. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that you have to splurge your budget for a high-quality VPN service.
For one, many trusted VPN service providers offer subscription plans instead of a one-time payment option. This allows you to choose a plan that fits right into your budget. Moreover, you have an option to cancel your subscription anytime you want.
You can also check out this VPN software overview on CompareCamp to find which one fits right into your budget.
Overcoming the risks
In this day and age, there are many reasons why your business needs a safe and secured VPN connection. For one, it secures your data on the internet and makes it harder for hackers to access it. Another reason is that you can use it to hide and change your location to get around website or app restrictions.
But with these benefits, there are also some major concerns that you need to watch out for. Without exercising caution, your VPN might leave you even more vulnerable than before. So, keep these things in mind when you plan to introduce VPNs to your business.
