Data breaches have been rampant since the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of remote working opportunities. Cybercriminals have become competent in gaining unauthorized access to sensitive and confidential data. The internet has become a necessity for almost every aspect of our lives, and because of that, a lot of sensitive information is shared online. Although the digital era offers convenience, it also comes with many drawbacks. If you’re not careful, cybercriminals can quickly access your confidential data, including your credit card details and financial transactions. Companies now need to be more cautious than ever regarding safeguarding their transactions and the company’s resources.
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) comes into the fold here. A VPN encrypts your internet and masks your IP address, making it difficult for third parties to gain unauthorized access to your data. In this in-depth guide, we’ll explore why using a VPN is necessary for companies and the factors to consider when they opt for a reliable VPN provider. So, without further ado, let’s get into it.
What is the role of VPNs in businesses?
Business VPNs are specifically designed keeping companies in mind. The Business VPN creates an encrypted tunnel between the company’s device and the remote server. It ensures that remote employees can safely access sensitive company resources even when working remotely in a different location. The main goal of a business VPN is to ensure that the company’s sensitive data and resources remain safe and secure, even when accessed from multiple locations. The main goal of a business VPN is to ensure that their internal data and web traffic are not exposed to the internet.
Without a business VPN, the employees connected to the company’s network would be putting their data and sensitive data at risk of being at the disposal of cyber criminals. Internet access over a public network exposes their online activities to malicious actors. So, without the proper security measures in place, cybercriminals can easily intercept employee or company information. With a VPN, sensitive information like login credentials, browsing history, credit card information, and social media access remains hidden. Business VPNs ensure the company’s sensitive data and resources remain safe and secure from cybercrimes.
How can businesses benefit from using VPNs?
There are various reasons why businesses can benefit from using a VPN. Let’s go over the major ones:
1) Enhanced security
VPNs encrypt internet traffic and data transmitted over the network, which makes it difficult for unauthorized users to intercept and gain access to sensitive information. Employees can also gain access to the company’s resources and network safely and securely, reducing the risk of any data breaches and hacking.
2) Data privacy
VPNs protect business and customer data and comply with privacy regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) or HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act). VPNs also mask and conceal your IP address, which helps keep business users anonymous and prevents them from being targets of profiling and tracking. By implementing VPNs, businesses can establish secure connections and show their commitment to data protection, which helps build trust among customers for the brand.
3) Facilitates remote work
VPNs have made working remotely relatively easy, allowing employees to access company resources securely from any location. It helps facilitate remote work and increase productivity and efficiency. Businesses can easily overcome and bypass geographical restrictions and enable employees to gain remote access to resources. Remote work also allows companies to provide flexible work arrangements while simultaneously maintaining security standards.
It also allows companies to save costs since all the employees are working remotely over a secure network; they can save on rent and traveling costs. Businesses can enhance their return on investment (ROI) by facilitating remote work and reducing travel costs.
4) Secure communications
Businesses can leverage VPNs and encrypt their data and communications. VPNs ensure secure and private communication between different company locations, employees, and partners. VPNs can also be used to protect voice-over IP (VoIP) calls, which enhances communication security. Businesses can also use VPNs to protect their proprietary research and data, which helps them gain a competitive edge. VPNs also safeguard sensitive data from theft and espionage.
What are the different types of business VPNs?
Different types of Business VPNs are commonly used. These VPNs help secure network connections and provide remote access to their employees. The major ones include:
1) Site-to-site VPN
Site-to-site VPNs connect different physical locations, such as branch offices and data centres, over the public network, which creates a secure and encrypted network. It is often used to interconnect corporate workplaces and cloud services with the on-premises infrastructure. It helps to interconnect different branch offices and ensures that locations can be shared between geographically dispersed locations.
2) Remote access VPN
A Remote Access VPN allows employees to remotely connect over a secure network, no matter where they are. The remote access model has a client/server model, which means that the application has to be downloaded to the employee’s device to access the company’s servers. Remote Access VPNs encrypt internet traffic and allow remote employees to access sensitive company files and data even using an unsecured or public network.
Factors to consider when choosing a business VPN
There are several factors you need to consider when choosing a Business VPN. If you’re looking for a reliable VPN service to meet your company’s needs, AstrillVPN is the perfect choice. It has all the essential features your organization will need to keep its sensitive data safe and secure. These include:
- It has robust encryption protocols like AES-256 to protect your data. It also includes other encryption protocols like Wireguard, OpenVPN, and StealthVPN. Wireguard is an excellent protocol that is fast and also offers top-notch security.
- It has a strict No Logs Policy, which means that the VPN provider cannot record, collect, or see your online activities when you’re using the VPN. Once you disconnect from the VPN, all your browsing history and data will automatically get deleted.
- It is compatible with multiple operating systems, including Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS and Android.
- It has a Split Tunneling feature that lets the business choose which applications to route through the VPN and which applications they want to route through regular internet traffic. This helps optimize performance.
- It should have an extensive range of servers from different regions. Having multiple servers enables you to bypass geolocation restrictions. AstrillVPN has 3000+ servers across 57+ countries.
- It has a Kill Switch feature, essential when using a Business VPN. Sometimes, the VPN connection drops unexpectedly due to unforeseen circumstances and other external factors. A Kill Switch automatically disconnects from the internet when your VPN connection drops. This ensures your data and resources remain secure even if the VPN connection drops.
Conclusion
Since remote working has increased, businesses have had growing concerns regarding their data privacy and security, primarily because of cyberattacks and cybercriminals getting more competent in their techniques to gain unauthorized access to sensitive company data and documents. By investing in a reliable Business VPN, you can make remote work easy and ensure that employees can safely access company resources even if they work in a different location. You will establish trust with your customers since you’ve chosen to take the wise step of investing in the company’s privacy and security and making sure sensitive data is protected against cyberattacks.
