Security Review Virtual Private Networks

Source: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/vpn.htm

Since we have been talking about networking I found this new form of networking called Virtual Private Networks (VPN). They are made mainly for businesses and provide remote access to other computers/servers through a web browser, instead of a remote access program. This is important for businesses because many business people are constantly traveling. VPN are secured with a firewall and it integrates with your system which will allow you to have remote access to your business computers/ corporate networks via a web browser. It also allows your customers to access your network. The security goals I would have for the technology is that all the information sent through the VPN is secure and cannot be hacked into. Also I would want to make sure that only people who have permission to access the network are the only ones granted access. And I would want the network to be reliable so that it is not down. According to the video it allows up to 25 people to connect to the network using VPN. One problem with this is what if you have more than just 25 people traveling who need access? Will the system crash and not be able to handle everyone’s requests. Threats that may exist could be people gaining access to sensitive business information if they can crack your user name and password, or if they can monitor the computer you use to access the corporate network using VPN. Since it is all web browser based, if someone hacks onto your computer network they may be able to steal/view information from the corporate network. VPN are relatively cheap for businesses to use and seem to be more efficient. So the risk of people hacking into the system can be managed by implementing other security measures on the VPN, such as a timed logout. If you are a business person and are at a coffee shop and you have to get up to go to the bathroom or something, there could be a set amount of idle time before the browser automatically logs you out so that other people can no jump on you computer and view your business information. VPN are also helpful since it can be accessed using PDAs so in meetings or other places where you only have a phone/PDA available, it would be very convenient. As far as the risks, the company would need to secure the network and encrypt the information sent. Also monitoring the VPN networks to see who is actually using it would help keep hackers at bay. I think this product is worth the risk acceptance because it seems to be very helpful to people who travel constantly for business and need access to the company’s network. I don’t know how many companies actually use this but for the article and the video, VPN seem like an efficient safe technology.