how vpn is used in the corporate world

Nearly half of all businesses have admitted to being hacked in the last few years

Businesses should take this as a wake-up call to improve their cybersecurity posture. But that’s only the tip of an iceberg. The cybersecurity landscape is becoming more dire. Hackers are smarter, more resourceful and more sophisticated than ever before. Every day, an astonishing 300,000.

Businesses need stronger cybersecurity policies. Most businesses are taking the necessary steps to combat growing cybersecurity threats. A corporate virtual public network (VPN) is one of their most powerful tools.

VPNs are used by hundreds of millions of people around the globe to secure their online privacy. To allow their employees to access sensitive corporate data, organizations are also using corporate VPNs.

What’s a Corporate VPN?

An employee can access the corporate network using a corporate VPN. It allows them to connect securely, either on-premises or via the cloud.

There has never been a greater need for VPN deployment and the urgency of it. Every business, large and small, has to adopt corporate VPN as part their overall cybersecurity strategy due to the rising incidences of cyberattacks.

VPNs can drastically reduce the risk of online threats to businesses. All of their internet traffic is hidden from all who might have access to it.

What is a Corporate VPN and compared to Consumer VPN?

There are vastly different requirements for VPNs from businesses than there are for consumers. Consumers place privacy protection on public networks as a top priority, along with access to restricted content. Businesses are also concerned about security and privacy protection, but they also prioritize increased control, better workforce productivity, priority customer support, and an enhanced level of control.

Corporate VPN services are packaged differently to consumer VPNs. For increased security and reliability, many corporate VPNs have dedicated servers. Businesses often have dedicated customer support in order to minimize disruptions to their operations when using third-party corporate VPN service providers. Some businesses prefer to install VPNs on-premises, on their own servers, so they can control the security, operation, and use of the VPNs.

The technology that powers corporate VPNs is almost identical to consumer VPNs, with a few exceptions. They differ mainly because of their use and, consequently, the needs of each user.

We now move on to the next question.

How does the corporate world use VPNs?

The rapid rise in cyberattacks against businesses and the increase in data breaches of significant value have forced governments around the globe to take action. They have. Many countries have adopted stringent cybersecurity laws in recent years. These legislations require businesses to use robust security measures to protect customer data and prevent unauthorized access.

These developments have made cybersecurity no longer an afterthought or another item on the To-Do list for organizations, but a compliance requirement. Failure to meet compliance requirements could result in punitive actions, such as fines, bankruptcy and punishment for criminal negligence.

Corporate VPNs can be a great tool for protecting confidential company data from hackers when the stakes are high. Corporate VPNs offer more than security. Here are some ways businesses use VPNs to accomplish their goals.

Enhanced Safety

VPNs offer the greatest benefit: advanced security. All data that travels between your corporate network and the internet will be encrypted when you deploy a company-wide VPN. Modern hackers are a prime target because of several reasons. Hackers can gain complete access to the internet traffic of all customers by gaining control over one ISP. They get a better return on their investment in time, effort and/or money than hacking one individual internet user.

Your ISP or rogue employee within your organization may sell your corporate information to their own benefit.

Any “listener” who has access to your internet traffic will be unable to “read” your data with a corporate VPN. They will not be able to access your encrypted traffic, protecting you against their malicious intent.

Remote Workforce

It is hard to overstate the importance of VPNs for remote workers. Remote workforce is increasing in size. There are also frequent travelers who might need to use public Wi-Fi at airports or coffee shops. Employees in mission-critical positions may also need to change to work mode when faced with an emergency.

These people often have to use public or personal networks to access the internet and corporate data. These networks are vulnerable to hackers. Hackers can gain unauthorized access to sensitive corporate information if they hack into the devices of one of these employees.

Remote employees can access corporate networks and communicate with employees on-premises. Secure VPN allows them to work seamlessly, without worrying about the security or privacy of corporate data.

Restricted Access

The cybersecurity threats are evolving as corporate IT infrastructure migrates to the cloud. Businesses can protect their cloud data, apps and networks by limiting access to unauthorized sources.

This rule is enforced by organizations that allow access to their cloud environments only from a predetermined number of IP addresses. Organizations can make sure that no one can gain unauthorised access to their cloud environment by limiting who can access it.

Many corporate VPNs come with dedicated servers or IP addresses so that employees can access the same IP addresses. Employees in multiple locations can access protected cloud environments using a common set IP addresses, even if they are spread across different countries.

Business Travel Security

Business leaders and employees have become globetrotters due to the interconnected nature of modern business. You may need to visit suppliers, clients, partners or manufacturers in other countries. There are many problems with using the internet. Privacy and security are the main concerns.

Some countries are in a bad light for their state-sponsored corporate spying activities. Do you really want your corporate confidential data stolen by state-sponsored hackers while you’re in these countries?

Your internet traffic is protected by a corporate VPN. You can be sure that your internet connection will not fall into the hands of hackers, even if it does.

Restricted Website Access

One reason is that your destination country might have restricted or banned certain websites. You cannot access Facebook in China, for example.

As an additional layer of security, many businesses limit their website access to traffic that is only from certain geographic areas. This makes sense when you think about a London-based furniture seller. It’s not worth making their website accessible to non-UK internet users if they don’t offer shipping services to customers in the UK. It is smart to prevent non-UK users from visiting their website. This will stop hackers from attacking it.

To access any website you can’t access at home, you can use your VPN’s IP address.

Productivity

All employees working outside of the company’s premises can benefit from VPNs. This could be an employee working remotely or someone who had to attend an urgent video conference over a weekend.

These employees can access the same corporate instant messaging application, CRM, team collaboration tool and other resources as their colleagues who work from home. The employees’ productivity is greatly boosted by this seamless access to corporate resources. The communication between employees is seamless, the team collaboration is not affected, and the productivity of off-premises employees stays consistent.

Marketing Results and SERPs Check

In many creative ways, digital marketing managers and agencies use VPNs, particularly third-party VPN services.

Search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo! will personalize search results based on your location. London search engine users are more likely to receive different results than those in New York. The search engine results page is completely tailored to the user’s location.

It could prove difficult for a digital marketer who is located in a different country or city to find the latest SERPs for keywords that are important to them or their employer. The SERPs the digital marketer receives will be customized to their location, not the company’s. This problem can be solved with a VPN in a click. Third-party VPNs today allow users to select servers (and IP addresses), located in many countries. Digital marketers can connect to the VPN server in their area of operation and view the SERPs.

Alternativly, the company can also grant digital marketing VPN access through its corporate network.

Multi-location VPNs can be a gamechanger in the digital marketing world. Many times, they need to check the SERPs of their company in multiple cities or countries. This is made easy by multi-location VPNs.

Centralized Administration

Administrators have a high degree of control over who and what can access corporate VPNs. This has several security advantages.

First, an administrator can share temporary VPN credentials on a need-only or intern basis with a temporary employee, contractor, or employee. If the user no longer requires access to sensitive corporate data, they can revoke or set to expire their access.

Administrators can also grant access to sensitive corporate information such as databases, source codes, customer details, etc. You can grant ‘View Only’ access to connections that originate from one set IP addresses, while others can have ‘View and edit’ access. This method, although it can be done at the software-level without a VPN adds an additional layer of security.

QA Testing

VPNs are not only being used by digital marketers for non-security reasons. For many years, QA engineers have used VPNs to test products, services, or systems.

Localization is a common investment for businesses that have operations in multiple countries. Many of their websites, products and services are tailored to local populations – language, payment methods and shipping methods. You should also consider the compliance and legal requirements in your area.

These companies have QA engineers who connect to a VPN server in their respective geographic region to quickly test the company’s online assets. There are many other methods, including IP address spoofing and force-localization with URL query strings. However, a VPN is the best option.

Conclusion

SME’s are increasingly using third-party VPN services for cybersecurity. It is not surprising that VPN subscriptions have dropped to single digits, often at $5 per employee per month.

To meet their diverse needs, large enterprises use both third-party VPN services as well as on-premises VPN infrastructure.

No matter what your VPN strategy is, a corporate VPN is essential for protecting your company’s data, privacy, security, and integrity.

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