There are several reasons why a company may be interested in using a VPN for all its employees’ devices. The first reason is the steady increase in cyber threats targeting companies, aiming to exploit vulnerabilities to breach security systems and get hold of sensitive information or demand money, as the rise of ransomware shows. Protecting data and digital connections is a must for large and small companies alike, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic saw many companies experiment with remote working and observed the rapid spread of smart working.
A way of working that satisfies workers but worries companies because it increases the risk of data breaches. It is difficult for a company to constantly monitor employees’ connections in different places: homes, hotels, cafés, airports, and train stations. Here, then, a VPN capable of allowing data access only to employees and encrypting the transmission to all others can prove to be an effective remedy to defend against attacks by malicious attackers.
It must be said that despite the solutions companies resort to to secure their data, a 100% protected network does not exist. This is because the relationship between hackers and companies’ IT departments is like that between doping and anti-doping: working every day to develop new techniques, the former is always one step ahead of the latter, which in turn are busy blocking the innovations implemented by their rivals. This is why using a VPN is necessary for companies, which complicates the lives of hackers, convincing them to change targets in search of easier prey to conquer. With the digital transformation that has affected and continues to affect every industry sector, using a VPN in the corporate environment has become more widespread in recent years due to the increase in breach attempts.
How to choose a VPN Business
Relying on a VPN means managing access by authenticating and authorising users and verifying their identity. An advantage guaranteed to businesses by the VPN is split tunnelling. This function allows the separation of data traffic that must be protected by encryption and programmes that can access the Internet directly instead. This flexibility is useful to lighten the data flow and maintain higher speeds for accessing local services, which reduces traffic overload on corporate servers and data centres. At the corporate level, a VPN can be either remote access or site-to-site. In the former case, individual devices or users are connected to the corporate network, while in the latter, the connection is between two or more networks, making it ideal for connecting a head office with its branches.
Another feature of a corporate VPN is a 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption system, which renders unreadable the bulk of information travelling from devices to servers to anyone not authorised to receive it. In this sense, a company should look towards providers with a no-logs policy, which, in the name of privacy, does not keep a log of activity and does not retain browsing history.
Among the factors to consider when evaluating what is a good VPN is the old saying ‘you get what you pay for’, which emphasises that it is best to subscribe to ensure a secure and reliable solution. Since every company has to earn money to survive and guarantee certain security standards, the provider of a VPN also has to be paid so that one can count on a fast connection, a high number of servers available in different countries, and services that allow one to use several devices at the same time.
Another element to be observed is the security protocol that the VPN uses since several are on the market, and not all provide the same level of protection. OpenVPN is one of the most secure technologies, as it offers an unbreakable virtual tunnel and a complex encryption system to breach and bypass firewalls.
A VPN for your company
With 3,000 servers in 50 countries, 24/7 support and dedicated corporate subscription options, TorGuard VPN is a good choice for large teams. It uses military-grade encryption to protect servers and supports several security protocols, such as OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec and SSTP. It offers unlimited bandwidth and data transfer and, although more expensive than average and without a free trial (there is a refund after seven days), it allows you to connect up to 12 devices. TorGuard VPN is probably not the easiest VPN to set up and can sometimes experience slowdowns. However, choosing four packages (Starter, Small, Medium, Enterprise) with a choice of 15/20/50/100 encrypted email accounts remains a major advantage for those looking for a business VPN.
