Security needs to be a priority for everyone involved with business. This has led to a rise in the use of solutions that will protect the security and privacy of the user and their systems. A very common, yet effective, means of securing your data is to use a virtual private network, or VPN.
A VPN is a network that masks your activity through encryption and routes your web traffic through servers located somewhere that you are not. These safeguards allow a user to worry less about having their data stolen in transit. This feature makes VPNs useful to businesses, especially to organizations that have employees that work remotely, on the road, or from multiple locations.
Using a VPN, a worker can remotely access their business’ network without fear of their data being harvested, allowing the worker to maintain their productivity, whether they’re sick and stuck at home or across the world on business. Some VPNs can even maintain a virtual desktop, allowing a worker to access their workstation remotely and use it just as though they were in the office.
In a world where everything seems to happen online, it is more important than ever to protect your business against cybercrime. Criminals have been quick to embrace technology and use it to their advantage.
Let’s consider a quick scenario: you’re on a business trip, staying the night in a chain hotel. At your free continental breakfast, you decide to get some work done on your laptop. You could potentially be at risk of cyberattack the moment you connect the device to the hotel’s Wi-Fi, and unlike other crimes, the cybercriminal doesn’t even have to be there to participate. They could be sitting in a diner down the street or at their 9-to-5 job on the other side of town, letting a planted device to their dirty work for them.
It is unnerving to think of how much someone can learn about you based on data they intercept. A journalist was able to take data from a completely ‘smart’ apartment in Bucharest and write a story about the resident of that apartment based off a week’s worth of data. The fictional story was almost completely accurate to the resident, even though the writer had never met him. Imagine the damage that a cyber criminal could do with that amount of comprehensive data.
For reasons like these, it is all the more important that you leverage a VPN for your business’ protection.
VPNs are also commonly used to sneak past geographic restrictions on certain websites, which has led to some countries banning them outright. China, for example, has made the use of VPNs illegal after they were used to undermine the Great Firewall, allowing citizens to view content that was censored by the government. Russia has followed a similar route, with Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Venezuela all considering following suit. These laws make it considerably more difficult for many businesses to ensure their security, as these countries may find out sooner or later.
As for your business, a VPN is a tool that you should implement to better ensure your data security. ClearView IT can help you get one set up, just give us a call at 866-326-7214.
