5 Ways to Protect Corporate Virtual Private Networks
As Nigerian businesses embrace cloud computing, cyber infiltrations through stolen credentials have increased. According to the UK-based cybersecurity organisation, Sophos, 46% of cyberattacks in Nigeria occurred because of stolen credentials. To protect sensitive data, Nigerian businesses implement corporate virtual private networks (VPNs) on their internet systems.
A corporate VPN provides a secure connection to networks over the public internet. It conceals network identity by passing it through an encrypted virtual server. You may ask: “since VPNs are security tools, why do they need protection? they’re secure!”. That’s because, despite the security merits of VPNs, they’re vulnerable to cyber violations.
Unsafe security practices such as password recycling, a lack of two-factor authentication (2FA) protocols, and inadequate configuration systems are everyday weaknesses hackers target to infiltrate VPN systems. For instance, hackers gained unauthorised access to the internal systems of Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel pipeline in the US, through the compromised password of a VPN account (the VPN account lacked a 2FA too).
Corporate VPNs are security tools that need protection. Read on to learn the methods to protect them.
What are Corporate VPNs?
Corporate (or business) VPN is a network encryption protocol used to establish a safe public internet connection. Using a corporate VPN is like wearing an invisibility cloak: your network connection is working, but it’s also “invisible” to external parties including internet service providers (ISPs). Besides online security, business VPNs provide end-to-end encryption to the internal resources of your business.
Unlike personal VPNs, corporate VPNs work on dedicated servers and internet protocol (IP) addresses, which means it provides higher network security and performance. By encrypting your server address, browsing history — and crucially — business data, corporate VPNs play a vital role in shielding your network from unauthorised external parties.
Benefits of Corporate VPNs
An uncomfortable fact: according to Sophos, 86% of Nigerian firms were breached in 2020 (the second-highest breach percentage in the world). Using a corporate VPN to encrypt network resources is a no-brainer security tactic to protect your networks against cyber intrusions. The benefits of implementing a business VPN include:
- Secure remote access: Corporate VPNs cover the needs of an entire business. This means it’s accessible to everyone, including your remote workers. With business VPNs, every employee can securely access internal resources through the encrypted business network. This feature helps employees to access sensitive business data irrespective of their location.
- Full access control: Access control — the ability to regulate access to specific resources and networks — is a core element of cybersecurity. You can use business VPNs to create access controls for your business networks. For instance, you can configure separate VPNs for specific internal resources. That way, different users have separate levels of control over specific internal resources. Access controls prevent unsanctioned users from accessing and altering business data.
- Secure business communication through the cloud: Nigerian organisations use cloud computing services, such as cloud storage, to improve business operations. Cloud computing, however, is vulnerable to data theft. Corporate VPNs provide enhanced security over the cloud through a dedicated server. A dedicated server offers increased security and privacy because only your business networks are connected to them.
5 ways to protect your corporate VPN
Like most cybersecurity solutions, corporate VPNs are fallible, especially when protective measures are neglected. But in this section, you’ll learn practical methods to protect your corporate VPN to avoid intrusion.
1. MFAs are non-negotiable
A VPN without MFA is like a house without gates — third parties can penetrate it easily. MFAs provide accessibility security. Besides passwords, MFAs require an extra layer of security — such as one-time passwords (OTPs), biometrics (e.g., fingerprints, voice, and face ID), or security tokens — to protect access to your VPN network.
Another incentive to installing MFA on private networks is it ensures that your business complies with cybersecurity regulatory standards. For instance, regulatory frameworks such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) require organisations that accept card payments to install authentication protocols to protect remote access.
2. Patch it up!
Unpatched software — computer codes with obvious security weaknesses — is a common VPN vulnerability. For instance, the VPN devices and servers of Fortinet, an American cybersecurity company, were leaked in 2021 because of neglected unpatched software. Patching, the process of installing the latest bug fixes on your VPN software, is an effective way to keep your VPN security updated and efficient.
3. Train your employees
Irrespective of the sophistication of your cybersecurity tools, your business is one human error away from a data breach. According to the American multinational technology corporation, IBM, human errors are responsible for over 90% of cyber breaches. Skill-based errors, such as temporary mistakes and negligence, and decision-based errors, which are due to inadequate knowledge, are common forms of human errors.
Organising regular training about basic security procedures is one way to improve the cybersecurity depth of your employees. This includes implementing an incident response (IR) guide that explains cybersecurity concepts and vulnerabilities peculiar to your organisation. The IR guide also explains the specific roles of every employee in the security chain. Everyday cybersecurity concepts you should educate your employees about include phishing, malware/ransomware attacks, password management, and authentication protocols.
4. Have a strong password management policy
Password recycling, the act of reusing passwords, is a common practice amongst employees. According to a survey by the hardware authentication provider, Yubico, over 52% of employees reuse personal passwords to protect corporate accounts. In summary: recycled or weak passwords make VPN intrusion easy.
However, you can strengthen your VPN security through password managers. Password managers use advanced encryption policies to protect your login credentials. It also employs a zero-knowledge protocol — an encryption policy where only users have access to their data: other entities, including the password management server, have zero knowledge about your data.
Besides, password managers provide dark web monitoring. That is, it scans and notifies you if your sensitive data, including login credentials, have been compromised on the dark web. Common password managers you can use include Dashlane, NordPass, and LastPass.
5. Install firewalls
VPNs offer limited protection against malware attacks. You need to install a firewall to inspect your VPN network traffic. Like physical walls, firewalls filter the quality of your network traffic. Besides network filtering, firewalls — especially next-generation firewalls (NGFW) — provide advanced threat detection capabilities to prevent malware from entering your VPN system. Installing firewalls on your corporate VPN means malicious actors or files can’t intercept your VPN connections.
Final Thoughts
Corporate VPNs offer advanced network encryption security. It provides secure remote access and access controls to help organisations manage encrypted connections. But like every cybersecurity solution, corporate VPNs need protection.
Firewalls and patched VPN software are security measures that reduce the vulnerability of corporate VPNs. Password managers and MFA protocols offer security depth to protect your VPN login credentials. Lastly, don’t forget to educate your greatest cybersecurity asset — your employees — about information security measures. Happy VPNing! 🙂
