Come funziona una VPN?

How a Standard Internet Connection Works

A standard internet connection sends data from your device to the internet via your Internet Service Provider (ISP). This data packet contains:

• A header
• A payload (the actual data being transferred)

The header includes information such as:

• The IP address of the original device
• The destination

If you’re using HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), the payload is encrypted—but the header remains visible. This means your IP address is still accessible to:

• Your ISP
• The websites or services you interact with

This allows them to block content based on your IP address location or build a profile of your activity for targeted marketing.

What Changes When You Use a VPN

While there are various types of VPNs, they all insert an intermediary step into this process to improve security and privacy. When using a VPN:

• All data leaving your device is encrypted
• The encrypted data still travels through your ISP, but they can no longer see the content or destination

The Role of the VPN Server

The data is routed to a remote VPN server, where it is decrypted and forwarded to the intended website or service. The source IP address becomes the VPN server’s IP, not yours. This masks your IP address and location, adding a layer of anonymity and security.

The response from the website follows the same route:

1. Sent back to the VPN server
2. Encrypted again
3. Then returned to your device

VPN Protocols and Tunneling

When you connect to a VPN server:

• The connection is authenticated
• Data is encrypted and transferred through a secure tunnel

All of this is managed by the VPN protocol in use.

VPN Use Cases

Typical use cases of VPNs include:

• Providing Secure Remote Access: VPNs allow employees to access internal resources from outside the office. Remote or hybrid workers can use a VPN to make a secure connection to the company’s private network over the public internet, encrypting all data.
• Connecting Multiple Office Locations: VPNs provide a secure and cost-effective method of connecting different branch locations over the internet. Businesses can enable seamless data sharing and centralized resource access by creating a site-to-site VPN tunnel between offices.
• Complying with Regulations: VPN encryption helps organizations in regulated industries to comply with data privacy requirements. Data shared with users or third parties outside the network is automatically encrypted using a VPN.
• Supporting Global Operations: By changing IP addresses, VPN users can access geo-restricted content wherever they are located. This helps support businesses with global operations for testing regional websites, consistent platform access, or performing international market research.

The Benefits of Using a VPN

Una VPN è progettata per creare un tunnel criptato tra due punti. Entrambi gli endpoint dispongono di una chiave segreta condivisa, che consente loro di criptare il traffico in uscita e decriptare quello in entrata. Questa chiave segreta condivisa può essere derivata dalla password dell'utente o derivata da un protocollo di condivisione delle chiavi. La meccanica esatta dipende dal protocollo VPN in uso.

Quali sono i vantaggi di una connessione VPN?

Lo scopo di una VPN è fornire ai dipendenti un accesso remoto sicuro alle risorse aziendali. Alcuni dei vantaggi di una connessione VPN sono:

• Sicurezza dei dati: Le VPN criptano il traffico tra un lavoratore remoto e la rete aziendale. Questo aiuta a proteggere il loro traffico dalle intercettazioni e dagli attacchi MitM.
• Maggiore visibilità: Gli utenti remoti possono accedere direttamente a Internet e alle risorse cloud dell'organizzazione. Con una VPN, tutto il traffico passa attraverso la rete aziendale, consentendo all'organizzazione di ispezionare e proteggere questo traffico.
• Sicurezza perimetrale: Una VPN instrada il traffico degli utenti remoti all'interno del perimetro della rete aziendale. Ciò consente all'organizzazione di proteggerli e di gestire il loro traffico con le soluzioni esistenti basate sul perimetro.
• Indirizzamento locale: Con una VPN, gli utenti remoti sono trattati come se avessero una connessione diretta alla rete aziendale. Questo consente all'organizzazione di utilizzare l'indirizzamento locale per tutti gli utenti, sia on-premise che remoti.

Una VPN è sicura?

I protocolli e i sistemi di cybersecurity vengono spesso valutati in base alla "Triade della CIA". Questo si riferisce alla capacità del sistema di fornire:

• Riservatezza: Proteggere i dati sensibili da accessi non autorizzati. L'obiettivo principale di una VPN è quello di fornire riservatezza attraverso l'uso della crittografia.
• Integrità: Proteggere i dati da modifiche non autorizzate. Una VPN può fornire una protezione dell'integrità se utilizza un algoritmo crittografico di autenticazione.
• Disponibilità: Assicurarsi che il sistema rimanga disponibile per gli utenti. Le VPN hanno qualche problema di disponibilità, in quanto richiedono una certa quantità di larghezza di banda e che l'endpoint remoto abbia la capacità necessaria per supportare il traffico di un utente.

VPN vs. Alternative Remote Access Solutions

There are alternative remote access solutions you can implement to achieve higher security.

Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)

ZTNA is a security framework that removes implicit trust to continually verify and authenticate user identity.

Business attack surfaces are expanding as more organizations utilize a mix of hybrid cloud and on-premises infrastructure. This means broad network access, as provided by VPNs, introduces new security risks that require additional controls beyond encryption.

ZTNA and least-privilege access (providing only the access needed for a given role) help limit attack surfaces by:

• Allowing users access only to specific systems
• Preventing lateral movement within networks
• Reducing the severity of a data breach, since attackers struggle to compromise more systems

ZTNA also promotes strong authentication and authorization processes by:

• Routing access requests through an access broker
• Granting access only to the specific application needed
• Avoiding the full network access typically granted via VPNs

Given how VPNs work, users are often provided with blanket access. In contrast, ZTNA offers more controlled, application-level access that prioritizes security and limits the impact of attacks.

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

SASE combines the connectivity of a Wide Area Network (WAN) with a range of security technologies and frameworks, including:

• Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
• Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)
• Secure Web Gateway (SWG)
• Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS)

Delivered as a single, cloud-based solution, SASE unifies networking and security capabilities for simpler operations. While VPNs are best suited to on-premises IT architectures and providing external users with internal access, SASE:

• Distributes functionality across the cloud
• Delivers services at the network edge

SASE is designed for the needs of modern workloads, where traffic is increasingly directed to:

• SaaS applications
• Other cloud services, rather than on-prem data centers

Its security architecture ensures:

• Consistent security policies
• Access control, regardless of user location or the service/application in use

Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN)

An SD-WAN offers a software alternative to managing the infrastructure needed to connect multiple branch locations or provide remote access. Rather than controlling network access by adjusting network devices, it achieves this through centralized software. This enables dynamic routing based on:

• Application needs
• Bandwidth availability
• Security policies

While SD-WANs are a networking framework and not a security tool like a VPN, they often provide security capabilities as well as connectivity.

This includes encryption without some of the performance limitations of a VPN tunnel.

What Should You Consider When Choosing a VPN?

While there are alternatives that enable remote network access, VPNs remain a widely supported and easy-to-implement option. When choosing a VPN for your business, there are a number of factors you need to consider.

The most prominent factors include:

• Network Scale: The number of employees and locations that make up your business. You need to understand the scale of your operations and find the right VPN provider for your needs. For example, how many staff work remotely, at least some of the time? Where are your centralized resources stored? How many locations do you need to connect using site-to-site VPNs?
• Security: The main security factor to consider is VPN encryption. Look for solutions that rely on strong, modern encryption standards. Beyond encryption, there is a range of other VPN security features vendors provide. These include authentication, kill switches, leak protection, and malware blocking.
• Speed: Defined by the VPN protocol and the number and location of VPN servers operated by the vendor. Network speeds impact user experience, so consider VPNs that have a minimal impact on latency.
• Integration: How the VPN integrates with the existing IT infrastructure and user devices. This depends on the VPN protocol’s compatibility with operating systems, browser extensions, cloud environments, and other security tools.
• Management: Whether or not the VPN is easy to use and provides comprehensive visibility into network connections.

Stay Secure with Quantum Remote Access VPN

Check Point’s Quantum Remote Access VPN offers high-level security and fast network speeds regardless of the scale of your operations and your existing infrastructure. With a simple user experience, employees can quickly set up Quantum on any device and start accessing internal resources securely.

Plus, IT teams can configure and manage all VPN connections from a single, integrated console.

Security features include:

• Multi-factor authentication.
• Endpoint system compliance scanning.
• Encryption of all transmitted data using IPSec or SSL.

Request a demo today and learn more about Check Point’s industry-leading remote access VPN.

Alternatively, consider Harmony SASE to combine VPN benefits and secure remote access with added flexibility and comprehensive security controls.