Security & Compliance
Is your company, like many others, depending on VPNs for security and privacy purposes? It is becoming clear that legacy VPN products are no longer satisfactory in meeting the security needs of today’s enterprises.
For one, employees have a tendency to install third party commercial VPNs on devices that are not regulated by their companies in hopes of securing their devices. This practice sounds good in theory, but in practice often leads to a greater security risk than just not having anything at all in place.
There are a wide variety of reasons behind this, including encryption, ad trackers, route vulnerabilities, insufficient enforcement of company device security and compliance requirements, and the plain and simple fact of superior alternatives such as zero-trust architecture.
Encryption Risks
There is a wide variety of encryption risks associated with VPNs, such as:
Credential Harvesting: refers to sensitive login information such as usernames and passwords being captured, and hackers can log in as users.
Remote Code Execution: refers to remote attackers executing commands to place malicious code by exploiting vulnerabilities (VPNs have a lot of them). These are highly dangerous attacks, with the capability to shut down an entire network.Cryptographic Weakening: refers to vulnerabilities related to the suboptimal use or implementation of cryptographic techniques.
Hijacking Encrypted Traffic: refers to attacks where hackers can access sensitive data (configurations, credentials, encryption keys through hijacking encrypted traffic sessions
Ad Tracker Risks
Blocks Malicious Sites, But Not Always Ads: Many VPNs will be successful in blocking users from accessing malicious links, but ads for products that are not actually needed, distracting, or potentially harmful can take over the screen of users during their day-to-day work.
Route Vulnerabilities
TunnelVision Attack: A novel attack that causes VPNs to route traffic outside the encrypted tunnel, which can expose data to a wide variety of risks, including snooping or manipulation.
The process of this attack is along the lines of:
Attacking Scheme
Attackers run a DHCP server on the same network as the targeted VPN user.
Manipulating Routing Rules
Attackers manipulate DHCP configuration to use itself as a gateway, and VPN traffic is diverted to the DHCP server.
Exposing Traffic
Traffic is no longer encrypted and routed through the attacker directly. This exposes the data to the attacker, whilst the victim will remain connected to both the VPN and Internet.
For context, a DHCP server refers to a network device that automatically assigns IP addresses and other network settings to endpoints. In a nutshell, it simplifies networking by automating the process of IP address assignment.
Some other vulnerabilities include:
- Highly Complex and Tedious Infrastructure Management: VPNs can be highly complex to manage, requiring large amounts of attention and expertise. Even minor misconfigurations can lead to massive vulnerabilities.
- Latency and Bandwidth Issues: The use of VPNs can put lots of stress on a network and can cause slower response times across a network.
Lack of Enforcement of Security Policies
Every device has the potential to become infected with malware, even beyond the corporate perimeter. When employees and partners access company resources, it’s crucial to evaluate the security status of their devices before they log in. Why does this matter? Because a single compromised device has the power to cause chaos within your network and jeopardize your valuable data. VPNs provide no protection in this regard.
A Superior Alternative: Zero-Trust Architecture
Zero Trust is a security strategy that assumes no trust within a network. In contrast to traditional perimeter-based security, Zero Trust focused on verifying and securing every user, device, and application regardless of location.
This involves multi factor authentication and applying policies of least privilege access. In addition, the use of micro segmentation to separate and secure workloads provides additional security.
To Wrap It Up
In summary, relying solely on legacy VPNs for security and privacy is no longer sufficient. Employees often install third-party commercial VPNs on unregulated devices, inadvertently increasing security risks. Encryption vulnerabilities, ad trackers, and route weaknesses plague traditional VPNs.
Additionally, complex management, latency issues, and lax enforcement of security policies add to the challenges. A superior alternative lies in adopting a Zero-Trust Architecture—a strategy that verifies and secures every user, device, and application, regardless of location. By embracing Zero Trust, organizations can enhance security and protect valuable data.
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