How a Business VPN Secures Client Data
Modern businesses rely on the Internet for communications, for sales, and for data transmission of all types. But how safe is your proprietary data when it’s traveling across the Web? What happens when your company’s reps are on the road and communicating across public, unsecured networks? Strong passwords are a good idea, as is anti-malware protection, but these cybersecurity precautions on their own are not enough.
The answer to these very real problems may be a virtual private network, or VPN. When you establish a VPN for your business, you’re still using the public networks that make up the bulk of the Internet, but you’ve carved out for yourself a private network within the Internet to protect your data and that of your clients.
Think of a business VPN as a private tunnel that keeps prying eyes away from your data as it travels through the world. Through this tunnel, transmissions from your computer and even from your mobile devices are encrypted and secure.
How a Business VPN Works
With a business VPN, everyone who works for your company can communicate securely over the Internet from any location in the world. Distance doesn’t affect your use of a VPN. Neither does the number of people using the VPN, since these private networks are easy to scale as your business grows.
The Elements That Make Up a VPN
Your business VPN consists of VPN software, one or more VPN servers, and a VPN router.
When you establish your business VPN, you start by installing VPN software on your own devices, which might include everything from your office intranet to your employees’ smartphones. When you log in through the VPN software, also known as a VPN client, you connect to the VPN service’s private servers. These servers are typically located all around the world, making it possible to encrypt and protect your transmissions no matter where you are.
Adding a VPN router to this mix makes it possible to encrypt every transmission going to and from your business via the Internet. You can even install additional security firmware to your VPN router to boost your cybersecurity protections further.
The combination of the software, servers, and router create a private infrastructure that protects your data and thwarts any attempted cyber attacks.
What Your Business VPN Does
Your business VPN actually performs multiple functions while it’s protecting your data. Yes, it encrypts your transmissions, whether you’re sending email, conducting financial transactions, or browsing websites. You probably expect extreme security when you’re contacting your bank online. With a VPN, every contact you have online becomes just as secure.
Your business VPN does far more than that, though. It also provides you with access to websites you might not be able to use because of censorship or geographic restrictions. As you’re traveling through the Internet, you also do with with anonymity, since your VPN masks your IP address and makes it nearly impossible for hackers or other online snoops to track your website visits.
As an added bonus, a VPN compresses data before sending it, which speeds up your transmissions and makes it easier for employees to access, say, internal data while on the road.
The Benefits of a Business VPN
A VPN Saves You Money in the Event of a Data Breach
A data breach can be extremely costly, even fatal, to your business. Because standard antivirus measures only provide about 75% of the protection you need, it’s important to close that gap. When you take advantage of cybersecurity measures that include a VPN, you save an average of 47% of the average cost of a data breach.
A VPN Extends Your Company’s Global Reach
If you do business internationally, your representatives may find themselves in countries that ban sites like Google. If they still need to use Gmail and other Google products, your business VPN makes it possible. Even if your reps are in that country, their Internet traffic will continue to look as if they’re operating from your home base, and their connections will stay fast and reliable.
A VPN Allows Data Access From Anywhere in the World
When your company’s critical data is stored on a VPN server, you and your employees can access it from anywhere with no worries. That means there’s no need to load up vulnerable laptops with sensitive information that could be stolen or hacked. Your secure connection to your VPN server means your data is both protected and fully accessible.
With a VPN, every piece of data you send or receive is encrypted from one end of the transaction to the other. That allows your clients to feel secure, your trade secrets to remain protected, and your employees to operate freely wherever they are.
