Remote Access VPN

Provide employees with secure and seamless remote access to corporate networks and resources with Perimeter 81’s Remote Access VPN

What is a Remote Access VPN?

With the rise of the mobile workforce and cloud transformation, there is an increased adoption of remote workers and many companies are moving to cloud infrastructures. A business remote access VPN (or Virtual Private Network) gives employees access to a secure connection with a remote computer network. They can access resources on the network as if they were directly plugged into the network’s servers.

Perimeter 81’s remote access VPN allows organisations to maintain and protect their private cloud resources.

The Increasing Adoption of the Cloud & Remote Workforce

More and more organizations are embracing remote workers and transforming from on-premises to the cloud. The idea of a more user-centric network is changing the traditional network we once knew. While people are now working more remotely from home, cafes, and around the world, the standard, hardware-based security appliances we’ve depended on are no longer adequate in securing remote and on-premise access.

With more employees opting to work from home, a VPN allows workers to functionally work from remote locations by operating and accessing the server as a remote user while using a secure connection. This is also effective for companies with multiple branch offices or office locations to work on the same network and maintain secure access to the office network.

Until recently, organizations adopted physical network security products that were site-centric. In a site-centric network, employees must be at the organisation’s headquarters to access security services or the cloud environment. This outdated technology leads to high latency, lack of productivity, technical issues, and difficulty working with hardware distributors. There is no segmentation network visibility within the organization’s network. Cloud environments and SaaS services are not adequately protected and are sometimes exposed to the public internet.

In addition to being more vulnerable to cyber attacks, traditional technology solutions tend to be very expensive, lack different integrations with SaaS and cloud services, and are incredibly challenging to implement internally. Outdated hardware services and open-source consumer VPN solutions tend to limit scalability and provide weak network visibility due to the massive manual configuration and overhead involved.

Organizations are increasingly adopting remote workers and many companies are moving their entire infrastructure and resources to the cloud. They are implementing cloud services such as AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and more. Most organizations are still using the same site-centric and hardware-based network security appliances that we’ve relied on for the past 30 years, and these are no longer adequate in securing remote and on-premise access.

Secure Network Access on BYOD

More and more employees are using “bring your own device” (BYOD), personal devices with many applications to access corporate data on the office network. Some examples include iPhones, iPads, Android devices, BlackBerries, and more. These devices require stronger levels of endpoint security, point-to-point encryption, and more. Security can be for data at rest in the device itself, secure access to data in the enterprise, and encryption for data in motion between the enterprise and the device.

BYOD has become a huge trend amongst enterprises, with nearly 1/3 of employees using a personal mobile device at workplaces worldwide. A single BYOD can provide several key benefits to enterprises, including increased productivity, reduced IT and operating costs, better mobility for employees, and higher appeal when it comes to hiring and retaining employees. However, with these benefits comes an increased mobile security risk, as BYOD can lead to data breaches, access by unauthorized users, and increased liability for the organization.

How Does a Remote Access VPN Work?

Remote Access VPNs enable network security and compliance for organizations that have transitioned to the public cloud or hybrid cloud environments using SSL, Internet Protocol Security (IPsec), or Wireguard Protocol, the secure network protocol suite that authenticates and encrypts data at the IP Packet Layer. Establishing virtual tunneled connections with IPsec between network resources and an external device and user requires two main components: Perimeter 81’s VPN client software and secure network access gateway.

To create a Remote Access VPN tunnel, the IPsec protocol negotiates security associations (SA) with the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) management protocol to create an authenticated and secure communication channel between a user, device and internal network resources.

IPsec VPN mutual negotiation exchanges keys for end-to-end encryption occurring in two phases. First, users with their devices establish a secure channel that negotiates the IPsec security association (SA). Second, users and devices negotiate the IPsec SA for authenticating traffic that will flow through the tunnel.

The IP traffic that flows between the two components passes between the Perimeter 81 private gateway and the client thereby creating an IPsec tunnel to establish a secure tunnel utilizing the VPN. The private tunnel and the data traveling over any network, public or private, is encrypted, keeping all data on the company network private and secure.

Remote Access VPN

Business VPN for Remote Access

At Perimeter81, we offer a VPN for businesses that allow your company to have a network solution that enables secure and encrypted communication between remote employees and the company’s internal network.

A business VPN allows employees to access resources, data, and applications on the company’s network from anywhere as if they were physically present within the office premises.

Key features of a business VPN for remote access might include:

  • Secure Authentication: Employees must provide valid credentials (such as usernames and passwords) or even multi-factor authentication to connect to the VPN, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access the network.
  • Encryption: Data transferred between the user’s device and the company’s network is encrypted, making it unreadable to anyone who intercepts the traffic.
  • Firewall Bypass: VPNs can allow users to bypass certain firewall restrictions that might prevent access to specific websites or services.
  • Network Privacy: Remote employees’ IP addresses are masked, making it harder for third parties to track their online activities.
  • Centralized Management: IT administrators can manage the VPN connections, monitor usage, and enforce security policies from a centralized dashboard.
  • Split Tunneling: This feature allows users to route only the necessary traffic through the VPN while accessing the rest of the internet directly. This can help optimize performance and reduce unnecessary load on the VPN.
  • Device Compatibility: Business VPNs often offer applications for various devices and operating systems, including Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.
  • Scalability: A good business VPN should be able to handle a large number of simultaneous connections as your organization grows.

Remote Access VPN Benefits

Secures the Cloud
While the cloud provider offers the network infrastructure, it does not address access point security in the company network. In this ‘shared responsibility model’, it is up to the consumer to secure access on top of the cloud environment.

Enables Remote Access
Employees connect from multiple devices, from various locations during all hours of the night and day. A Remote Access VPN offers a remote access solution which allows employees to securely access the organization’s private network through public networks and even share data remotely. In some practices, employees can access virtual desktops to work while outside of the office network effectively.

Encrypts Transmitted Data
The combination of data encryption and tunneling protocols means that all transmitted data, regardless of device or location, is completely encrypted. This level of security ensures that only authorized connections are established and protects any online activity from being traced by external parties.

Perimeter 81’s Remote Access VPN Provides Organizations With:

  • Greater network visibility
  • Seamless onboarding
  • Automatic integration with all the major cloud providers
  • Secure access to both managed and unmanaged devices

What a Remote Access VPN Can Do for Your Business

Protect cloud environments, staging servers, and company databases with total ease.

Access and Security for BYOD Devices
A Remote Access VPN for business allows your employees to encrypt and secure their online traffic— no matter where they’re browsing from — as long as they have an internet connection.

International Quality Assurance Testing
With a Cloud VPN, your QA team can easily change their online geo-location and check the quality of your product in your key international markets. This is a cost-effective solution to employing remote teams.

Simple Automatic IP Whitelisting
Block out threats and grant access to trusted sources by assigning static IP addresses, automatically whitelisting IPs, and restricting unauthorized access while not disrupting your access to service providers.

Optimize Your International Search Rankings
With a Remote Access VPN, you can easily view, monitor, and manage your ads and relevant keywords internationally.

Stay Ahead of Your Competition
Deliver different content to different users based on their geographic location. Customize your site with native text, images, and currency and increase your conversion rate.

Access Applications, VoIP Services, and More
With a Remote Access VPN, you can mask your actual location and bypass online censorship, allowing you to have access to resources like VoIP apps, social media networks, client software, websites, and more.

Perimeter 81 Remote Access VPN Features

  • A dedicated server for VPN hosted in 35 locations worldwide
  • Private servers that deploy with a single click
  • Customer support, 24/7
  • Unlimited data and bandwidth
  • Easy-to-use apps (available for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android)
  • Single cloud management platform
  • Activity and audit reports
  • Automatic Wi-Fi Security

Our Secure Network as a Service Includes Four Main Components

  1. A unified cloud management platform where IT personnel can manage their team, network, and permissions and monitor network activity. The interface is extremely easy-to-use and offers built-in Single Sign-On integration, Two-Factor Authentication, and mobile support.
  2. A multi-tenant cloud, where we create multiple networks segmented based on different permissions. Each one of the networks can be interconnected, either with a centrally based office and native firewalls running within the office or to cloud services through IP whitelisting.
  3. Easy-to-use agents that can be installed either on mobile or laptop devices, offering employees single-click access to any local network or cloud-based resource and providing them with a unified security experience on our client software, regardless of where they are.
  4. Zero Trust agentless application access, which employs multiple layers of user trust and device trust policy validation to authorize employees by using multi-factor authentication before granting them swift access to applications in a session that is fully audited and can be recorded and monitored. This secures the network, employees, and applications using Zero Trust guidelines, and isolates the applications from the network at all times.

Looking for a Remote Access VPN Solution?

Simplify your network security today.