In this generation of technology, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have turned out to be paramount instruments that can be employed in boosting the protection measures and ensuring sensitive data is secured. With the UK government estimating that this year alone, roughly 22% of small businesses and 14% of charities have faced cyber misconduct so far, it is imperative that startups and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) understand how VPNs can enhance their data privacy.
What’s a VPN?
A virtual private network (VPN) is designed to establish a secure, encrypted connection between your device and a remote server owned by the service provider through the internet. Thus, it ensures that every piece of information which passes through your device, going into or out of the VPN server, cannot be seen by any third party.
What Types of Businesses Need a VPN?
Various types of organisations require virtual private networks (VPNs), especially if they are focused on securing data, privacy, and enabling smooth remote access. For example:
Remote Work Teams
Companies having employees working remotely or groups needing safe access to company resources from various places largely rely on VPNs. Through this, sensitive information can be transmitted securely, as it is encrypted over public networks.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
Small businesses usually have no security teams specifically assigned to handle any IT issues that arise, as well as infrastructure facilities for such purposes. Therefore, through using VPNs, it becomes easier to protect information that is transmitted within business premises and those sent outside.
Financial Institutions
Financial institutions deal with customers’ financial details, meaning they must take care of their safety and abide by stringent laws and regulations that protect sensitive information. Therefore, the use of a VPN can be ideal, as financial transactions are encrypted when carried via virtual private networks, keeping confidential matters safe from unlawful entry.
Healthcare Providers
Various medical facilities like hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare service providers in the UK have private patient records and confidential medical data. VPNs can assist healthcare providers in ensuring compliance with data protection laws such as the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR by keeping patient information secure during transmission.
Legal Firms
When companies, such as law firms, that are often dealing with delicate legal papers, client correspondence, and case documents, can make good use of VPNs to uphold solicitor-client privilege.
Consulting Firms
Using a VPN allows secure communication with clients and protects proprietary business information because consulting firms usually work on proprietary data, strategic plans, or intellectual property.
Startups
As startups often are faced with limited budgets, VPNs provide a relatively inexpensive way to implement robust security measures. Furthermore, with remote teams becoming more prominent within the startup world, a VPN allows employees to securely access company resources from anywhere, ensuring that data is encrypted and secure even when using public or unsecured networks.
More from VPNs
Benefits of Using a VPN
Business owners who opt to use a VPN to help secure their data can see benefits, including creating unreadable data through data encryption, a hidden IP address and therefore ensuring secure cloud-network storage, among a plethora of other benefits:
Data Encryption
To make sure nobody understands what is being transmitted apart from the intended recipient, strong encryption protocols are used by VPNs while encrypting data. In other words, if anyone tries to intercept your business’s secure information without using a decryption key but fails, then it remains unreadable.
IP Address Hiding
One of the most common reasons why many people opt to use a VPN is that it has the ability to hide their location, assuring anonymity. The way that this works is that it makes it seem like you may be using a different device or located elsewhere, meaning that websites are unable to track your identity from website tracking cookies, etc.
Improved Security for Cloud Services
VPN adds an additional layer of security for startups and SMEs that use cloud services for data storage and collaboration. The transmission of information between devices that occur when working on the cloud is usually encrypted, which means any sensitive corporate information saved can be kept away from potential data intruders.
Bypassing Geographic Restrictions
Another benefit of VPNs is their ability to bypass geographic restrictions. By connecting to a VPN server located in a different country, users can access websites and online services that are geo-blocked or restricted in their own region due to censorship or licensing agreements.
