How to Use a VPN for Remote Working – The Plain English Guide

Remote working is truly taking the professional world by storm. Accelerated by COVID-19, more and more organisations are opening up to the idea that workers don’t need to be in the office between 9 and 5, Monday to Friday in order to do good work.

However, just as technology enables us to work remotely from anywhere in the world, teleworking also presents considerable IT security concerns. But all is not lost! Many of these concerns can be allayed with the use of something called a ‘remote-access virtual private network (VPN)’.

But what is a VPN? And how does it solve the cybersecurity issues associated with home working?

Before we talk about how VPNs make remote working more secure, we need to acknowledge the current state of play.

Why Working From Home is A Great Idea

Giving your staff the option of working remotely has a number of benefits:

  • Flexibility – Remote working options give people the freedom to work whenever and wherever they like, providing a better work-life balance
  • Working Preferences – Some people find they’re more productive at home than in the busy office
  • Employees Without Borders – The ability to telecommute means that you can work with the best talent – wherever they are in the world
  • Eco-Friendly – The average UK commute takes almost an hour. Working from home means more productivity and a lower carbon footprint
  • Cost Reduction – Companies with home workers can have a smaller office with lower overheads
  • In Case of Emergency – Remote working options can help keep your business running when the unexpected occurs
  • Maximise Productivity – Remote working enables personnel to work productively even when they’re at a conference or meeting off-site.

The Cybersecurity Concerns of Remote Working

Despite the benefits of remote working, there are a number of IT security problems that remote working can present.

Your company has no control over the levels of IT security on workers’ devices, such as antivirus protections and firewall coverage. So when remote workers use their own devices to access company servers, files, and emails, their device could potentially bring cybersecurity vulnerabilities into the company’s network.

The company also has no agency over the security measures employed on the networks that their workers use to access those resources.

Readily available, unsecured Wifi – accessible in places like cafes and hotels – may be convenient for your remote workers, but it’s also awfully convenient for hackers. If a worker is transmitting sensitive data, unencrypted, over the open airwaves, then a cybercriminal could easily snoop in.

Additionally, the company has little to no control over how potentially sensitive data is handled. A remote worker could easily save sensitive data locally to a shared household device, or transmit it in an insecure way that contravenes the company’s IT security policy.

A virtual private network setup for remote workers

What is a Remote Access VPN?

A remote-access VPN (which stands for ‘virtual private network’) effectively creates a secure, encrypted connection between a remote worker’s device and your organisation’s own internal network resources via the internet.

This connection is totally encrypted, so anyone trying to listen in on communications between the two points will just see meaningless gibberish.

This is ideal for companies worried about remote workers using poorly configured network hardware and unsecured Wi-Fi, but it can also help bring workers’ activities more in line with the company’s IT security policies.

With the right solution, you can enact the same policies for remote workers as you would with those who use your network in the office – or at least ones that are similarly stringent.

How Are Remote-Access VPNs Different to Consumer VPN Solutions?

You may be familiar with the term ‘VPN’ from the vast range of consumer VPN solutions available on the market, like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and TunnelBear.

Enterprise level remote-access VPNs use the same underlying technology but they are used very differently in practice.

Personal, consumer VPN services are used by private individuals to encrypt their online traffic, protecting their online activity and their right to informational privacy. VPNs are often used to conceal or alter a device’s perceived geographic location.

User traffic is routed through a VPN provider’s servers to preserve anonymity and privacy – creating a secure tunnel between the user’s device and whatever website or resource they’re trying to access. Consumers purchase a subscription to the service and manage connections and disconnections through software.

However, enterprise-level, remote-access VPNs are a somewhat different animal. These services are there to provide a secure, encrypted tunnel between remote worker devices and a specific network.

How To Setup a VPN for Remote Working

From the company’s side, VPN functionality can be achieved in three different ways. Organisations can either:

Whichever option you choose, you will also have to purchase VPN licenses (one per user) from your provider in order to use the service.

Many solutions on the market – including those provided by Just Firewalls – also offer ‘spike’ licenses to keep you covered during sudden bursts of activity.

Options for Setting Up a Remote Working VPN

What VPN use ‘looks like’ from the perspective of remote working staff depends heavily on the kinds of access they need, the work you do, and how your network is set up.

Whatever your setup, this is usually achieved in one of two ways.

The first option is to supply your workers with a PC/laptop with pre-configured VPN software.

In order to connect to your network, the user has to connect this device to the internet and open the VPN software. This will create the all-important secure tunnel between the network and the device, allowing the user to access the network much like they would on a static PC located in the office.

This option provides the best security and functionality, but there are downsides:

  • The overheads associated with shipping out a correctly configured device may be prohibitively expensive
  • Entrusting these devices to a remote party can be a considerable risk
  • This approach is no good for staff who are affected by sudden, unforeseen circumstances – they won’t be able to connect without a device at home.

The alternative way that addresses these problems is to implement your VPN connections through browser-based secure network portals.

With this option, the user can access the appropriate portal on any device. They can login and access server files, email functions, and more through their own hardware.

This gets around the problem of needing to have a specially configured device in each remote worker’s possession in the event that something totally unforeseen impacts your business.

Our Best VPN Solutions for Remote Workers

The enterprise-level security systems provided by Just Firewalls offer robust permission functionality, ensuring that any non-company owned, ‘BYOD’ devices can only access specific network resources in line with the user’s level of authorisation.

Our solutions can also check that user-owned devices pass a minimum baseline level of security before allowing access – this includes checking the recency of OS security updates and antivirus patches.

Both options have their unique benefits and drawbacks, and both can be protected by your network security policies, firewall, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) solutions.

There are enterprise-level remote-access VPN solutions designed for mobile devices too. SonicWall Mobile Connect allows for easy, VPN-secured network access for smartphones through a readily available app.

This permits user verification, policy management, and a number of other IT security benefits.

Looking for a modern firewall that also facilitates secure, reliable VPN functionality? Look no further than our suite of WatchGuard firewalls.

Crafted to provide enterprise-level protection to companies of all sizes, the WatchGuard M and T series come bundled with various additional protections to keep your company safe. For a free, no-obligation chat with one of our experts, just drop us a line or call 0808 1644414.

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