Research and review attacks on VPNs Attacks on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

Attacks on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)  Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

Virtual Private Networks are an extremely common way to establish secure encrypted networks for communicating across the internet. Although they have become a common practice, hackers are still able to exploit them for security purposes.  One of the greatest threats to VPNs is man-inthe-middle attacks (MITM). Without detection, an attacker could intercept, monitor and alter communication (Mauro 2017). Similarly, a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack can target a VPN provider’s services with malicious network traffic to disrupt or degrade their services or by forcing the VPN to shut down (Lokhova, 2020). Ransomware attacks target the encryption keys and other sensitive information held by a VPN provider and can be used to hold customer’s data hostage to force payment (Gotofsky, 2020).  Other attacks can also target the infrastructure of a VPN and take advantage of shortcomings within a provider’s architecture. Malicious actors could use vulnerabilities such as poorly configured firewalls or weak authentication protocols in order to access customer data (Alkadry 2020).  Given the risks inherent in VPNs, companies should review their security protocols thoroughly and create contingency plans for hacking if they are discovered.  References Alkadry, M. G. (2020). Comprehensive Security Review of Virtual Private Networks – Attacks, Countermeasures and Challenges. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications 11(1): 69-76.  Gotofsky, B. (2020). Ransomware and Data Breaches: Cyberattacks, What Executives and Business Owners Should Know. Business Collectors 38(3): 8-10.  Lokhova, K. (2020). DDos Protection Services – What Are The Options? CRN News 34(2): 13-15.  Mauro, S. (2017). What are the Pitfalls and Best Practices in VPN? Computer Fraud & Security, 8(2), 10-14.Cont…