* Issues to consider as VPNs are being combined with other security technologies
More and more, VPNs are competing for corporate IT dollars as they become just one element of network security rather than a free-standing entity.
With the advent of intrusion detection, network-based anti-virus and network access control, VPNs are being combined with other security technologies. The most obvious example is the multifunction security appliances described by their makers as unified threat management (UTM) devices.
If well integrated with network access control technology, these bundles of technology can enhance security and hopefully tune it to give the right balance of access and security.
As security experts are fond of saying, the best security keeps everybody out, which is of course impractical in an e-commerce setting where that would mean no customers. And the flip side is you can’t let everybody in unfettered.
To strike this balance requires picking the right set of security tools that can give the degree of control each business needs. It is up to individual corporations to determine how valuable their assets are and to decide how well to protect them.
Then they want to dip into the security tool kit as needed for ways to carry out their plan. This may include the technologies mentioned above as well as the screening of devices as they log in to networks, monitoring traffic after admission to find malicious activity and means to block such traffic.
VPNs will always be an essential remote access asset, but in choosing them it is important to seek VPNs that come integrated or that are demonstrably interoperable with the other protections you employ to keep your network safe.
