VPN Security Flaws and Its Prevention


What is a VPN?

‘VPN’ stands for ‘Virtual Private Network’. It enables privacy and security to data transition across shared private and public networks by using socket encapsulation, secure tunneling, and advanced encryption protocols. Corporations and organizations to ensure their sensitive data frequently use VPN.

What are the possible attacks on a VPN?

As VPNs pass data across shared networks, they are vulnerable to the following attacks-
Session Hijacking:
In this attack, the hacker takes control over the connection after the authentication of the client with the server.
Then hacker can insert forged packets into the data flow. If the server assumes such request as a legitimate request then the session is held hijacked. If the encryption algorithm isn’t strong the hacker can eavesdrop and spy on the communication.
Man-in-the-Middle and Spoofing:
It occurs when a hacker gets involved between a client and the server communication. The hackers through ARP spoofing, MAC and DNS spoofing, and DNS poisoning can imitate the server network and get the client to communicate with it.
Virus or Malware:
If the client side is infected with a virus then the password can be leaked, and the communication is no longer secure.
How do we prevent VPN attacks?
VPN attacks can be prevented by-
> Use of multi-factor authentication for clients – like RADIUS, smart cards, tokens, TACACS+ etc.
> Applying trusted encryption algorithms with long key strength support for data security
> Installing and regularly updating anti-virus and anti-malware software on the client systems
> Applying sturdy default security for all administration and maintenance ports.
> Check for site-to-site authentication support with a digital certificate.
Reference:
1. VPN Security Flaws and Its Prevention. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.clickssl.net/blog/vpn-security-flaws-and-its-prevention