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Trick or Treat? How the Explosion in VPN Usage Impacts Cybersecurity

VPN usage exploded during the pandemic, as consumers sought ways to hide their location so that they could circumvent geographical restrictions to content. Consumers face no difficulty in finding a VPN service provider, as a plethora of free and paid residential proxy services have entered the market.

Some of these VPN services are favored by nefarious actors because the service offers features that allow them to mask their malicious activities, including scraping, scanning and network password testing. The FBI has warned that cyber criminals are exploiting home VPN usage to break into corporate systems.

As a result of this surge in the VPN market, it’s essential that security professionals gain a deep understanding of the VPN market so they can properly protect data and network assets. Knowing which VPN providers promise criminal-friendly services can help you make important decisions about the traffic that can access your network, and set policies to keep nefarious actors at bay.

Organizations Need Granular Detail Around VPN Traffic, Usage, and Intent

Earlier this year we introduced, Nodify, a threat intelligence solution that identifies whether inbound or outbound traffic is tied to a VPN, proxy, or a darknet. Nodify provides security professionals with a wealth of context around VPN providers to help you distinguish legitimate users from bad actors.

Recently we’ve made important updates to Nodify, making it the most extensive VPN detection system available. The notable updates are:

  • Higher Frequency: With proxy IPS and VPNs changing rapidly, Nodify data is collected on an hourly basis and provides customers with a daily update on usage.
  • Deeper Insights: Going beyond the generic VPN collection, Nodify provides users with critical insights into the VPN user, including services provided by the VPN provider such as “no logging,” “multihop,” and “corporate.” These fields help clients determine the good vs the bad based on their use case.
  • Ease of Use: Nodify has a user interface that allows clients to quickly get a complete understanding of any VPN provider through a simple web dashboard.

Treat Yourself to Our Cybersecurity Brief Today

We recently published a cybersecurity brief, “The Need for Proxy/VPN Data in Today’s Heightened Cybersecurity State” which is available for download today.

Created to help security professionals understand and respond to the surge in VPN providers and usage, this brief describes the new classes of VPNs that have emerged during the pandemic, how they exploit consumer usage, and the unique risks they pose to corporate systems.

It also provides concrete steps that security teams can take to protect their networks proactively using Nodify insights.

Download “The Need for Proxy/VPN Data in Today’s Heightened Cybersecurity State” today.

 

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