Virtual Design Studios: Using VPNs for Remote Architectural Work
Modern businesses require a contemporary approach to network security and access control solutions. Especially in those that offer centralized control and unified visibility across hybrid and remote environments. Previously, it made sense to route all network connections through a central data center, where all business applications were hosted. However, nowadays, apps most reside in the cloud—or multiple clouds.
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), originally designed for traditional network architectures, can no longer provide the necessary protection when working and building in hybrid or multi-cloud environments. Moreover, they introduce unnecessary complexity, hinder performance, waste resources, and incur high maintenance costs.
Continuing our in-depth exploration of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), this article examines why 63% of organizations are transitioning from VPNs to Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) as part of a broader zero trust strategy to mitigate cyber risks across the attack surface.
Understanding VPN Basics
A VPN, also known as a Virtual Private Network, reroutes your internet connection through VPN servers. This protects your data, identity, and privacy from being compromised.
For web designers, utilizing a VPN goes beyond just securing their work, clients, and careers. After enabling VPN you gain the ability to choose from a range of servers located worldwide and redirect your internet traffic through them. This ensures that the real IP address is hidden and cannot be traced. This effectively prevents anyone, including your Internet Service Provider (ISP), from tracking your online activities.
Security is important, these considerations alone are enough to set up a VPN, but that’s not all. Such software is also useful for privacy protection reasons. Also, it grants access to hidden or geo-blocked content. Using a VPN enhances security for web designers, safeguarding their projects, clients, and professional journeys.
Benefits of VPN for Virtual Design Studios
#1 Encrypt Your Data
Ensuring the safeguarding of your data is paramount, identical in importance to safeguarding that of your clients. Whether you are a freelancer or engaged in a side project, you remain susceptible to attacks or malware.
All your life’s work likely resides on your computer, and there’s no harm in fortifying its security with an extra layer. By utilizing a VPN, you will be able to browse the web securely, free from concerns such as website cookie policies, user tracking systems, or the installation of malware and ransomware by hackers.
In fact, these days, it is advisable to have a VPN for self-protection from your ISPs, as they are prone to extensive data tracking and collection compared to other websites or services.
#2 Protecting Customer Data
Even small studios have quite a lot of clients, including large ones or companies with increased data security requirements. We are talking about both the protection of intellectual property and legislative regulation in the field of legal affairs and medicine. When you agree with a client, you receive some of the company’s valuable data. This implies the need to maintain the customer’s level of security.
This data typically includes information about their sales funnels, marketing research, web page content, user data, SEO data, marketing strategies, and much more. Just imagine the consequences if someone gains unauthorized access to your computer and shares this data with your client’s competitors. It would be a nightmare for both you and your client.
Using a VPN is the simplest and most effective way to safeguard your client’s data. This applies not only to major clients but also to small businesses and non-profit projects. Protecting client privacy should always take precedence over everything else.
#3 More Opportunities to Explore
Research plays a pivotal role in every web design project. To devise a suitable approach, delving into the client’s competitors is often necessary. However, this process can become challenging when collaborating with international clients due to geo-restrictions on certain websites, blocking access from outside regions.
Moreover, if you work for an agency, concealing your IP address becomes crucial while examining competitor websites, as corporate giants can resort to extensive tracking measures. Fortunately, a VPN solves both issues effortlessly. You can use it as a website unblocker and open almost any website, regardless of its regional restrictions. Of course, if it is a service like VeePN or other high-tech solutions. You can also protect yourself from any surveillance and hacker attacks.
ZTNA vs. VPN
VPNs and ZTNA solutions allow remote workers to secure access to the corporate network, but they accomplish this in different ways.
ZTNA is often seen as a more secure and user-friendly evolution of VPN. VPNs, on the other hand, provide security against endpoint and web threats on unsecured Wi-Fi networks and unmanaged devices. They still hold value in certain scenarios. For smaller businesses with a few remote employees or those whose employees don’t work remotely all the time, we recommend a VPN solution.
For larger organizations or those with a significant number of remote or hybrid workers, ZTNA solutions are an excellent choice. Once set up, they are easier to use and provide secure, least privileged access to corporate resources. This makes them ideal for businesses seeking to implement a zero-trust architecture.
Final Words
What conclusion can be drawn? ZTNA is a good practice with many advantages, but complex technical implementation. A VPN from trusted developers is much easier to integrate, provides a high level of security, and can cover organizations of any size. However, VPN is not only about protection; it also has other uses. You can choose the specific protection technology yourself.
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