Virtual Private Network: A Study of its Various Aspects

The public internet infrastructure is utilized daily by billions of users for both personal and professional purposes. Many of these users transmit and receive sensitive information over the public network, with the expectation that non-functional attributes such as integrity, confidentiality, and privacy will be upheld. As information is an asset, it is crucial that it not be transmitted unprotected and unencrypted over the internet. The security of data is constantly evolving, providing benefits for legitimate users and data owners. Anonymity also protects users from detection. User also needs to extend the private network over the public network. Such facilities are provided by Virtual Private Network (VPN). It establishes a secure virtual tunnel between devices over the public network to encrypt the traffic and hide the users' identity to protect user and the generated traffic from miscreants. It extends the private network across the public WANs so that user can access private network globally. On the one hand, VPNs ensure the safety of the user and their transmitted data, however, on the other hand, certain issues may also arise. VPNs have been known to be misused for illegal and unethical activities. In this paper, the various aspects of VPN are studied and explored. The outreach of VPN in Government offices is also discussed to transform the modus operandi regarding the advancement and empowerment of digital operations. Additionally, the potential downside of VPN is also addressed.