NSA and CISA Guide to Using VPN Safely
Both the NSA and CISA (the US cybersecurity agency) have presented a guide with which they want to help strengthen the security when using a VPN. Both home users and companies and organizations that use this type of service can benefit from this.
They indicate that many attackers are taking advantage of errors in VPNs. They use these security problems to steal data or establish fraudulent connections that would even allow them to remotely execute code or log in on behalf of another user.
The first advice they give is that we must use VPNs that have an accredited history in which ensure strong authentication, that can protect connections well against possible cyber attacks.
These reliable products must be able to fix vulnerabilities in a short space of time. And this is precisely one of the most important problems: security flaws. If they are not corrected in time, it can lead to everything we mentioned above.
Additionally, both the NSA and CISA recommend reduce attack surface server through strong cryptography and authentication settings. They also advise only running functions that are strictly necessary.
On the other hand, they indicate that we must monitor and protect access to and from the VPN. This is important to be able to detect possible illegitimate access attempts that could put our security at risk at any given time.
Analyze well the VPN we use
Beyond some general aspects as we have indicated, they recommend reading the VPN information that we are going to install. What protocols it supports, what methods it uses to establish the connection, whether or not it supports the most secure certification protocols, or includes intrusion protection. You can see the complete document.
All this is something that we must always bear in mind, whether we are going to use a VPN for private use on our computer or mobile, or it is a company. We have always talked about the potential problems of VPNs and how we can avoid them. For example, we recommend not using free programs, as they may not be protecting our data correctly.
In short, both the NSA and CISA recommend choosing very well which VPN product we are going to use. We should never take anyone we find, since our personal data and the information that we send and receive when browsing, could be exposed on the network. It is necessary to always maintain privacy and security when we use any type of program connected to the Internet.
