EtherFast
®
Cable/DSL VPN Router with 4-Port 10/100 Switch
3
Instant Broadband
®
Series
2
Chapter 2: Your Virtual Private
Network (VPN)
Computer networking provides a flexibility not available when using an archa-
ic, paper-based system. With this flexibility, however, comes an increased risk
in security. This is why firewalls were first introduced. Firewalls help to protect
data inside of a local network. But what do you do once information is sent out-
side of your local network, when emails are sent to their destination, or when
you have to connect to your company's network when you are out on the road?
How is your data protected?
That is when a VPN can help. VPNs are called Virtual Private Networks
because they secure data moving outside of your network as if it were still with-
in that network.
When data is sent out across the Internet from your computer, it is always open
to attacks. You may already have a firewall, which will help protect data mov-
ing around or held within your network from being corrupted or intercepted by
entities outside of your network, but once data moves outside of your network
- when you send data to someone via email or communicate with an individual
over the Internet - the firewall will no longer protect that data.
At this point, your data becomes open to hackers using a variety of methods to
steal not only the data you are transmitting but also your network login and
security data. Some of the most common methods are as follows:
1) MAC Address Spoofing
Packets transmitted over a network, either your local network or the Internet,
are preceded by a packet header. These packet headers contain both the source
and destination information for that packet to transmit efficiently. A hacker can
use this information to spoof (or fake) a MAC address allowed on the network.
With this spoofed MAC address, the hacker can also intercept information
meant for another user.
Why Do I Need a VPN?
2) Data Sniffing
Data "sniffing" is a method used by hackers to obtain network data as it travels
through unsecured networks, such as the Internet. Tools for just this kind of
activity, such as protocol analyzers and network diagnostic tools, are often built
into operating systems and allow the data to be viewed in clear text.
3) Man in the middle attacks
Once the hacker has either sniffed or spoofed enough information, he can now
perform a "man in the middle" attack. This attack is performed, when data is
being transmitted from one network to another, by rerouting the data to a new
destination. Even though the data is not received by its intended recipient, it
appears that way to the person sending the data.
These are only a few of the methods hackers use and they are always develop-
ing more. Without the security of your VPN, your data is constantly open to
such attacks as it travels over the Internet. Data travelling over the Internet will
often pass through many different servers around the world before reaching its
final destination. That's a long way to go for unsecured data and this is when a
VPN serves its purpose.
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a connection between two endpoints - a
VPN Router, for instance - in different networks that allows private data to be
sent securely over a shared or public network, such as the Internet. This estab-
lishes a private network that can send data securely between these two locations
or networks.
This is done by creating a "tunnel". A VPN tunnel connects the two PCs or net-
works and allows data to be transmitted over the Internet as if it were still with-
in those networks. Not a literal tunnel, it is a connection secured by encrypting
the data sent between the two networks.
VPN was created as a cost-effective alternative to using a private, dedicated,
leased line for a private network. Using industry standard encryption and
authentication techniques - IPSec, short for IP Security - the VPN creates a
secure connection that, in effect, operates as if you were directly connected to
your local network. Virtual Private Networking can be used to create secure
networks linking a central office with branch offices, telecommuters, and/or
professionals on the road (travelers can connect to a VPN Router using any
computer with VPN client software that supports IPSec, such as SSH Sentinel.)
What is a Virtual Private Network?
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