WHAT IS VPN?
A Virtual Private Network(VPN) is a secure connectivity platform that both connects networks and protects the data passing between them. A Virtual Private Network is a network that employs encrypted tunnels to exchange securely protected data. Encrypted tunnels are created by using the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) and IP Security (IPSec) protocols. IKE creates the VPN tunnel, and this tunnel is used to transfer IPSec encoded data.
Diagram: Simplified VPN tunnel
Communicating parties need a connectivity platform that is not only fast, scalable, and resilient but also provides:
Confidentiality
Only the communicating parties must be able to read the private information exchanged between them.
Authentication
The communicating parties must be sure they are connecting with the intended party.
Integrity
The sensitive data passed between the communicating parties is unchanged, and this can be proved with an integrity check.
Diagram: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Authentication
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