Deciphering the History of VPN
Many people in the world use VPN to enhance their surfing experience and navigate the internet anonymously without revealing their identity and actual location to hackers, websites, and government authorities.
Invention of secure Internet
In 1996, Gurdeep Singh-Pall, with an urge to provide internet users with a secure internet connection and allow people to work securely from home, invented Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol also known as PPTP, a way of implementing VPN. By doing so, Gurdeep, who used to work for Microsoft, had set the stage for the growth of this technology.
The evolution of VPN technology
VPN and the notion behind this technology have drastically changed over the years. According to Search Enterprise, companies needed to secure their networks, private information, and access this information from different sites, powerful encryption standards on VPN were developed, and it provided the security they needed. Although VPN was designed exclusively for companies, some firms found it prudent to offer its advantages to other end users. Different types of VPN technology have emerged including personal VPNs and business VPNs. Different protocols (L2TP/IPsec, SSTP, PPTP, OpenVPN) are also in existence. Encryption types have also increased (asymmetric, symmetric, hashing) and some firms hire third parties to host their servers.
Where we are today
As more companies work to enhance security and privacy of the end user, encryption is improving and evolving. More people in the world now use VPN. According to an article posted on Computer Weekly, this growth has been fueled by the need to improve online security and privacy, to combat censorship and government surveillance, tackling geo-restriction of content and much more. The increase in cybercrime continues to expose Internet users to various threats, and it is crucial for them to be sufficiently equipped to deal with these threats.
VPN is today recognized as a regular feature in any serious security and router-related merchandise and is extensively executed throughout most organizations and used by many individuals. Recent scandals like Wikileaks have also enhanced the conversation on data security, privacy and the benefits of VPN.
What is next?
Technology and encryption are evolving and VPN technology is also improving. As more and more people go online and the increase of online threats become evidently dangerous, the security and privacy of these users will continue to take centre stage. With the world becoming a global village, e-commerce and VPN will likely become very close ideas in the future.
The bottom line is, VPN has a great potential for growth because it is flexible, secure and audible towards new technology.
