To say that online business is on the rise in Canada would be a gross understatement. The reality is that online businesses have practically taken over traditional brick and mortar businesses and in some cases, left them behind by a mile. In 2014, online businesses in Canada sold $136 billion worth of goods and services and 76 per cent of Canadians shopped online in 2015.

However, is there a chance that these businesses – which have become the backbone of Canadian economy – can suffer huge setbacks due to someone or something causing mischief?

According to experts, there is. In fact, thousands of Canadian businesses are getting hit by cyber attacks each year. While the greed of hackers and cyber criminals is the primary factor behind these attacks, some instances are the direct outcome of the competition between businesses.

In rare cases, businesses may even employ unethical and illegal practices to take over their competition using cyber attacks, digital espionage, malware, viruses or other malicious methods.

I have been fortunate enough to be part of the ever-evolving information security industry. While information security might seem like an uphill task, the reality is anything but that. They say beauty is in simplicity, and the same can be said about security in that the more things you keep simple, the better protected you are.

Keep reading for more information on how a straightforward virtual private network (VPN) can help you.

What is a Virtual Private Network (VPN)?

A virtual private network (VPN) service creates secure, encrypted channels so your web traffic passes through them without being monitored. They also allow you to mask your IP address so you can remain anonymous on the web. Your original IP address reveals your exact location, so by masking it with a VPN, you appear invisible to hackers and cyber criminals.

How Can a VPN Help Protect My Business?

Here are some ways a VPN can help businesses reach their maximum potential:

• Can help a business’ internet traffic remain anonymous
• Protects the business’ and its customers’ data
• Fights off DDoS attacks
• Secures remote access to a business’ network
• Helps employees communicate and connect safely

A VPN can do more than protect Canadian businesses. A reliable VPN can also help them grow by leaps and bounds. You must be asking yourself, “How can a VPN help a business grow?”

Here are two examples of how a VPN can help you.

Scenario: Allowing Remote Access to Employees

Businesses are often faced with a dilemma. They want to expand their presence into other cities and countries, but want their branch or foreign office to use the central business network. This raises serious security concerns and can carry a hefty price tag. The expense and threat discourages businesses from expanding.

A VPN can help businesses overcome both these issues in a seamless way. A business can allow secure remote access to remote employees via a VPN. Using a dedicated IP, the business can make sure that only allowed IPs can access the network.

Furthermore, since the remote employee is connected with a VPN, all the data transmission would be tunneled, encrypted and protected, thus allowing no chance of a data breach.

Scenario: A Secure BYOD Policy

One of innovations introduced by changing tech trends includes the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. This policy allows employees to bring their own smart devices to work and connect them to the corporate network to carry out special and normal day-to-day tasks. But while this trend helps increase productivity, it does result in security loopholes.

A VPN is the most effective solution to make sure that the data on a device and data during data transactions remain secure.

First, every device is assigned its own dedicated IP by the VPN provider. Second, since the device is connected to the VPN server, all the data transactions is automatically encrypted. Third, even when an employee takes their device away from the office and connects to a public Wi-Fi network, the data on the device will remain secure because no hacker would be able to access the device.

A VPN is one of the best ways you can protect your business.

Learn More

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