VPNs are fantastic for protecting online privacy and breaking down international barriers. However, that doesn’t mean they are all resistant to hacking and intrusion attempts. Could your private or corporate VPN be at risk without you realizing it? Let’s take a closer look.
What is VPN Encryption?
VPNs encrypt the information shared on the route to keep your data private while connecting. This involves using a protocol like OpenVPN, L2TP, and PPTP. The differences between these vary – but they all serve the same process to ensure that your data remains unreadable.
Therefore, for their very purpose, VPNs are designed to ensure shared data can’t be read. That said, this doesn’t mean they are safe from hacking attempts. Thus, while you can safely place your trust in a great price VPN, it’s still important to keep vigilant.
How Does A VPN Get Attacked?
Despite encryption practices, VPN servers can still fall prey to malware and hacking attempts. DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks, amongst others, can effectively take servers offline en masse. This could lead to data being revealed, albeit still encrypted – though hackers can still attempt to decode such protection.
VPNs can theoretically fall prey to code cracking, too. However, this is costly and time-intensive for the hacker – meaning it’s unlikely. A bigger threat to VPN users is if a chosen service logs data. If your VPN logs your activity and an attacker brings down their servers (and steals said data), you are naturally compromised.
Agencies like CISA and the FBI have often warned users and companies to watch out for vulnerabilities in VPNs that allow attackers to take full control of the software and targeted devices.
Or a situation where attackers leak login credentials of VPN online. For instance, last year, plain-text login and password details of Fortinet VPN were leaked online on Raidforums cybercrime platform.
It’s all the more reason to ensure you sign up for a reliable VPN that doesn’t log but actively encrypts all data shared.
What to Do if Your VPN is Attacked?
Should your VPN fall into a cyberattack, it’s essential to stop using the service immediately. What’s more, you’ll need to ensure you uninstall it entirely from your devices – you never know what’s ticking away in the background.
It’s then a good idea to consider moving to new email addresses, usernames, and passwords for all other services. If there is a chance a hacker has claimed this sign-in data for your VPN, they already have a foothold on your further data.
Crucially, there’s not much you can do personally if your VPN is hacked. It’s simply a case of limiting access to your further data. Data hacked from VPN logs and databases will likely be sold for at profit. Thus, now is the time to start changing your credentials and moving on ASAP.
Then – the next best step is to find a new VPN with more robust credentials! Don’t be afraid to be picky when your privacy is in question.
Conclusion
VPNs are fantastic at protecting you and your data from prying eyes. However, it’s unfortunate that everyone, everywhere, may be at risk from hacking. Therefore, it makes sense to be vigilant and choose a trustworthy service. Always read reviews on VPNs and safeguard your data on and offline.
More VPN Topics on Hackread.com
- Edward Snowden urges users to stop using ExpressVPN
- Almost Every Major Free VPN Service is a Glorified Data Farm
- PureVPN Aided FBI to Track CyberStalker by Providing His Logs
- 7 VPN firms with a no-logs policy end up exposing 1.2 TB of user data
- Europol takes down VPN service VPNLab used by ransomware operators