A great majority of businesses today rely on open source technologies to push towards progress under dynamic market conditions. Open source today extends itself to even enterprise security and VPN sectors, though companies are reluctant to use open source security products.
Thanks to the large community behind many popular open source solutions and contrary to popular belief, open source software is as secure as proprietary software. This also explains the rise in demand for open source development services that can build custom enterprise open source solutions.
Considering the recent controversy over unaddressed vulnerabilities that may lead to disastrous security risks in the products of many popular online security and VPN vendors, this seems to be the right time for enterprises to take the open source route.
That said, there are many enterprise-level open source VPNs that meet the requirements of any business, regardless of their size. Here are 4 great open source VPN solutions that might just be what your business is looking for.
Tcpcrypt
The Tcpcrypt encryption protocol is quite unique due to the fact that it doesn’t require configuration, changes to applications, or any noticeable changes in network connection. It’s compatible with both Windows and macOS, and operates with what’s generally referred to as ‘opportunistic encryption’.
If the other end of the connection relays messages to the tcpcrypt, the communication will be encrypted. Otherwise, it would be just plain text. It has robust protection against active and passive threats though it isn’t known for being useful as a company-wide solution. It’d be ideal in an environment with transfers of comparatively less-sensitive data.
strongSwan
strongSwan comes with unique encryption standards, and is maintained by Andreas Steffen, the head of the Institute for Internet Technologies and Applications at the Swiss University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil. strongSwan is easy to configure and features IPsec policies that support large, complex VPNs.
Tinc
A free open source VPN software, Tinc is licensed under GNU General Public License and is known for its variety of features including optional compression, automatic mesh routing etc. on top of encryption. It’s ideal for businesses that want to create VPNs out of a number of smaller networks at different locations.
OpenConnect
OpenConnect grew into a popular VPN client because of the fact that it was designed to support Cisco’s AnyConnect SSL VPN. Cisco is one of those popular VPN vendors mentioned at the beginning of this blog, whose product’s had potentially harmful vulnerabilities. Naturally, this led to companies doubting OpenConnect as well, as the client is believed to be associated with Cisco’s SSL VPN.
However, that’s not the case at all. OpenConnect has no association with Cisco, and got popular simply because it was compatible with their equipment. After the security vulnerabilities of Cisco were discovered, OpenConnect was subjected to some serious redevelopment. It’s now rectified all of the identified Cisco client deficiencies. OpenConnect is Linux compatible, and is one of the leading alternatives to Cisco for enterprises.
Conclusion
Open source security has always been questioned. But if you dig deep enough, you can find many experts discussing how secure open source is today, and why open source security rivals that of its proprietary counterparts. Open source also leads in the Middle East, particular when it comes to software development in UAE. Because of the large number of eyes and brains working behind open source solutions, pretty much every security gap has already been identified and filled. Enterprise-level open source VPNs can get the job done, while effectively securing business’ sensitive data.
