Virtual Private Networks: Ensuring Security and Integrity of Data

Running head: VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKS
Virtual Private Networks
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1VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKS
Executive Summary
Virtual Private networks or VPN provides effective security over the networks that are mostly
considered as unsecured, such as the internet. VPN allows remote users and branch offices to
have secured access over the applications they use as well as the resources. However, it is still a
dicey situation from the perspective of a user on the other end. Therefore, the following report as
described below has put forward an idea on how the internet browser ensures that the link
provided is being communicated to the correct server, the authentication process of digital
signatures and the communication to the right client. Further, the report had provided a detailed
confidentiality and integrity process for the Virtual Private network Processes and the Protection
against the replay attacks. The report had clearly stated how SSL communication provides
confidentiality and integrity to transferred messages and how proper anti-replay attacks are
mitigated in these kinds of communications.

2VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKS
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Authentication Process................................................................................................................3
Ensuring communication to the right server............................................................................3
Digital Signatures and their role in authentication process.....................................................4
Ensuring communication to the right client.................................................................................6
Confidentiality and Integrity Processes.......................................................................................7
Confidentiality and integrity is achieved in SSL communication...........................................7
Server & client agreeing on one cipher suite...........................................................................8
Role of symmetric encryption and hash algorithms in SSL communication..........................8
Protection against Replay Attacks...............................................................................................9
Anti-replay attacks mitigation in SSL communication...........................................................9
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................11

3VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKS
Introduction
The enormous world of internet is often considered as one of the most unsafe when it
comes to securing the integrity of data and information. This is why the technology of VPN or
Virtual Private Networks was developed to provide a safe and intricately encrypted connection
on the internet, which is considered as an otherwise less secured network [3]. VPN allows
remote users and branch offices to have secured access over the applications they use as well as
the resources. However, it is still a dicey situation from the perspective of a user on the other
end. Therefore, the following report would put forward an idea on how the internet browser
ensures that the link provided is being communicated to the correct server, the authentication
process of digital signatures and the communication to the right client. Further, the report would
provide a detailed confidentiality and integrity process for the Virtual Private network Processes
and the Protection against the replay attacks. Thus, a clear view about the security models of the
VPN would be attainable with the report.
Authentication Process
Ensuring communication to the right server
Generally, a browser uses the functions for the fundamental operating systems as well as
their infrastructure for looking up on the IP addresses for the domain as provided by the user in
the URL or the Universal Resource Locator. The connection is then established to the IP address
for exchanging data. However, this process has a tendency to falter in several ways [4]. It can
even be a case where any malicious attacker can interfere with the DNS lookup, therefore