Virtual Private Networks

\ Virtual Private Networks \
\ Why They Are Important \
\ Lt. SinnerANS \

Virtual Private Networks are very simple and very easy to implement. RFC 2764, which is the document that defines and helps set the standard for interoperability of VPNs, defines a VPN as the “emulation of a private Wide Area Network facility using IP facilities.” Entities responsible for defining a VPN include the IETF Internet Engineering Task Force and the IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

VPNS are simply a network within a network. There are several kinds of VPNs, ranging from strictly software based such as openVPN to ‘hidden’ hardware networks such as extranets and intranets. However, for the purposes of this article, we will focus on the Virtual part of VPN, specifically utilizing exisitng networks (the Internet) to move packets for our virtual networks. When you connect two networks or computers (nodes), accross another network, we know that it is called a VPN. But aside from simplistic file sharing and connecting corporate branches to the corporate WAN, what purpose does a VPN serve?

This very subtle tool has the potential to cause a lot of damage to industries represented by the RIAA and the MPAA. If, for example, the pirate bay had been a truly private network still utilizing bit torrent technologies while wrapping them inside an encrypted VPN, the chances of being tracked down are significantly smaller. A company such as BayTSP, founded by the legendary Mark M. Ishikawa, who specialize in tracking down illegal downloads would have to crack the hidden network AND crack the encryption. Applying the same standards to his company as the law applies to us, that would/should make it illegal. Not only could a File Sharing network propagate music and programs and entertainment via a VPN, but so could any online organization looking to host politically incorrect tools and disseminate useful information to its members while ensuring the legitimacy of its membership.

With existing internet regulation across the globe, people are in need a way to access services, communicate, and share information. This is something that can be accomplished through the use of a VPN. For example, most of the world is currently aware of the turmoil currently occurring in Tehran, the capital of Iran in the form of online censorship and monitoring. During the riots that erupted after the “contested” Iranian Presidential election, anti-government protesters turned to Twitter, as many other protesters have in the past, to help get the word out about demonstrations. The government of Iran immediately began censoring online activity to thwart further demonstrations. This month, hackers from IRAN used a DNS hack to navigate people away to a new page in response. And we are ALL aware of the censorship in China and North Korea…. VPNs can be the answer to these problems too.

When used to create massive secondary or alternative internets, these VPNs are called darknets and can function just the same. But here, in the “world of the electron and the switch” we can set the rules and play in an environment without regulation or censorship.

Useful tools you should be checking out are caVPN, utilizing the openVPN client. You can find the address for both just below. Veiled, is a browser based VPN being developed by the InfoSec crew over at HP.

CAVPN.
http://cavpn.net/

OpenVPN. HowTo.
http://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/documentation/howto.html

Original RFC 2764: A Framework for IP Based Virtual Private Networks
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2764.txt

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