Internet service provider (ISP) World Online has upgraded its network infrastructure to provide remote and mobile employees secure access to their corporate intranet or network, at the cost of a local phone call.
According to Johann Strauss, manager of network engineering at World Online, the implementation of IP/Sec technology has enabled the ISP to establish a virtual private dial-up network (VPDN) service.
"While the concept of VPDNs is not new, the maturing of IP/Sec technology coupled with the development of new 'tunnelling` mechanisms provides today`s VPDNs with the level of privacy and security corporates require to ensure the integrity of their network," he says.
"In the past, corporates wanting to provide their remote and mobile workers secure access to the enterprise network had to install dedicated lines from the workers` homes or offices to the enterprise`s home gateway router - an extremely expensive option. An alternative was to allow workers to dial-in to the router via the public telephone network. This often entailed costly long-distance calls.
"With the World Online VPDN service, a company`s authorised employees and business partners can dial into one of over 90 World Online points of presence (POPs) closest to their location. World Online instantly recognises the caller as a registered VPDN user, and a secure 'tunnel` is immediately established across the World Online network infrastructure to the corporate`s home gateway router.
"The caller is not even aware that the interaction is taking place across the Internet. As far as the caller is concerned, he or she is dialling directly into the corporate network and becomes part of the corporate intranet," Strauss explains, pointing out that authentication of the caller is handled by the corporate itself. The company also has the ability to restrict the caller`s access to predetermined locations and data on the enterprise network.
"The tunnel set up between the World Online POP router and the corporate`s home gateway router encapsulates the data packets being transmitted, isolating them from the rest of the Internet and providing inherent security.
"However, it`s also possible to tighten the security of the VPDN for particularly sensitive data through the implementation of data encryption techniques," Strauss adds.
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