Remote Access for Employees: VPN Done Right
Remote employees need secure access to office systems. Here is how to set up VPNs that are both safe and easy to use.
Hybrid and remote work have made secure access to office systems essential. Employees need to reach file servers, accounting software and internal tools from home or while travelling — without opening the office network to attackers.
What a VPN does
A virtual private network creates an encrypted tunnel between the employee's device and the office router or firewall. Traffic inside the tunnel is protected, and the employee can reach internal resources as if they were at their desk.
Common mistakes
- Opening remote desktop ports directly to the internet instead of using a VPN.
- Shared VPN accounts used by several employees.
- Weak passwords with no multi-factor authentication.
- Outdated VPN software with known vulnerabilities.
- Full network access for everyone, regardless of role.
Best practices
- Individual accounts for every user, removed promptly when people leave.
- Multi-factor authentication to stop attackers who steal passwords.
- Least-privilege access: sales staff reach the CRM, finance reaches accounting — not everything.
- Modern protocols with strong encryption.
- Regular patching of VPN gateways, which are frequently targeted.
- Logging and monitoring of connections for unusual behaviour.
Split tunnelling decisions
Decide whether all traffic goes through the office (full tunnel) or only traffic for internal systems (split tunnel). Split tunnelling reduces load on office bandwidth; full tunnelling applies office security to everything.
Make it easy
If VPNs are hard to use, people find workarounds. Provide simple clients, clear instructions and quick support.
Consider zero trust
For growing organisations, zero-trust access that grants per-application access is an increasingly popular alternative to traditional VPNs.
The bottom line
A well-designed VPN keeps remote work productive and secure. Managed routers and firewalls make VPN setup, user management and patching straightforward.
Learn more about Managed Router & SD-WAN from UbiFi, or talk to our team.
Enterprise routers and SD-WAN edges supplied, configured, monitored and patched by UbiFi — with failover and traffic policies built in.
