Can a VPN Be Hacked or Compromised? – In Light of Data Breaches

Security threats such as data breaches and other compromised online activities do cause a lot of damage to the user. Internet users tend to rely on VPN for achieving security, anonymity and privacy but have they managed to do so in an effective fashion is another question that needs answer. Social security numbers, bank account breach, credit card breach and so on are some of the recent data breaches that have caused a lot of trouble to users worldwide. There are many different ways to protect your internet activity, data and so on.

Virtual private network

VPN service is seen as a valid option available for internet users to safeguard their confidential data. VPN might be the right choice for those who are looking for ways to achieve security, privacy, anonymity, etc. Whether all these features are provided by a VPN is what we are looking for. You need to know whether your data is safe and whether VPN delivers the same. We shall discuss in detail on whether a VPN can be hacked or compromised in this growing world of data breaches and hacks. Virtual private network acts as a shield when you are visiting a website of URL. Every single website or URL you search online using any web browser for that matter will track your identity. Websites use IP tracking tool to identify the location of their site visitor. This might simple but there are multiple breach incidents during the website access. Every single click or activity you perform on a website will have this thread – the request will start from your device to router, this will then travel from your router to the Internet service provider, the request will then travel from the ISP to the website which in turn will reply to your request. All of this will happen in a circular fashion again and again throughout your internet activity. As a result of which, multiple breaches are quite normal. A secured and encrypted tunnel is provided by a VPN service provider which ensures that your data is safe and secure. Your original identity, all your confidential data and accessibility will stay hidden and secured from hackers and other illegal activities.

Risk of hack

The problem that we are going to face at the moment with respect to using a VPN is whether the service in itself can be hacked and how to avoid such an action. Let us discuss more on whether a VPN efficiently works to secure your internet activity and confidential data from hacker.

Device protection

Hackers are known to unblock certain devices and steal all the highly confidential information you might have. There are many other solutions that are similar to VPN, for example proxies. The main difference between a proxy and VPN is that, VPN ciphers all the internet traffic coming in and going out of your device, which is more secure than you can imagine. Protocol based encryption technology is implemented by these VPN companies which provide much needed security. This means even if a hacker hacks into your network, he or she won’t be able to read the data and internet traffic due to encryption. They’d need the exact unique encryption key to hack into the system which is impossible. In certain cases, a VPN might not be able to protect your device from hackers. Your device is the most vulnerable part of the entire internet communication and there are chances of leakage or hacks if you are using a weak password or virus attack or even a phishing attack, etc. By making sure that you have all these aspects covered you can be sure of avoiding hackers.

Data protection

Virtual private network uses data encryption so is that give you a guarantee that your data will be safe? Is the next question you need to find an answer. As discussed above any data or network connection that is encrypted can be deciphered only using a unique key. Most of the modern VPN service providers make use of 256-bit AES encryption which is more than enough to give you the protection and security from hackers.

Securing IP address

Hackers use IP address of an internet user to bypass and steal the valuable information possessed by a subscriber. VPN server, protocol and encryption all have a major role to play in the level of security and anonymity you might receive from a VPN. There are many free VPN services which might not be the right choice if you are looking for a solution to give you complete security and anonymity. IP address of an internet user will be hidden and replaced by a VPN thereby giving you the ability to access restricted contents. Anybody trying to track your identity will only end up with the masked IP you use with the help of a VPN.

What about website protection?

Websites that you are going to access also have a role to play in privacy and anonymity. A website that has a secure connectivity option is the best one for you. Certain websites have security certification which should be preferred over other unsecured websites. This is because as you request a VPN for a particular website, the VPN will then send this end request to the website out in open which can be vulnerable. If the website has proper security certification then you need not worry about such a risk. The only major risk factor with respect to a VPN service is the existence of VPN leaks. IP leakage has caused trouble to several subscribers. You can even avoid this leakage by understanding DNS, IPv6, IPv4 and WebRTC leaks.

Rank	Provider Name	Starting Price	Money Back Guarantee	Visit Provider Site
	ExpressVPN	$6.67/month	30 Days
2	IPVanish	$10.00/month	7 Days
3	Hidemyass	$11.52/month	30 Days
4	VyprVPN	$10.00/month	7 Days
5	StrongVPN	$21/ 3 months	7 Days