Design and Implementation of a Secure Virtual Private Network Over an Open Network (Internet)

Abstract

Aim: The main objective of this research project is to design and implement a functional secure virtual private network over the internet considering that use of traditional fixed telephones lines is not cost effective and it is unsecured especially in the context of Cameroon. Methods: In the VPN, internet is used as the data pipelined replacing the traditional data lines. This approach was deployed through simulation with CISCO Packet Tracer. Results: Simulation results showed that the system can provide a secured, reliable and cost effective transmission system over the Internet for organizations in Cameroon.  As such, VPNs form an integral part of remote business communications across the internet due to the inherent risks that exist when sending private information over a public network. Conclusion: VPNs not only prevent unethical use of private business correspondence by unauthorized parties but they also play an important role in reducing the environmental impact of business travel. Recommendations: This study recommend an organization which considers security as its top priority to embrace the rather expensive solution of implementing an email/Web/DNS/FTP server at each site rather than using only a single email/web/DNS/FTP server for the entire intranet. This will reduce the amount of information that organization sends across the Internet and increase information access speeds. Home users or small office can equally be installed with an email/web/DNS/FTP server. Also, in the remote access case, a company can outsource the installation and management of their remote access VPN server to the ISP. Moreover, just using IPSec for remote access users is not enough. Remote access IPSec VPN implementation should always be associated with a tunneling protocol such as PPTP.