Prepare A VPN Strategy Paper Addressing VPN And Remote ✓ Solved

Prepare a VPN strategy paper that addresses: VPN and Remote

Prepare a VPN strategy paper that addresses: VPN and Remote Access Requirements; Key VPN Components and Description; an Architecture Diagram showing components; and a VPN Security Plan. Include support for subnets 192.168.0.0, support for Mac, Windows, and Linux clients, approximately 100 simultaneous users including corporate and BYOD devices, use of two-factor authentication, and consideration of AWS Client VPN components where applicable.

Paper For Above Instructions

Executive Summary

This VPN strategy provides a practical design and security plan to enable secure remote access to resources on the 192.168.0.0/24 subnet for up to ~100 simultaneous users (corporate and BYOD) using Mac, Windows, and Linux endpoints. The plan recommends an AWS Client VPN-based deployment or equivalent TLS/IPsec solution, certificate-based authentication augmented with two-factor authentication (2FA), endpoint posture checks, centralized logging, and network segmentation to reduce risk while preserving usability (AWS, 2020; NIST, 2016).

VPN and Remote Access Requirements

Functional requirements:

- Support secure remote access to the 192.168.0.0/24 subnet and associated services.

- Support Mac, Windows, and Linux VPN clients with OpenVPN or native OS VPN support.

- Scale to ~100 simultaneous users (mix of corporate-managed and BYOD).

- Enforce strong authentication (AD/LDAP plus 2FA) and endpoint posture checks.

- Ensure DNS resolution uses corporate DNS to prevent DNS leaks.

- Provide granular authorization/segmentation so users access only permitted resources.

Non-functional requirements:

- High availability with automatic failover for the VPN endpoint.

- Strong cryptographic protections (modern TLS 1.2+/IPsec with AES-GCM, robust key exchange like IKEv2).

- Centralized monitoring, audit logging, and integration with SIEM.

- Minimal user disruption with documented onboarding for corporate and BYOD devices (Yubico, 2020; NIST, 2016).

Key VPN Components and Description

  • VPN Endpoint/Server: Managed VPN gateway (e.g., AWS Client VPN or self-hosted OpenVPN/StrongSwan) that terminates TLS/IPsec tunnels and enforces auth and routes (AWS, 2020).
  • Authentication Systems: Primary authentication via Active Directory/LDAP; additional factor via TOTP or hardware token (YubiKey) for 2FA (Yubico, 2020; Bunn, 2020).
  • Public Key Infrastructure (PKI): CA to issue device and server certificates to support certificate-based authentication and mutual TLS for stronger trust (RFC 4301).
  • Client Software: Cross-platform OpenVPN client or vendor client supporting Mac/Windows/Linux and modern cryptographic suites (RFC 7296; AWS, 2020).
  • Network Address Management: Client address pool assigned from private space (RFC 1918), with policy-based routing to control access to 192.168.0.0/24.
  • Endpoint Security and NAC: Endpoint detection & response (EDR), anti-virus, and Network Access Control (NAC) to validate device posture before granting full access (CIS, 2021).
  • IDS/IPS and Logging: Network IDS/IPS inline or mirrored, and centralized logging fed to SIEM for anomaly detection and alerting (SANS, 2019).
  • DNS and Split-Tunnel Controls: Enforce corporate DNS while avoiding insecure split tunneling by default; if split tunneling is used, restrict access to internet resources with enforced security controls (NIST, 2016).

Architecture Diagram (textual)

Internet


|


| -- TLS/IPsec -->


|                 +---------------------------+


|                 |   VPN Gateway / Load      |


|                 |   Balancer (AWS Client    |


|                 |   VPN or HA appliance)    |


|                 +---------------------------+


|                            |


|  Authentication via AD/LDAP + 2FA (IdP) -----> Identity Provider (MFA/TOTP/YubiKey)


|                            |


|                   Route to VPC / On-prem Network


|                            |


|    +----------------+    +-----------------+    +----------------+


|    | 192.168.0.10   |    | 192.168.0.20    |    | 192.168.0.30   |


|    | App Server     |    | Database Server |    | File Server    |


|    +----------------+    +-----------------+    +----------------+


|                            |


+--> Monitoring / SIEM 

IDS/IPS   PKI/CA

This diagram shows VPN clients on the Internet connecting to a VPN gateway that authenticates users against AD/LDAP with 2FA, issues network access per policy, and routes traffic to the protected 192.168.0.0/24 subnet. Monitoring, IDS/IPS, and PKI services are integrated.

VPN Security Plan

Authentication and Authorization

Implement certificate-based mutual TLS for device identification and require AD/LDAP credentials plus a second factor (TOTP or hardware token) for user authentication (Yubico, 2020; Bunn, 2020). Use role-based access control (RBAC) and authorization rules to permit least privilege access to specific hosts and ports in 192.168.0.0/24 (AWS, 2020).

Cryptography and Protocols

Use modern cipher suites: TLS 1.2+ with AES-GCM or ChaCha20-Poly1305, and for IPsec use IKEv2 with strong key exchange (RFC 7296). Disable legacy ciphers and implement Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) (RFC 4301).

Endpoint Security and BYOD

Enforce device posture checks: OS patch level, EDR presence, disk encryption, and firewall status before granting full network access. Use NAC to place noncompliant devices into a remediation VLAN with restricted network access (CIS, 2021).

Split Tunneling and DNS

Avoid split tunneling unless necessary. If enabled for bandwidth reasons, restrict which destinations bypass the tunnel and ensure DNS queries use corporate resolvers to prevent DNS leaks (NIST, 2016).

Monitoring, Logging, and Incident Response

Centralize logs from VPN gateways, authentication servers, IDS/IPS, and endpoints into a SIEM for correlation and alerting. Create playbooks for common incidents (credential theft, lateral movement, infected endpoints). Maintain audit trails for privileged access (SANS, 2019).

High Availability and Scalability

Deploy VPN endpoints in an active-active or active-passive configuration behind a load balancer. Use autoscaling or additional appliances to handle peaks above 100 simultaneous sessions; monitor concurrent sessions and bandwidth (AWS, 2020).

Patch Management and Hardening

Harden VPN gateways per vendor CIS benchmarks, apply regular patches, and perform vulnerability scans. Rotate keys and certificates on a defined schedule and revoke compromised credentials immediately (CIS, 2021).

User Training and Onboarding

Provide clear onboarding documentation for corporate and BYOD users: client installation, certificate provisioning, 2FA enrollment, and acceptable use. Conduct periodic phishing and security awareness exercises (OWASP, 2020).

Conclusion

This strategy balances usability and security for remote access to 192.168.0.0/24 for ~100 users across Mac, Windows, and Linux platforms. It combines strong cryptography and mutual authentication, 2FA, endpoint posture enforcement, and continuous monitoring. Implementing these controls and policies will significantly reduce common VPN risks such as credential compromise, DNS leaks, and malware-mediated lateral movement (NIST, 2016; SANS, 2019).

References

  • AWS. (2020). AWS Client VPN Administrator Guide. Amazon Web Services. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpn/latest/clientvpn-admin/
  • NIST. (2016). NIST SP 800-46 Revision 2: Guide to Enterprise Telework, Remote Access, and BYOD Security. National Institute of Standards and Technology. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-46r2
  • Yubico. (2020). YubiKey: Two-Factor and Multi-Factor Authentication. https://www.yubico.com/
  • Bunn, C. (2020). Why your VPN connections need Two-factor authentication (2FA). Security Boulevard. https://securityboulevard.com/
  • RFC 4301. (2005). Security Architecture for the Internet Protocol. IETF. https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4301
  • RFC 7296. (2014). Internet Key Exchange Protocol Version 2 (IKEv2). IETF. https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7296
  • SANS Institute. (2019). VPN Security: Best Practices and Lessons Learned. SANS Whitepaper. https://www.sans.org/
  • Center for Internet Security (CIS). (2021). CIS Controls v8. https://www.cisecurity.org/
  • OWASP. (2020). OWASP Guide to Secure Remote Access. Open Web Application Security Project. https://owasp.org/
  • Scott, C., Wolfe, P., Erwin, M., Utashiro, K., & Suda, T. (2020). VPN. Amazon Web Services. https://aws.amazon.com/vpn/

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