What is a VPN, and why would the Home Office want to block it? Here is everything you want to know
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A virtual private network, or VPN, is gaining ground in India, with alleged reports that the government may soon ban its use in the country. This speculation stems from a recent petition by the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Home Affairs, urging the government to ban VPN services in India.
In its recommendation to the government, the committee noted the “technological challenge” that VPN services pose to the nation’s security. The commission stated that such services allow undesirable operations by cybercriminals and help them remain anonymous on the Internet. He also highlighted that these VPN services are easily available online for anyone to use.
Hence the committee suggested that the Home Office permanently ban these VPN services in India. As mentioned in a report by MediaNama, the ministry recommended working with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the country’s ISPs to identify and block VPNs across India.
But just like other Internet services, VPNs are actually used by a wide audience on the Internet to perform a variety of tasks. Thus, banning them in the fight against cybercrime will have a negative impact on many other operations, weakening them irreparably. So how does one decide whether VPNs are good or bad for the people of India? Here is a deeper look at what the technology involves.
What is a VPN?
Let’s start with the most important question in this context – what is a VPN? In essence, a VPN is exactly what you can take advantage of the term. It is a method of creating a private network within a public Internet connection. This virtual network is encrypted against any outside interference, protecting user privacy by ensuring anonymity.
How does a VPN work?
In fact, a VPN works by hiding your Internet Protocol (IP) address on a public Wi-Fi network. VPNs create encryption for data transmitted over your local Wi-Fi network. The data is also tunneled to an exit node at another location. As a result, it appears as if the user is located somewhere other than the local network being used.
What is the use of a VPN?
Since a VPN can successfully hide your online presence, it is used to maintain privacy in one’s online operations. The big plus of VPNs is the encryption they provide for data transmitted over the Internet, making it unreadable to prying eyes. In this way, using a VPN prevents any threat actors on the same public Wi-Fi network you are using from eavesdropping on your online activity.
There is another way a VPN enhances privacy. As Norton explained in a blog post, our browsing history is stored with your entire ISP. This tracking is done through the IP address of your system. Since the VPN is able to successfully hide it, your search history and online activities are hidden even from your ISP.
Since VPNs create a fake IP address for a system, they can also be used to trick Internet services into believing that the system is operating in another region of the world. Thus VPNs can also give you access to services that are restricted in an area. For example, Google is blocked in China but can be accessed through a VPN.
For these reasons, companies also use VPNs to create a closed network for their employees to operate on. VPNs are usually used for employees who work remotely, thus they can prevent unauthorized access or track the activities of any of the employees. This in turn protects the integrity of company data and ensures protection from many online threats.
Why is the committee concerned?
The way VPNs help internet users protect their identity and privacy online can be used by cybercriminals to avoid surveillance. It can be very difficult for law enforcement to track down actors who threaten to hide their IP addresses on the Internet. Next, the authorities have to rely on more extensive monitoring methods to track these criminal activities online.
In its recommendation, the committee highlighted that VPNs “allow criminals to remain anonymous on the Internet.” In this way, many unwanted online activities are not tracked. Since these VPN services are readily available, threat actors can easily use them to stay hidden.
What does the committee suggest?
In its appeal, the committee suggested that the Home Office work with MeitY, the country’s Internet service providers, as well as with international agencies, to ban VPNs. Moreover, the government has recommended setting up a coordination mechanism with the mentioned entities to ensure that these VPNs are blocked permanently.
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