ZTNA vs. VPN: Which Security Solution Is Right for Your Business?
Remote access is critical for the modern business, where employees may work from home offices and personal devices. However, legacy remote access solutions built for on-prem environments are ill-suited to supporting hybrid work, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies, and cloud computing.
Virtual private networks (VPNs) have long been the standard for secure remote access, but they’re not the only available solution. Zero trust network access (ZTNA) solutions are an alternative designed to support modern networks and security needs.
As organizations pursue digital transformation and zero trust initiatives, they may consider whether sticking with VPNs or transitioning to ZTNA is the right choice for the business. This guide explores both their pros and cons, enabling the organization to make an informed decision.
Table of Contents
ZTNA vs. VPN: Key Takeaways
- ZTNA provides application-level access with continuous verification, while VPNs grant network-level access with one-time authentication, making ZTNA more secure.
- VPNs backhaul traffic to the headquarters network, whereas ZTNA connects directly to applications through cloud PoPs for better performance.
- ZTNA reduces the attack surface to specific applications only, while VPNs expose the entire network using an outdated castle-and-moat model.
- Organizations with cloud adoption, remote workforces, or BYOD benefit more from ZTNA due to its cloud-native design and superior scalability.
- Transition from VPN to ZTNA typically happens gradually, starting with cloud applications while maintaining VPN for legacy systems.
What Is a VPN and How Does It Work?
Virtual private networks (VPNs) create an encrypted tunnel for carrying traffic between two locations. Remote access VPNs securely connect remote users to the corporate network, while site-to-site VPNs securely link two corporate LANs together.
In most cases, VPNs perform a handshake in which a shared symmetric encryption key is established for the remote access session. Depending on the configuration, this key is used to encrypt the entirety of the network traffic (tunnel mode) or packet payloads (transport mode) as it moves between the VPN endpoints. In essence, VPNs treat remote users as part of the corporate network, extending the corporate network perimeter.
VPNs are a well-established remote access solution with widespread compatibility and support. However, it perpetuates the outdated castle-and-moat security model, limits visibility, and introduces performance issues for remote users.
ZTNA vs. VPN: In-Depth Comparison
ZTNA and VPNs both offer secure remote access, but their approaches differ significantly. When deciding between the two, there are multiple factors to consider, including the following:
User Authentication
User authentication is critical when providing remote access to the corporate network. While both VPNs and ZTNA authenticate users, they offer different levels of security.
Commonly, VPNs implement user authentication only at the beginning of the user session, typically via a username and password. If the user provides the correct credentials, they’re granted access to the corporate network. However, this approach is vulnerable to compromised credentials or session hijacking, where an unauthorized user gains access to an authenticated VPN session.
In contrast, ZTNA solutions implement continuous verification, explicitly validating each access request. Since this verification includes features such as device trust, location, and similar contextual information, it more accurately assesses the risk associated with the request. Ongoing, in-depth validation reduces the risk that an attacker can masquerade as a legitimate user and cause harm to the business.
VPNs and ZTNA both implement strong authentication, but ZTNA’s continuous verification offers greater security than VPNs’ one-time password check.
Visibility and Security
One of the most significant differences between VPNs and ZTNA is the level of access that they grant to the organization’s resources. VPNs offer network-level access, while ZTNA provides access to a specific application.
Since VPNs provide access to the network as a whole, an attacker has the potential to access other systems without authorization by exploiting vulnerabilities or using compromised credentials. This permits them to move laterally through the network, increasing the likelihood of a ransomware infection or a damaging data breach.
In contrast, ZTNA provides access to applications on a case-by-case basis. With insight into every access request, an organization can identify and block attempted lateral movement and malicious requests.
While VPNs implement an outdated castle-and-moat security model, ZTNA makes zero trust an achievable goal.
Performance and User Experiencey
After users have connected to the secure remote access solution, VPNs and ZTNA differ in how they route traffic and manage sessions. These differences can have a significant impact on performance and the user experience.
VPNs are a point-to-point solution, meaning that they connect users to a VPN endpoint on the corporate network. As a result, organizations often use VPNs to backhaul traffic destined for the cloud to the headquarters network for security inspection. In contrast, cloud-native ZTNA implements security in the cloud and routes traffic directly to the requested app.
Session management is another significant difference between VPNs and ZTNA. With VPNs, users have an established session that offers access to the corporate network as long as the session is active. If the session disconnects, the user needs to reauthenticate and reconnect. In contrast, ZTNA offers as-needed, seamless access to apps.
ZTNA offers a better user experience than VPNs in terms of application performance and the level of friction in the user experience.
Scalability and Management
If an organization and its remote access needs grow, it needs a solution that can scale with it. The differences in VPN and ZTNA architecture impact how easy they are to scale and manage.
VPNs often backhaul all traffic through the headquarters network, requiring the organization to invest significantly in network bandwidth and VPN concentrators with adequate capacity to handle the load. In contrast, ZTNAs use cloud-native PoPs and direct-to-app connectivity, eliminating centralized infrastructure and enhancing scalability.
VPNs and ZTNA also differ in terms of management complexity. With VPNs, an organization needs a distinct VPN tunnel for each connection between two points, which is why many VPNs are deployed in a hub-and-spoke model. Each of these connections must be individually deployed, managed, and monitored.
In contrast, ZTNA operates with a distributed network of cloud-based PoPs. Since each PoP is identical, configurations for one can be easily replicated to the others, enabling centralized management and cohesive visibility.
ZTNA offers greater scalability than VPNs and is often easier to manage, especially for organizations with complex networks that would require many distinct VPN connections.
Cost and ROI
Determining the total cost of ownership (TCO) of a VPN or ZTNA solution depends on many different factors. Some key considerations include:
- Up-Front Investment: VPNs are commonly implemented with hardware VPN concentrators, which may be standalone or integrated with firewalls. ZTNA is a cloud-native solution that may be deployable as a standalone solution or accessible via a service-based model.
- Ongoing Costs: VPNs and ZTNA can operate under various licensing models, charging per user, site, etc. VPNs also incur ongoing costs associated with the management of their physical appliances, such as maintenance or upgrades.
- Support Costs: Support costs can vary based on the service model in use. For example, an organization may use a free VPN with no support or access ZTNA capabilities via a service model with built-in support.
- Management Costs: VPNs and ZTNA can also differ in the amount of management required to operate the system. An organization with many distinct VPN tunnels will have much higher management complexity than one consuming a service-based offering. Additionally, self-managed options will require the organization to perform updates and patches themselves, while this may be handled automatically by a service provider.
- Security Costs: ZTNAs offer greater security than VPNs. This can contribute to a higher return on investment (ROI) by enabling the organization to avoid expensive data breaches and other security incidents.
Use Cases and Compatibility
VPNs and ZTNA are better suited for different use cases. For example, VPNs are a logical choice when an organization needs to connect two geographically distributed sites, providing full network access between them. On the other hand, ZTNA is better suited to managing cloud access, third-party users, and BYOD due to its more granular security and control.
VPN Pros and Cons
VPNs have a long history as the default option for secure remote access. Some key benefits that they provide include:
- Well-established protocols
- Wide device support (desktop, mobile, IoT, etc.)
- Ability to implement site-to-site tunnels
- Full network access when needed
However, they also have their disadvantages, such as:
- Weaker security and access management
- Lower performance due to traffic backhauling
- Complex management due to multiple, independent VPN tunnels
- Poor cloud application support
ZTNA Pros and Cons
ZTNA is a modern solution designed to support cloud infrastructure, hybrid work, and BYOD. Some of its main advantages include:
- Enhanced security posture due to explicit request verification
- Improved user experience with enhanced application performance
- Cloud-native design for greater scalability and performance
- Granular access control for application-specific access
Some of its disadvantages include:
- Complex initial deployment and configuration
- Lack of universal application support and compatibility
- Greater learning curve for configuration and management
- Less established and mature solutions
ZTNA vs. VPN: Which Is Right for Your Business?
The decision of whether to implement ZTNA or VPN for remote access depends on your business needs now and in the future. Some key considerations include:
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- Current Infrastructure and Technical Debt: If your organization already has a functional VPN deployment, then a switch to ZTNA may only make sense if it is necessary to meet strategic goals.
- Security Requirements and Compliance Needs: ZTNA offers more granular access management than VPNs, which may simplify regulatory compliance and enhance your organization’s security posture.
- Remote Workforce Percentage and Growth: Organizations with large and growing remote workforces may be better served by ZTNA, which is a more scalable and high-performance solution.
- Cloud Adoption Maturity: As cloud adoption increases, ZTNA’s strong support for cloud applications makes it a superior solution to VPNs.
- Budget and Resource Constraints: Various VPN and ZTNA service offerings have different short-term and long-term costs.
- Timeline and Urgency: Transitioning from VPNs to ZTNA requires significant changes, which may not be possible for an urgent project.
Organizations transitioning from VPNs to ZTNA commonly do so gradually. For example, a company may first use ZTNA to secure its cloud footprint and transition legacy systems over from VPN over time.
FAQ
Can ZTNA replace VPN?
ZTNAs are a viable alternative to VPNs for secure remote access, offering more granular control over access than a VPN can achieve. However, they’re generally not used to replace site-to-site VPN links, which are designed to let all traffic from one corporate site securely flow to another.
What are the disadvantages of ZTNA?
ZTNA is a modern, secure remote access solution, but it is relatively immature when compared to VPNs. As a result, it lacks the same level of compatibility with corporate apps and can require additional user training. Also, the granular access management that it provides introduces additional setup complexity as organizations implement and enforce least privilege access rules.
What is the difference between a VPN and SSO?
VPNs are designed to secure traffic between a remote user or site and another corporate network. In contrast, single sign-on (SSO) offers users the ability to log in once to an authentication system and access all of the apps that trust that authentication system. Often, SSO is deployed alongside a secure remote access solution to implement access management.
What problems does ZTNA solve?
ZTNA addresses the security issues associated with VPNs’ castle-and-moat security model by individually verifying each request for access to a corporate resource. Additionally, it offers improved support for cloud infrastructure and BYOD while enhancing application performance.
What are the 5 pillars of ZTNA?
ZTNA is defined by 5 pillars, including:
- Identity Verification:ZTNA performs continuous verification of user identity while managing access to corporate resources.
- Device Trust: In addition to user identity, ZTNA considers device trust when verifying an access request.
- Application Isolation: ZTNA offers access to specific applications rather than access to the network as a whole.
- Encrypted Micro-Tunnels:Network traffic is encrypted to a specific application.
- Continuous Monitoring:ZTNA continuously monitors user behavior for signs of compromised accounts or malicious behavior.
Is ZTNA more expensive than VPN?
The cost of ZTNA or VPNS depends on various factors. For example, a VPN may require the purchase of hardware, while ZTNA may have significant costs during the setup process. In the long term, ZTNA tends to have a lower TCO due to simplified management, improved security, and enhanced productivity.
ZTNA: A Modern Alternative to VPNs
ZTNA offers enhanced security, scalability, and performance. In addition to standalone ZTNA services, organizations also have the option of deploying ZTNA as part of a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) deployment.
With the Cato SASE Cloud Platform, organizations get the benefits of ZTNA as part of an enterprise-grade network security and optimization solution. Cato operates a network of globally distributed SASE PoPs backed by a global private backbone for high-performance, secure network connectivity. This makes it ideal for enterprises that have a significant cloud footprint, a large remote or hybrid workforce, or a robust BYOD program that needs high-performance application access from anywhere.
Learn more about future-proofing your organization’s secure remote access program by signing up for a free demo.