It doesn’t sound to me like this really negates the purpose of a VPN, more accurately it provides a way for someone on your local network to snoop on VPN traffic, if I understand correctly.
From how the article describes the attack, someone on your local network would have to set up a malicious DHCP server/gateway. The average home user who is using a VPN to mask their public IP probably doesn’t need to worry about this.
Sounds like the attack bypasses the VPN entirely. It’s not a worry on your home network if you control the DHCP server. But, on public networks, where you really should always use a VPN, you can’t be sure your traffic is going through the VPN.
Maybe, you can check a trusted site like the VPN provider’s webpage to see if you’re going through the VPN. But, a really sophisticated attack could potentially route just that traffic through the VPN and everything else outside of it.
VPNs have several purposes but the big two are hiding your traffic from attackers on the local area network and concealing your location from sites that you visit.
If you’re using a VPN on wifi at a cafe and anyone else at the cafe can run a rogue DHCP server (eg, with an app on their phone) and route all of your traffic through them instead of through the VPN, I think most VPN users would say the purpose of the VPN has been defeated.
It doesn’t sound to me like this really negates the purpose of a VPN, more accurately it provides a way for someone on your local network to snoop on VPN traffic, if I understand correctly.
From how the article describes the attack, someone on your local network would have to set up a malicious DHCP server/gateway. The average home user who is using a VPN to mask their public IP probably doesn’t need to worry about this.
Or am I misunderstanding?
Sounds like the attack bypasses the VPN entirely. It’s not a worry on your home network if you control the DHCP server. But, on public networks, where you really should always use a VPN, you can’t be sure your traffic is going through the VPN.
Maybe, you can check a trusted site like the VPN provider’s webpage to see if you’re going through the VPN. But, a really sophisticated attack could potentially route just that traffic through the VPN and everything else outside of it.
If my reading of it is correct.
VPNs have several purposes but the big two are hiding your traffic from attackers on the local area network and concealing your location from sites that you visit.
If you’re using a VPN on wifi at a cafe and anyone else at the cafe can run a rogue DHCP server (eg, with an app on their phone) and route all of your traffic through them instead of through the VPN, I think most VPN users would say the purpose of the VPN has been defeated.
You nailed it.
That makes this a very misleading headline, then. “VPN Usage over a Public Network may be Vulnerable to Attack” would be a lot more accurate IMO.
Agreed