VPN Gateway
the tunnel concentratorA VPN gateway lets remote users and sites join the network over an encrypted tunnel. It authenticates the far end, encrypts every packet in the tunnel, and delivers it onto the internal network — a private link across the public internet.
A VPN gateway builds an encrypted tunnel over the internet so remote hosts join the network as if local.
How it works
+ encrypt
The remote client authenticates, then every packet is encrypted and tunnelled across the untrusted internet. The gateway decrypts it at the edge and places it on the internal network — the user works as if physically present.
What a VPN gateway does, step by step
It verifies the user, device or certificate.
It establishes the encrypted tunnel’s crypto.
It wraps each packet and sends it over the internet.
At the edge it unwraps the traffic and delivers it internally.
In cybersecurity
The VPN gateway extends the trusted network to outsiders, so it’s both a shield and a high-value way in.
MFA or certificates — never passwords alone.
Use current IPsec/TLS ciphers only.
Tunnel users to only what they actually need.
Decide deliberately what routes through it.
VPN vulnerabilities are actively exploited.
Check the device’s health before it joins.