The VPN Problem Organizations Can’t Ignore: 6.8x Higher Ransomware Risk

A new report from cyber insurer At-Bay reveals a clear trend: traditional VPNs are becoming one of the most common gateways for ransomware attacks.

The 2025 InsurSec Report found that:

• 80% of ransomware attacks in 2024 began with a remote access tool
• 83% of those attacks involved a VPN device
• Organizations using on-premise VPNs from Cisco and Citrix were 6.8 times more likely to fall victim to ransomware than those without such systems

Why Traditional VPNs Are Vulnerable

VPNs were designed for a different era, one where employees worked primarily on corporate devices from office networks. Today’s workforce is distributed, hybrid, and increasingly BYOD, and traditional VPNs face serious limitations:

1. Network-Level Exposure
   1. VPNs extend the corporate network to the endpoint. If a single device is compromised, attackers can move laterally across the network.
2. Complexity and Maintenance
   1. Modern VPN appliances, often bundled as Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs), combine VPN, firewall, proxy, and routing capabilities. Many organizations struggle to configure and maintain them securely.
3. High Vulnerability Rates
   1. Since 2020, critical vulnerabilities in VPN and NGFW devices have skyrocketed, creating frequent entry points for attackers.
4. Operational Limits
   1. VPNs can be safe if fully patched, configured to minimize attack surface, integrated with MFA, and closely monitored by skilled professionals. But At-Bay notes that this level of operational rigor is beyond the capabilities of most organizations.

The result? VPNs alone leave companies exposed to ransomware, AI-powered fraud, and other evolving threats. 

Securing Work, Not Just the Connection

The problem isn’t remote access itself – it’s how it’s delivered. 

Traditional VPNs protect data in transit, ensuring information isn’t intercepted as it moves between the user and the network. But they do little to secure data at rest on endpoints, leaving sensitive information vulnerable if a device is lost, stolen, or compromised.

Remote access remains essential for hybrid and BYOD workforces, but relying solely on VPNs leaves gaps. The pace of evolving threats, from sophisticated ransomware to AI-powered phishing, is outstripping defenses that focus only on the network connection.

The better approach is to build on the protections VPNs already provide, using a layered strategy that goes beyond encrypting data in transit. Modern solutions can:

• Isolate corporate apps and data from personal activity
• Enforce access controls and encryption at the workspace level
• Provide visibility and auditability for IT
• Simplify management compared with complex VPN appliances

This layered approach protects company data wherever it lives, reduces operational burden, and keeps users productive.

Securing Remote Work Needs to Go Beyond VPNs

The At-Bay report highlights that relying solely on VPNs leaves organizations exposed to ransomware and other evolving threats. A modern approach builds on what VPNs do while adding layers that protect work wherever it lives, simplify management, and reduce risk.

Venn’s Blue Border takes this layered approach. While it includes the foundation of securing network access with a split tunnel VPN, Venn goes further by:

• Isolating corporate apps and data from personal activity on any device
• Applying access controls and encryption at the workspace level, so sensitive information remains protected even on unmanaged endpoints
• Providing visibility and auditability for IT without the complexity of traditional VPN appliances
• Delivering a native and local user experience, so employees stay productive without cumbersome tunnels or latency

By combining VPN connectivity with these additional layers, Blue Border secures both data in transit and at rest, simplifies remote access management, and minimizes the attack surface for hybrid and BYOD workforces.

The bottom line: VPNs alone aren’t enough anymore – but layered, modern solutions like Venn make remote access both secure and practical for today’s evolving threat landscape.