Rise in remote work leads to major cloud-based VPN growth

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With more employees working remotely as a result of the coronavirus, business-focused VPN services are seeing a huge rise in users.

The VPN industry as a whole has seen increased growth during this difficult time and according to Google Trends, the search term “VPN” has skyrocketed since last week. In the US, searches for VPN grew by 25 percent and the UK also saw a rise in searches at 20 percent. 

Countries in Europe had even more searches for VPNs with Germany seeing a 30 percent increase and Spain seeing a 40 percent increase. However, Italy, which has suffered the largest coronavirus outbreak in the region, saw the most searches at 55 percent and these numbers are also reflected in VPN sales to services like NordVPN.

Using a VPN is crucial for those who work from home because businesses need to secure their internal communications and coordination. Employees also need to access all of their organization's internal resources while ensuring that these assets are protected from potential attackers.

Cloud-based VPNs

The findings come from NordVPN, whose business VPN solution, NordVPN Teams has recorded a 165% growth in new users.

One of the reasons cloud-based VPNs have seen such tremendous growth is due to the fact that they offer many advantages over traditional corporate VPNs. 

For instance, NordVPN Teams can be installed very quickly as a result of the service's virtual plug-and-play setup.

Cloud-based VPNs also allow new clients to be connected very smoothly. Digital privacy expert at NordVPN Teams, Daniel Markuson explained how the company is dealing with this huge influx of new users, saying:

“At NordVPN Teams, we are working in three shifts and connecting up to 200 new users per hour. We are also expanding our server network to satisfy the growing demand for cloud-based VPN services.” 

Cybercriminals are well aware that more people are working from home and they've already begun to exploit this by launching increased phishing attacks as well as other forms of cyberattacks. By using a VPN, remote workers can add an additional layer of security that can help protect them and their data from coronavirus-related cyber threats.

  • Also check out our complete list of the best VPN services
Anthony Spadafora

After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.