Patient: Doc, I’ve got to tell you, I’m starting to think my VPN is out to get me.

Psychiatrist: Your VPN? Tell me more.

Patient: To be honest, I’ve always had suspicions. VPN was kind of a hack from the start, right? It’s like this magical door that lets anyone with a key—or basic credentials—into the whole corporate castle. 

Psychiatrist: Sure, but what makes you think it might try to harm you?

Patient: Look, it’s not just me! VPN products have become favored targets for attacks. It’s all over the news. One day you’re safe behind this so-called secure tunnel, and the next, hackers are using it as a Trojan horse.

Psychiatrist: So, you’re saying your security solution is making you less secure?

Patient: Exactly! It’s like hiring a bodyguard who ends up robbing you. With one vulnerability, the tool I relied on to protect me turns turncoat. My VPN might as well be lurking in a dark alley, harboring even darker intentions!

Psychiatrist: That does sound distressing. How are you coping with this realization?

Patient: I’m questioning everything, doc. If a security product can be turned against me, what’s next? My toaster? But seriously, it’s eroding my trust in everything. Especially my VPN vendor.

Psychiatrist: Trust and skepticism can be difficult to balance. What do you plan to do?

Patient: I’ve been reading up on it. VPNs just aren’t enough anymore. The experts are all saying the future is about adopting a zero trust architecture. No more blindly trusting anything inside the network.

Psychiatrist: Trust nothing? Don’t you think that might be a bit extreme? You certainly need to mitigate risks, but how will you get anything done?

Patient: That’s why it has to be built into the tools we use. I need something that manages the complexity for me, from MFA to credential rotation to access policies across different identity providers. 

Psychiatrist: I’m glad to see you’re working on a plan to deal with your feelings in a constructive way.

Patient: Yes, it’s about verifying every single request as if it’s a potential threat. There’s this company, Xage, they’re all about this end-to-end, built-in defense in depth.

Psychiatrist: That seems promising.

Patient: Yeah, I guess you could say I’m turning my paranoia into my protection. No more sleeping with one eye open, scared of my VPN. It’s time for a security upgrade, zero trust style.

Psychiatrist: So what you’ve discovered is that, while perhaps not everything is out to get you, in the digital age, vigilance is your best friend.

Patient: Exactly.

Psychiatrist: Well, we’re almost out of time. Would you like to plan to meet again, or do you feel you no longer need my services?

Patient: Can you do tomorrow? Remember that toaster I mentioned? I think my home IoT devices are plotting against me.

Learn more about modernizing remote access by replacing your insecure VPN. Download the technical brief.