Why firewalls and VPNs give you a false sense of security

In the ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity threats, traditional pillars like firewalls and VPNs are struggling to keep pace with the evolving challenges. Organizations are facing an upsurge in security breaches and vulnerabilities that surpass the capabilities of these longstanding security measures. The shift from on-premises work environments to more remote and digital setups has forced industries to rethink their security strategies.

Once hailed as the foundation of security, firewalls and VPNs now find themselves outdated and inadequate. While they once provided a level of security, these tools now reveal vulnerabilities that can leave companies exposed to risks, particularly as they embrace digital transformations.

In 2025, innovation in generative AI, automation, and IoT/OT technologies is poised to push boundaries across various industries. This progress, while groundbreaking, also presents new challenges. It enables attackers to automate phishing campaigns, create evasive malware, expedite threat development through AI, and offer Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS).

With the increasing concerns surrounding cybersecurity breaches, the focus has shifted towards the potential vulnerabilities in VPNs that could grant attackers unauthorized access. A recent Cybersecurity Insider survey uncovered that 56% of organizations have been targets of cyberattacks exploiting VPN security vulnerabilities in the last year. Moreover, a staggering 91% of respondents express concerns about VPNs leading to a compromising breach.

Even with strong firewalls in place, major organizations remain vulnerable to breaches. Delve deeper into the reasons why firewalls and VPNs might not be providing sufficient protection.

A thinner sheet of protection across a larger attack surface

VPNs and firewalls play a crucial role in extending networks, but they also come with risks. By connecting more users, devices, locations, and clouds, they inadvertently expand the attack surface with public IP addresses. This expansion allows users to work remotely from anywhere with an internet connection, further stretching the network’s reach. Moreover, the rise of IoT devices has led to a surge in Wi-Fi access points within this extended network. Even seemingly innocuous devices like Wi-Fi-connected espresso machines, meant for a quick post-lunch pick-me-up, contribute to the proliferation of new attack vectors that cybercriminals can exploit.

Perimeter-based architecture means more work for IT teams

More doesn’t mean better when it comes to firewalls and VPNs. Expanding a perimeter-based security architecture rooted in firewalls and VPNs means more deployments, more overhead costs, and more time wasted for IT teams – but less security and less peace of mind.

Pain also comes in the form of degraded user experience and satisfaction with VPN technology for the entire organization due to backhauling traffic.

Other challenges like the cost and complexity of patch management, security updates, software upgrades, and constantly refreshing aging equipment as an organization grows are enough to exhaust even the largest and most efficient IT teams. The bigger the network, the more operational complexity and time required.

VPNs and firewalls can’t effectively guard against today’s threat landscape

VPNs and firewalls deployed to protect and defend network access behave a lot like a security guard who sits at the front of a store in order to stop theft.

Security Guards	Firewalls and VPNs
Stationed at the front door of a valuable store – tasked with identifying and stopping attacks. Can’t monitor all entrances at the same time.	Deployed at key access points to an organization’s network. Can’t stop all the threats across every access point.
Once an attacker gets in, they get access to the entire store.	Permit lateral threat movement by placing users and entities onto the network.
1:few threat detection can’t scale unless you hire a lot of security guards to monitor all entrances.	Can’t inspect encrypted traffic and enforce real-time security policies at scale.
Can be slow, tired, expensive to hire, late for their shift and present a number of other issues that allow threats to go undetected and unanswered.	Suffer from a variety of other challenges related to cost, complexity, operational inefficiency, poor user experiences, organizational rigidity, and more.

Much like a lone security guard, VPNs and firewalls can help mitigate some risks, but they can’t keep up with the scale and complexity of the cybercrime of today. Your network is extending exponentially as you digitally transform your organization. With constant attacks on the horizon and a thinner cover of protection, how many million security guards can you hire?

The Zero Trust Exchange delivers on the promise of security

Unlike network-centric technologies like VPNs – zero trust architecture minimizes your attack surface and connects users to the apps they need directly—without putting anyone or anything on the network as a whole.

Zscaler delivers zero trust with its cloud native platform: the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange. The Zero Trust Exchange starts with the premise that no user, workload, or device is inherently trusted. The platform brokers a secure connection between a user, workload, or device and an application—over any network, from anywhere by looking at identity, app policies, and risk.

As threats grow more dangerous, we can’t rely on a single security guard to keep everybody out anymore. VPNs and firewalls were designed to make organizations feel secure, but with all the evolving threats of today highlighting the cracks in these technologies, IT and security teams are left with a false sense of security.

Truly secure digital transformation can only be delivered by implementing a zero trust architecture. The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange is the comprehensive cloud platform designed to keep your users, workloads, IoT/OT, and B2B traffic safe in an environment where VPNs and firewalls can’t.

If you’d like to learn more, this webinar serves as an introduction to zero trust and provides entry-level information about the topic.

Or, if you’d like to go a level deeper, consider registering for an interactive whiteboard workshop for free.