Closely related to geo-restrictions is the use of VPNs to evade censorship and surveillance. In a perfect world, the internet would be free and open to everyone, but reality is different. Many countries impose strict internet censorship — blocking news sites, social media, or communications apps. Additionally, government surveillance of online activities is on the rise in various regions, sometimes justified by security needs but alarming for privacy.
VPNs are often the first line of defense for citizens and especially for journalists, activists, and whistleblowers in such environments. By encrypting your traffic and hiding its destination, a VPN can help you access blocked resources and communicate safely. Journalists covering sensitive topics use VPNs to protect their research and their sources. In fact, digital security experts stress that “Every journalist should use a VPN to hide their internet traffic in real-time, especially when sending sensitive information.” Without a VPN, a reporter in a repressive regime could easily have their web searches or emails monitored, putting them or their contacts at risk.
For the general public, a VPN provides a layer of dissidence protection – allowing individuals to read and speak online with less fear of reprisal. For example, someone in a country where certain social media platforms are banned can use a VPN to log in and communicate, effectively tunneling out to a freer internet. VPNs have been pivotal in events like the Arab Spring protests or, more recently, for citizens in countries facing internet blackouts or blocks.
However, it’s worth noting that the cat-and-mouse dynamic is intense here. Some governments have declared VPN use illegal or employ advanced techniques to detect and block VPN traffic. China is notorious for its Great Firewall that attempts to identify VPN connections and shut them down. In response, VPN providers implement obfuscation technologies (making VPN traffic look like regular HTTPS web traffic) to slip past such controls. By 2025, this tech is quite advanced, but it’s a constant arms race. Still, for many users in restricted environments, a VPN is a lifeline to the open web.
On the surveillance side, even in democratic countries, revelations over the past decade (like the Snowden leaks about NSA surveillance) have underscored that a lot of online data is monitored. Using a VPN means that even if data is scooped up, it’s encrypted and your true IP is hidden, mitigating mass surveillance to an extent. It’s not a magic invisibility cloak (platforms you log into can still see who you are), but it blocks the easy, bulk collection of your internet usage data by third parties.
Bottom line: If you care about internet freedom or operate in an environment with online repression, a VPN is almost non-negotiable. It’s the tool that lets you browse, work, and speak freely when the internet around you is being watched or walled off.
6. Business and Enterprise VPN Use
VPNs aren’t just for individuals; they play a huge role in the business world. Companies have long used VPN technology to create secure communications channels for their employees and offices. For example, a corporation with multiple offices might set up site-to-site VPNs so that each branch office’s network is securely linked to headquarters over the public internet (as if they were directly connected). This allows internal systems to communicate privately over encrypted tunnels across cities or even continents.
More commonly in 2025, with so many people working remotely or in hybrid arrangements, businesses provide VPN access for remote employees. When you use a corporate VPN, your laptop essentially joins the company’s internal network from anywhere. This is crucial for accessing file servers, intranets, or confidential databases that are kept behind the company’s firewall. Without the VPN, a remote worker might not be able to reach those resources, and even if they could, it wouldn’t be secure. The VPN ensures that sensitive business data travels securely even over the employee’s home internet or a hotel Wi-Fi. It also often enforces identity checks and permissions (integrating with the company’s authentication systems).
Another angle is security for traveling employees. If a salesperson is on the road and needs to, say, enter an order or review client data, using the company VPN guarantees that connection back to the corporate server is encrypted. Many businesses also route internet activity through the VPN so that company security filters apply no matter where the person is. Essentially, the VPN becomes a secure bridge home for all network activity.
It’s worth mentioning that the tech term “VPN” can refer to both these enterprise VPNs (which a company might self-host or manage) and the commercial VPN services (like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, etc. that individual consumers subscribe to). The underlying principle is similar (encryption and tunneling), though enterprise VPNs focus more on internal connectivity and are often paired with other enterprise security measures.
In recent years, some companies are adopting a “zero trust” security model where instead of one big VPN for the whole company, they use more granular access controls and cloud-based security. But even those often incorporate VPN-like tunnels under the hood. For now, VPNs remain a backbone of corporate cybersecurity. If you work remotely, chances are you’re using a VPN provided by your employer for work-related connections, and it’s an essential practice to keep company data safe.
Paul Balo is the founder of TechBooky and a highly skilled wireless communications professional with a strong background in cloud computing, offering extensive experience in designing, implementing, and managing wireless communication systems.
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