A VPN (Virtual Private Network) primarily provides

1. VPN: creates an encrypted tunnel between two endpoints (client-to-site or site-to-site). 2. PROVIDES: • CONFIDENTIALITY: traffic is encrypted in transit. • AUTHENTICATION: both endpoints prove identity. • INTEGRITY: detects tampering. 3. USE CASES: secure remote access, bypassing geo-restrictions, hiding traffic from local network (e.g. public Wi-Fi). 4. PROTOCOLS: IPsec, OpenVPN, WireGuard (modern, minimal codebase), L2TP+IPsec. 5. CAVEAT: a VPN only shifts trust to the VPN provider — they can see decrypted endpoints. Use it for what it protects against, not as a privacy panacea. _Source: RFC 4301 (IPsec architecture) + general NIST guidance._