Why Now Is the Time to Replace Your VPN

The Rise of Identity-Based Secure Access

For years, the VPN has been the default answer to remote access. It solved a problem organizations faced when employees primarily worked from offices and only occasionally connected from home.

That world no longer exists.

Today, employees work from everywhere. Applications run across SaaS platforms, public cloud, private cloud, and on-premises environments. Security teams are expected to provide seamless access while protecting against increasingly sophisticated attacks. Yet many organizations continue to rely on an architecture designed more than two decades ago.

The question is no longer whether VPNs work.

The question is whether they remain the right security model.

The Headlines Keep Telling the Same Story

Over the last several years, and at an increasing rate in 2026, VPNs have remained among the most attractive targets for cybercriminals and nation-state actors.

Major vulnerabilities and active exploitation have affected products from multiple vendors, including Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, SonicWall, and Ivanti. Recent incidents have included authentication-bypass vulnerabilities, credential-harvesting campaigns, denial-of-service attacks, and exploitation of remote-access infrastructure. (Reuters)

These attacks aren’t happening because one vendor built a poor product.

They’re happening because VPN gateways are designed to expose a remote access service to the Internet. That makes them a valuable target.

• Organizations patch.
• Attackers find another vulnerability.
• The cycle repeats.
• The costs increase.
• The risks increase

The Problem Isn’t Encryption

VPNs still provide strong encryption. That’s rarely the issue.

The problem is the security model.

Traditional VPNs authenticate a user, establish a tunnel, and provide network-level connectivity. Once connected, users often have visibility far beyond the applications they actually need.

Modern attackers know this.

Compromising credentials or exploiting a VPN gateway can become the first step toward lateral movement, privilege escalation, and ransomware deployment.

Modern security is shifting away from trusting users after login and toward continuously verifying every connection.

Security Has Moved Beyond the Network

The corporate perimeter has dissolved.

Users connect from homes, hotels, airports, and customer sites.

Applications live in Microsoft 365, Salesforce, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, private data centers, and countless SaaS platforms.

Security can no longer depend on where someone connects.

It has to depend on:

• Who the user is
• The device they’re using
• What application are they requesting
• The risk associated with the session

This is the foundation of Zero Trust.

Instead of providing access to an entire network, organizations grant access only to the specific resources users are authorized to use.

The Economics Have Changed Too

Security isn’t the only reason MSPs are reconsidering VPNs.

Operational costs continue to grow.

IT teams spend time:

• Supporting VPN connectivity issues
• Managing certificates
• Maintaining firewall rules
• Troubleshooting remote access
• Responding to emergency vulnerabilities
• Patching exposed infrastructure

Meanwhile, employees lose productivity every time remote access slows them down.

For MSPs managing dozens of customers, those operational costs multiply quickly.

Modern Security Service Edge (SSE) platforms simplify much of that operational burden by delivering cloud-managed security without requiring the maintenance of traditional VPN infrastructure.

Compliance Is Moving in the Same Direction

Regulatory frameworks increasingly emphasize:

• Multi-factor authentication
• Least privilege access
• Continuous verification
• Detailed audit logging
• Identity-based access controls

These requirements align naturally with Zero Trust architectures rather than traditional network-based VPN access. Organizations aren’t replacing VPNs simply because technology has changed. They’re replacing them because security expectations have changed.

Beyond VPN Replacement

Replacing a VPN is only part of the opportunity.

Organizations also want to:

• Protect Internet traffic
• Secure SaaS applications
• Provide Zero Trust access to private applications
• Improve visibility into user activity
• Simplify operations
• Support hybrid work without increasing complexity

That’s why Security Service Edge platforms have become one of the fastest-growing segments of cybersecurity.

FireCloud’s Evolution

WatchGuard originally introduced FireCloud to protect remote users accessing the Internet through cloud-delivered Secure Web Gateway (SWG) and Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS).

Over the past year, FireCloud has evolved into a more complete Security Service Edge platform, purpose-built for MSPs and small- to medium-sized businesses. It now combines secure Internet access with Zero Trust access to private applications, expanded gateway options, stronger identity integration, global points of presence, enhanced reporting, ThreatSync integration, and numerous operational improvements, all managed through WatchGuard Cloud.

Rather than forcing organizations to choose between security and simplicity, FireCloud enables partners to deliver:

• Secure Internet access
• Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
• Identity-aware security
• Cloud-delivered firewall protection for remote users
• Centralized management
• Simplified operations for hybrid workforces

The Future of Secure Access

VPNs aren’t disappearing overnight. Many organizations will continue using them for specific legacy workloads and site-to-site connectivity. But for remote user access, the industry is moving toward a different model. One built around identity instead of networks. One that verifies every session instead of assuming trust after login. One that extends firewall protections out to every remote user. One that gives users access only to what they need, nothing more.

The future of secure access isn’t about building a stronger VPN.

It’s about moving beyond VPNs altogether.