The VPN market has grown exponentially over the past 10 years as consumers and businesses seek to protect their data and secure their privacy. In 2016, the entire VPN market (business, consumer, cloud, SSL) generated more than $15 billion in revenue.
Since then, many events have unfolded that will push this number even higher over the next decade. In this article, we'll look at where this growth is coming from and a few of the top reasons that are driving this surge in one of cybersecurity’s largest-growing sectors.
The future of virtual private networks, encryption and privacy has never been brighter. Here’s an overview of these trends and what’s to come:
Hackers Exploiting Wi-Fi Connections
In an internet era that’s ripe with vulnerable and unsecured hotspots, connecting to any Wi-Fi network presents a privacy issue and exposes much of your data without your knowledge. Widespread use of fake Wi-Fi to fool users into connecting to a network a hacker has complete control of is more commonplace than you think.
With more than 400 million hotspots across the world and 60% of all cellular traffic being offloaded to Wi-Fi, hackers know that hotspots, specifically public Wi-Fi, are a breeding ground for unprotected users.
This threat even exists on airplanes, in your home and on your employer’s Wi-Fi. The problem arises when you chose the network you connect to. The hacker’s fake Wi-Fi has the same network name and password, and once you connect, they can start attacking your device less than five seconds.
Millions of businesses and people turn to VPNs to protect themselves because the encryption VPN technology offers prevents prying eyes from seeing your data even if you are connected to a malicious network.
Nations With Censorship Bolster VPN Usage
One reason why VPNs are so popular is that they can be used to avoid internet censorship. Countries that currently restrict VPNs (such as China and Russia) haven’t harmed industry growth and have actually brought tremendous awareness to it. These countries have created laws that ban VPN usage, which drives huge amounts of media coverage and pushback from local citizens.
Countries with government-enforced censorship often block certain websites and news portals and seek to monitor every click their citizens make. The simple workaround millions turn to is a VPN. Since VPN services encrypt all data, the government can no longer censor that connection, allowing users to access sites that would otherwise be blocked.
According to a Slate article, “VPN providers have struggled to outmaneuver some of these technical restrictions, many report that demand for their services is growing—even in China—and that efforts aimed at curbing their usage have generated interest in VPNs rather than deterring users.”
Global Growth In Breaches Drive Privacy Awareness
Every day it seems that another company is being exploited. Breaches like Equifax and, most recently, the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal have put the identities of millions out on the internet to be illegally bought and sold, forever.
These hacks have driven considerable awareness to privacy and security in general, as clearly the benefits of successful hack far outweigh the consequences and the ability to be caught for criminals.
For the first time since the inception of the internet, consumer privacy has been at the forefront of media, legislation and conversation across the globe. While a VPN cannot protect you in all situations, scores of articles about VPN technology and other ways to protect yourself were created in the wake of these exploits.
Popular Online Services Will Begin To Offer Proprietary VPNs
Traces of this soon-to-be industry trend were reported by TechCrunch earlier this year. McAfee bought TunnelBear VPN, Symantec launched Norton Wi-Fi VPN and VPNhub was launched by the largest adult website on the web.
Ironically, Facebook tried to launch a VPN called the Onavo to offer users VPN services via its “protect” feature. Tech Radar reports Facebook already has it sights set on becoming a major player in this industry, but its VPN service has come under fire for how it handles user data.
Don’t expect giants like Google to not take notice in this exploding VPN market, either. The parent company to this juggernaut, Alphabet, is already offering a complimentary and open-source VPN service that even lets you host it from your own server.
The trend won’t stop here. As the consumer demand for more private and secure internet takes center stage, expect other online services providers to get on board by either teaming up with a respected VPN provider or creating an internal service of their own.
Overall, the endless amount of use cases for a VPN will continue to drive this surge in demand over the next decade. VPN technology delivers a wide range of privacy and security benefits that are in demand worldwide. As more hacks, exploits, identity theft and censorship occurs, the more awareness VPNs will receive.
